COCOA FROM SUMATRA

You hear very little about Sumatra at cocktail parties. Yet there is enough on this island to replenish thousands of cocktail parties.

Sumatra is the largest and northern most of Indonesia's 17,000 islands. It resembles the head of a crocodile, lying in wait at the edge of the Indian ocean to devour the Malay Peninsula.

Sumatra is 470,000square kilometers and 1,790 Kim long.That makes it the sixth largest island in the world. It is inhabited by 45 million people.It it also home to 201 mammals and 580 bird species. Interesting residents include the Sumatran Tiger,Sumatran Rhinoceros,the Sumatran Elephant and the Sumatran Orang Utan.

It is separated from Java by the mysterious sounding Sunda Straits home once home of Krakatoa which blasted itself out of existence with shock waves that reached as far as the Californian coast.Another valcano rose from this spot. It is called "Anak Krakatoa" or the "Child of Karkatoa"

Its backbone of mountains reaching from far south to far north peak at some 3800 meters above sea level. This peak is an active volcano.

Sumatra was first populated in 500BC by Austronesian speaking people. In a remarkable short space of history it soon became a maritime power and even a reputed centre of learning. In 671, the Chinese Philosopher I-Ching studied Sanskrit here before sailing on to India. It was once know as "Swamadwipe", which translates as "Island of Gold".

On 26th December a 15 meter high Tsunami devastated the north of the island, Acheh.

Sumatra abounds with so many thrilling names that seem todrop out of the pages of Conrad's novels: Jambi, Palembang, Bengkulu, Pekanbaru, Lampung, Martapura, Manna, Peatangsiantar. The island is divided into half by the equator on which sits a town called Sangkalan. Of which little is known. But obviously a lot can be made of, for at least fifty or so cocktail parties.

This island provides Starbucks with a prized coffee. Which Starbucks describes as "full, syrupy body, intense and spicy, herbal with almost no acidity."

Of importance of some readers of my Blog, from Europe and the United States, Sumatra provides the world with a fine, small amount of cocoa(about 60,000 tons) from 64,000 ha of planted area, largely owned by small holders. Most of the cocoa is grown north of the island. Unlike Sulawesi, beans from Sumatra are processed.

If Geography is flavour, Sumatra beans are exotic,languorously spicy, herbal, with a strong sense of being related to Sumatra's famous coffee.Its aroma teases.It would make some very sensual pralines.Well worth an artisan's touch.