Equal Exchange
Full City Sumatra (Organic, Fair-Trade)
Location: Canton, Massachusetts
Origin: Lake Tawar basin, Aceh Province, northern Sumatra, Indonesia.
Roast: Dark
Est. Price:
Review Date: November 2002
Agtron: 44/37
Aroma: 8
Acidity: 7
Body: 8
Flavor: 8
Blind Assessment:
Lindsey Bolger was all positive on this one: “One of my favorites in the cupping. Chocolate laced with cinnamon punctuates the aroma. More sweet spice and cocoa, even some floral notes, emerge in the flavor. A fine specimen of a Sumatra — tamed but not over domesticated!” (88) Ken was attracted by “an opulent, deep-toned fruity chocolate” that nevertheless hinted at various flavor ambiguities like ferment. Ultimately, though, a “rich, clean finish” convinced him to go with a very positive reading (89) of this complex Sumatra.
Notes:
A certified Fair-Trade and organically grown coffee. Full City refers to the style to which this coffee has been roasted (not to the growing location, since they don’t grow coffee in the city square of Medan). Like most names for roasts, Full City is an ambiguous term, but usually it describes a coffee like this one, with the roast stopped just at the point that sweetness is at its maximum but before any dark-roast taste or pungent sharpness has developed. Equal Exchange is a pioneer in the development of socially and environmentally progressive coffees. Visit
Who Should Drink It: Those who walk on the wild side at least half way round the cup.
This review originally appeared in the November, 2002 tasting report: What Makes Sumatra Coffees Taste The Way They Do?
