August 2012 Coffee of the Month – – Sumatra Medium
Beach Brew is back! This time, we’re showcasing our Sumatra Medium Roast as our coffee of the month. This medium roast brings a richness of flavor unlike any other coffee. Sumatra coffees (as a general rule) tend to have a heavy, buttery body. Sumatra is easy to find, although high quality Sumatra coffees are harder to come by. Even so, many regard Sumatra coffee in general as a great dessert coffee due its natural richness.
Here’s the low down on this Coffee of the Month
Most people only get to drink dark roasted Sumatra coffee. While Dark Sumatra coffee is awesome — particularly our Organic dark roast Sumatra coffee — many would love the slightly lighter roast of a Sumatra Medium even more.
So which roast would be better as a monthly coffee?
The common thought is: Darker = Richer, and that has a truth to it. However, Lighter = Richer is also a true statement.
Let me explain:
Here’s the best way to describe it. Roasting coffee to a darker degree does two things:
- Natural “Coffee Flavor” is baked out of the coffee more than lighter style roasts.
- “Roast Flavor” or “toasty” flavor is increased due to the length of time in the roaster.
Many people really like one more than the other… or enjoy a balance of one to the other. I personally drift more towards lighter roasts because I just really enjoy tasting the flavor of the coffee bean. Many others like the darkness introduced in the roasting process and really enjoy having that added flavor characteristic. I always say “That’s what makes coffee so great! It appeals to everyones taste buds in some way.”
I find the Sumatra Medium Roast to be perfect for lighter roasted coffee drinkers like me… as well as people that enjoy the depth of darker roasts. The natural Sumatran richness coupled with a good, medium roasting level provides all the flavor necessary to thoroughly enjoy this wonderful dessert coffee – even if you can’t relegate it strictly to dessert!
So there you have it, Sumatra coffee — either dark roast or medium roast — make for great monthly coffees.
Update: Are you reading this after August 2012? You can still get this coffee fresh! Just click one of the links below!
Click here for our Sumatra Medium Roast
Click here for our Sumatra Dark Roast
Dan Ericson
“Coffee Guru”
CICR