
Medan Coffee Tour: farm-to-cup experiences with YNC Brewhouse, Singapore
As a coffee lover, you may have heard about Medan from its long coffee history, or from Lonely Planet’s Global Coffee Tour as one of the attractions to visit in Indonesia. Perhaps you heard about it in some coffee forums where coffee geeks discussed Sumatran coffee varieties and plantations. Now, in an era where everything is easy and cheap to visit, why don’t you feel the experience firsthand? This is perhaps the reason behind YNC Brewhouse‘s young barista from Singapore who visited Medan to explore, see and experience first-hand the most famous coffee origins in Sumatra.
The biggest problem for tourists who are interested in a coffee tour in Medan is the lack of information regarding coffee experts in Medan. The Coffee Origin tour, which is usually carried out by certain people (big buyers), generally requires in-depth research and special connections, therefore it is not uncommon for many trackers to have difficulties and get lost during the search process.
An excellent option for people new to specialty coffee is to find a coffee farm tour operator. It seems that we are destined, from that need YNC Brewhouse’s young baristas found us. We are the first tour operator in Medan that have a complete coffee tour program, and if not the only one with long experiences that exists. These are some of the tour programs they have participated in and maybe you can’t resist either.
Coffee Farm Visit
Hello red! You’re beautiful!
That was one of the expressions of a young barista from Singapore, the first time they saw coffee cherries directly in a coffee farm on the edge of Lake Toba, Simalungun. Because it’s so exciting the first time experience, made them talk to the coffee cherry! How could they not be happy, in their country Singapore, they work with coffee every day, but as we all know, there are no coffee trees grown in their country!
On this coffee tour program, they had the opportunity to visit one of the best coffee farms in Lake Toba, the largest volcanic lake in the world located near Medan. It’s known for its rich volcanic soil and beautiful scenery of the lake and surrounding mountains, making it an ideal place for growing coffee beans. They learned how coffee is grown and harvested, and learned about the wet-hulling process. They learned also about sustainability and ethical sourcing. As we used to know that there are some coffee farms in Sumatra are committed to these principles.
The Roastery
Once the cherries are picked and processed, how do they become the beans you know and love? On the second day of the tour, we head to the roastery to learn about how to customize the roasting profile based on the processing of the beans, and what it really means when the bags you buy claim to be dark, medium, or light roasted!
The Coffee Cupping
Coffee cupping is one of the best ways to get the coffee quality assessment through expert tasters by using their standard set of criteria. It’s an essential skill for coffee lovers and professionals alike, allowing you to identify the flavors, aromas, and characteristics of different coffee blends or single-origin beans. And where better to learn the art of coffee cupping than in Medan City, one of Indonesia’s top coffee-producing regions? It was a fun and educational experience that will leave them with a greater understanding and appreciation for the art of brewing coffee.
Fun Brewing
It’s the moment you’ve been waiting for; what good is it to know all the process if you never put it into the cup of coffee? It’s time to brew! We did fun brewing in the front yard of our cafe in the afternoon with an open-air atmosphere. Here we tried some manual brewing tools with different methods, such as Aeropress, Tricollate, and V60 along with brewing recipes from Baristas who have won Barista Championship matches several times in Medan City.
The tour was an immersive experience that focused on coffee community engagement in Medan and North Sumatra in general. It’s clear that every resources persons involved are professional and care deeply about their product and expertise and wants to share it with others in an ethical way. If you’re looking for an authentic coffee tour experience in Indonesia, this is one not to miss!
If you are traveling with a group of 4 persons you can book this tour privately at the normal price. If you are traveling alone, you can join the open trip based on the latest schedule. Please check this Coffee Tour page for detailed information on the package tour.
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