Gayo Coffee Highlands

The Gayo highlands sit above 1,200 metres around Lake Laut Tawar in central Aceh, and they produce most of Indonesia's arabica by volume, nearly all of it from smallholdings of a hectare or two rather than from estates. The processing is what gives Sumatran coffee its character: giling basah, wet hulling, where the parchment is stripped off while the bean is still damp, which produces the heavy body, low acidity and earthy, herbal notes people either look for or dislike. Beans come out a distinctive blue-green. Farms around Takengon receive visitors, and cooperatives in the town will walk you through drying patios, sorting tables and cupping.

What you actually see

• Wet hulling - the local processing that gives Sumatran coffee its heavy body.
• Drying patios - beans raked out in the sun beside the farmhouses.
• Lake Laut Tawar - the highland lake the coffee districts are spread around.
• Cupping tables - cooperatives in Takengon scoring lots by the spoonful.

When to go

The main harvest runs from around October into the early months of the year, and that is when the patios and mills are working. Outside it a farm visit is quieter and more about the trees. The highlands are cool and can be wet in any month. Takengon is a long, winding drive from Medan, so allow a full day each way.

Honest expectations

This is a farming region with no tourist infrastructure to speak of: accommodation is basic, English is rare and visits need arranging through a local contact. The road from Medan is slow, narrow and hard on anyone prone to travel sickness. Alcohol is not sold in the province and modest dress is expected. Wet-hulled coffee is an acquired taste.

Nearby

Lake Laut Tawar and the pine ridges above Takengon surround the coffee districts.