poda takes a different approach to sumatran coffee, and provides a radically different model for supply stream relationships in the coffee industry. poda sources coffee only from dairi regency, from the three districts of sitinjo, sumbul and sidikalang. farm sizes are small, with most coffee plantings covering less than one hectare. poda is led by samuel sihombing, a former pastor who became a community leader and coffee visionary in sidikalang. this area sits on the northern edge of lake toba’s volcanic system, and the mineral-rich soils are known for producing coffees with deep body and distinct spice notes.
 
poda works with farmers to organise groups, providing a platform for agronomy training to improve coffee quality, including the women’s farmer groups that contributed to this coffee. key is improving financial management, so the groups are often built around a community savings and loan group, giving the farmers more financial autonomy and breaking cycles of debt owed to middlemen. initiatives like these are becoming increasingly important in sumatra, where smallholders often lack access to formal banking services and rely on informal credit at unfavourable rates.
 
poda buys directly from these groups at a higher price than market rate for their coffee, and a part of this increased margin goes into the community savings and loan fund, providing low-cost financing for the members. all sorting is done by women from the surrounding area. goodel indonesia is the exporting operation that we at falcon deal with directly. it is a social enterprise that works with coffee producers in indonesia to provide high-quality, traceable coffee to the international market. goodel’s model places a strong focus on transparency and long-term relationships, helping growers secure stable demand in an otherwise volatile market.
 
goodel and poda have worked together since 2016, helping to improve facilities and coffee quality assessment capabilities, secure financing to reach exportable scale, and identify buyers. they have a profit-sharing agreement, in which both have an open-book policy regarding the costs of production, processing and exporting, so both parties benefit equally from their work together. this structure is unusual in the region, where opaque pricing and inconsistent quality control are common challenges for producers.
 
in the wet hulling process, only the ripest cherries are hand-picked. the beans undergo 24 hours of fermentation in tanks to develop complex flavours. this method accentuates the coffee's earthy, wild flavour notes. wet hulling, known locally as giling basah, is a signature of sumatran coffee processing and contributes to the heavy body and savoury depth the island is famous for.
 
it also allows producers to move coffee more quickly through the supply chain, a crucial advantage in humid, unpredictable weather conditions.