17. December | Orangutan - Indonesia Capsule

About the coffee

The Orang Utan Project is committed to the sustainable cultivation of coffee in the rainforest without exploiting it. As the rainforest has shrunk considerably in recent years, the flora and fauna as well as our climate are under massive threat and so this project coffee is particularly very important to us.

The Orang Utan coffee comes from the Gayo Highlands, in Central Aceh, just north of the equator. This coffee is as rare as it is delicate in its flavour profile and both taste great a either as a filter or as an espresso. The diversity of the rainforest provides a special climate that Sumatra needs for its unique Arabica coffees. The outstanding Arabica trees thrive mainly on the steep slopes of the crater, where the growing conditions are optimal due to the adjacent rainforest.

The rainforest is the habitat of many endangered species - including the Sumatran orangutan. The ongoing destruction of tropical rainforests threatens its existence - but also that of the farmers. It is therefore important that smallholders recognise and protect the importance of the rainforest for their livelihood.

The Orang Utan Coffee Growers manage their coffee farms according to the strict Orang Utan guidelines, which are a combination of the Indonesian National Standards for Organic Agriculture SNI and are essentially similar to the Swiss standards for organic farming.

About the farm

The Orang Utan Coffee Project aims at a holistic sustainable approach focusing on social responsibility and the protection of tropical rainforests with their unique biodiversity and their important role in global climate change mitigation: This project exclusively brings together micro farmers who have owned one or two hectares for several generations. The following are the basic rules under which the orangutan farmers farm:

- they do not use agricultural chemicals such as artificial fertilisers, pesticides or herbicides.

- agree not to clear tropical rainforests to expand their farmland.

- agree not to hunt, capture or trade protected animal or plant species.

For more information, visit the project's Website.