Sumatra is one of the largest islands of Indonesia, a country comprised of several thousand islands stretching along the equator from Malaysia to Papua New Guinea in Southeast Asia. Ninety percent of the coffee grown in Indonesia comes from small, independent farms. Because the value of coffee is high, farmers grow this crop close to home, often in the backyard. After harvest, the farmer takes the coffee to the nearest milling co-op. Here it is combined with coffee from other small farms and sold. Eleven million people depend on coffee for their livelihood in Indonesia.

Most of the coffee grown in Indonesia is robusta. Therefore, the search for the arabica coffee that is ultimately used in Sumatra is arduous, challenging and always an adventure.