SUMATRA COFFEES. 1 45 



coffee-lands to independent planters, the product of such 

 plantations being termed " Free coffee," in contradistinc- 

 tion to that raised with restrictions by the natives, such 

 coffees being sold only by tenders, as in Java. 



Like Java, Sumatra is geographically divided into a 

 number of districts politically termed " Residencies," under 

 Dutch control, the coffee-producing districts comprising 

 Painan, Padang, Palembang, Ankola, Ayerbanjies and 

 Mandheling, grading relatively in the order named. 



Painan — Is a medium-sized bean brownish in color, 

 hard, solid and regular in appearance, generally clean 

 and well prepared, and though fairly heavy in body and 

 pungent in flavor is yet devoid of the mellowness and 

 fragrance which characterize Sumatra sorts in gen- 

 eral, but is still superior in many respects to a number of 

 the Java growths. 



Padang — Known to trade generally as " Interior " 

 from being raised in a somewhat desultory manner by 

 the natives on government lands, in the Padang plateau 

 or highlands of the interior, which furnishes the largest 

 quantity. Padang or Interior coffees are not, as a rule, 

 as stylish or uniform as the other district growths, owing to 

 careless cultivation and the primitive methods of prepara- 

 tion in use by the natives. Yet, notwithstanding these 

 drawbacks. Interior coffees frequently comprise invoices 

 rivalling in roasting and drinking qualities many of the 

 regularly cultivated district coffees, and at all times far 

 outrank the average of the Java product. The raw bean 

 as a rule is of fair proportions, but very irregular in 

 general appearance, fairly uniform, and though lacking 

 in the style and finer qualities of the plantation grades, 

 is nevertheless strong, rich and fragrant in the cup, 

 possessing a characteristic flavor entirely their own. 



