Gayo Highlands

Gayo Highlands grows Aceh's arabica around Takengon, with a GI rulebook that allows 900-1,700 m and a harvest that runs from September to May or June.

The Gayo highlands are the hillsides around the town of Takengon and Lake Laut Tawar at the northern tip of Sumatra, in Aceh, with production-area altitudes averaging between 1,110 and 1,600 m. The coffee is grown by smallholders under shade trees and is registered as a Geographical Indication as Kopi Arabika Gayo in Indonesia, the EU and the UK. It is generally processed at farm level using traditional wet methods, and because of giling basah processing, Gayo Mountain coffee is described as higher toned and lighter bodied than Lintong and Mandheling coffees from further east in Sumatra. Wikipedia dates the first coffee in the Gayo highland to 1924, while the GI book says the plantations have been developed since 1926. The Gayo people are concentrated in Central Aceh, Bener Meriah and Gayo Lues regencies.

The GI rulebook (version 9, July 2016) covers Aceh Tengah, Bener Meriah and Gayo Lues at 900-1,700 m, with most arabica planted between 1,000 and 1,400 m on volcanic soils. It names Timtim, Ateng Jaluk, Borbor, P-88 and S795 as the authorised varieties. Rain falls almost all year, so the bushes bear cherries year-round, with two peaks in March-April and October-November. The official harvest window runs from September to May or June, and wet hulling turns the bean blue to bluish green.