Aulia cultivates coffee on Rakyat Farm, which he inherited from his family. He has been involved in coffee production since his early teens but has always had a unique interest in specialty coffee. Since specialty coffee was not in high demand in his area during his teenage years, Aulia spent several years mining and selling Vesuvianite, a precious stone often found near volcanoes. He has since returned to coffee production.

Now in his early thirties, Aulia is entrepreneurial and enterprising. Using an old van or his friend’s car, he has expanded his business by purchasing a few bags at a time from neighboring farmers. He collects and processes ripe cherry from farmers in the Lukup Sabun, Pantan Sile and Ratawali neighborhoods. He’s also recently started buying cherry from Gegarang (Jagong Jeget). 

Almost all farms on Sumatra are small. On average, farms are between 0.5 to 2.5 hectares. Coffee is usually the primary cash crop for farmers, but most also intercrop their trees alongside vegetables, maize and fruit. This intercropped produce will make up a substantial part of the family’s diet for the year. 

Aulia selectively handpicks ripe, red cherry, or purchases cherry from neighboring farmers. He ferments cherry for 3 to 5 days and then pulps it. Once pulped, Aulia washes coffee in clean water and then ferments it in water anaerobically for 3 days before washing it again. He skin dries parchment for several days before hulling it and then drying it on his patio for a further 4 to 8 days. Aulia rakes coffee frequently to ensure even drying.