Sumatran Mandheling Single Origin - Dark Roast

About Sumatran Mandheling Coffee

Mandheling coffee is grown on the slopes of Mount Leuser, a volcano close to the port of Padang, in the Batak area of Aceh region, in the north of Sumatra. The Leuser Range is said to be home to one of the most ancient and bio-rich ecosystems on the planet.

Mandheling coffees are named in honor of the Mandailing people, an ethnic group in the Batak area who go by this second spelling.

Indonesia is an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, and Sumatra is the second largest of these. The islands were formed by volcanic activity and their mineral-rich soil, fortified with volcanic ash and diverse plant life have helped to make Indonesia's coffees among the most famous and celebrated around the world.

Coffee plants were originally brought to Indonesia in the early 19th century by Dutch colonizers, who sought to break the Arabic monopoly on coffee cultivation. Soon afterward, coffee from Indonesia dominated the world market. By the end of the century, however, disease had completely destroyed the crops. Coffee plants were successfully replanted and quickly gained a large share of the world market until the plantations were ravaged again during World War II.