Organg Utan Coffee at the 2020 Coffee Fest
We had the opportunity to try Organg Utan Coffee at the Coffee Fest at the Jacob Javits Convention Center from March 8 to March 10. Many enjoyed the smooth taste of their coffee. This balanced, medium-bodied coffee has chocolate and cherry top notes with hints of date and rose hips.
Their roast Canopy Climb is a 100 percent single origin Arabica coffee with a light and smooth taste. Orang Utan Regenwald GmbH aimed to start a business process that helps protect the tropical rainforest while establishing a successful trade in top quality products. The Orang Utan Coffee Project is a “green business,” and their first tangible realization of Orang Utan Regenwald GmbH’s vision.
The company guarantees a transparent supply chain in its Orang Utan Coffee Project. In 2012, they started with 40 farmers, and today there are 75 of them with around 53 hectares of Arabica coffee, mainly Tim-Tim and Ateng coffee varieties in Wih Bersih.
The farmers plant a variety of shade trees such as the legume Lamotoro as well as avocado, mandarin, jackfruit, durian, papaya, banana and cinnamon. They are cooperating with 33 farmers, all together cultivating 38 hectares in Umang Isaq, their second project since 2013. There are no other coffee plantations in the area. Since 2015, this project partners with 22 farmers who cultivate an area of 17.7 hectares of coffee plantations, mainly Tim-Tim and Ateng varieties in Mekar Indah.
In Panji Mulia, they partner with 40 coffee farmers, who cultivate an area of 25.5 hectares of coffee plantations. The varieties grown here are Arabica Ateng and Tim-Tim. In Uning Bertih, they partner with 17 coffee farmers who cultivate a total of 19.6 hectares. The most common Arabica varieties found in the area are Tim-Tim and Ateng.
Orang Utan Coffee’s origin lies in the Gayo Highlands in Central Aceh, just north of the equator. They have about 70,000 hectares, managed by smallholder coffee farmers who each own average of 2 hectares of farmland.
In 1924, the Dutch brought coffee to Aceh and started in the Gayo Highland with cultivation of Arabica coffee. Today, approximately 70,000 hectares of coffee plantations are cultivated by approximately 60,000 coffee farmers. The Gayo highland is the largest Arabica producing area worldwide at this altitude.
Profits from the sale of Orang Utan Coffee are invested in organic certification, trainings such as organic farming methods, coffee production and processing, marketing, infrastructure, and facilities such as processing, storage, and transport.
The Orang Utan Coffee Project helps farmers operate ecologically friendly coffee plantations without clearing rainforests. The Orang Utan coffee growers receive a bonus of at least 0.50 EUR/kg of green bean for their commitment to protect the tropical rainforest and cultivate the coffee according to the strict Orang Utan Guidelines. More about the coffee can be found at orangutan.coffee.
