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DAY 4—WAHANA ESTATE FARM A tropical rain has just thoroughly drenched the Wahana Estate in north Sumatra, and now the hot sun comes out again. It is stunningly lush and green. There are coffee trees everywhere, and the air is full of birdsong. The farm's 250 acres are divided into different sections for the 12 different varieties of coffee they grow, ranging from the region's Rasuna and Toraja, to more typical Latin American species like Caturra and Catuai. It's really exciting to see how all these different varieties do in this part of the world. It's an amazing experience to be here and see the coffee growing right at your feet. Last summer when I visited coffee farms for the first time when I was in Colombia to compete at the World Barista Championship, I remember thinking that my constant focus on the brewing of coffee for years was like focusing on the last 10 meters in the 100-meter dash. Then you realize that the growing, harvesting, buying, and roasting process is like those first 90 meters. DAY 5—WAHANA ESTATE PROCESSING STATION In order to best control the processing of coffee all the way from seed to harvest to finished green beans ready for export, the owners of Wahana Estate have built their own wet processing station. This allows them to only handle red cherries and also wash the coffee immediately after harvest. There are mechanical drying machines as well as a cemented courtyard that is covered with a suspended ceiling for proper drying even if it rains. Because of quite a substantial over- capacity, they also buy red cherry from other local farmers. Buying cherry has been a challenge since traditionally farmers are used to depulping the cherry themselves. On one farm in the area, we met the amazing Juliana Tarigen who studied English and Dutch in the 1950s. Although she hadn't used the language in 60 years, she could easily tell us about her farm, coffee, chili plants, and her eight children. We also had the privilege to meet Mr. Ginteng whose Ateng trees grow in a three-acre citrus orchard. He also works as a collector for the Wahana processing station buying red cherries from farmers in the area. COFFEE BREAK After long days of farm visits, tiring bus trips and the sweltering heat, daily highlights were the afternoon coffee breaks. They were eagerly awaited by all of us. We had all brought wonderful coffees and a variety of brewing methods packed in our backpacks, and as soon as the opportunity presented itself we brought out the big guns. We experimented with different coffees and different ways to brew in order to achieve the fully optimal afternoon coffee break! Without a doubt, my favorite was AeroPressing my morning cup of the natural El Salvador that Anette had brought from Square Mile. DAY 6—COFFEE EDUCATION One part of the Nordic Barista Cup 2011 was to raise money for a coffee school to be built on Wahana Estate. Here the coffee farmers would receive the training they need in order to increase the quality and the yield of their coffee. It's going to be run by the agronomists from Wahana Estate, the local government and foreign NGOs. At the NBC, we raised the equivalent of $11,000 for the project. The total amount needed is budgeted at approximately $220,000, so more donations are needed to make the project a reality. Those of us on the trip who have had the opportunity to visit coffee farms in other countries believe that not only the farmers but also the employees at Wahana Estate would benefit greatly from visiting colleagues in, for example, Latin America or East Africa to see for themselves how things are done differently in those regions, and learn from those experiences. The last night before going back to Medan, Michael, the Danish chef, went to the local market and bought some lovely produce. He then worked with a local Sumatran chef to make us a dinner that combined the best of the Nordic and Indonesian cooking worlds. Lots of food, karaoke, ping pong, beer, and goat testicles were consumed and performed (I'm not saying which was which) that last night, as we reveled, surrounded by the coffee trees. www.baristamagazine.com 33