What's the Difference Between PWN Golden Mandheling and G1 Mandheling - An Introduction to Mandheling Coffee Bean Grading System

For those who appreciate rich and full-bodied coffee, FrontStreet Coffee's Indonesian Golden Mandheling from our bean selection should be quite familiar. PWN Company purchases Grade 1 Mandheling coffee beans and meticulously selects them to ensure high quality, with uniform颗粒 that are clean and translucent. The FrontStreet Coffee Mandheling sold in our stores comes from PWN Company's FrontStreet Coffee Golden Mandheling, presenting rich dark chocolate, caramel, and nutty notes when brewed, with distinct herbal and spicy aromas.

How Are Indonesian Coffee Beans Graded?

Indonesian coffee grading primarily follows the number of defective beans, supplemented by size grading. Indonesia's general quality requirements are no live insects, no moldy or rotten beans, maximum moisture content of 12.5%, and impurity rate less than 0.5%. Grading is based on defect rate (using 300g as the base), with Grade standards mainly divided into 6 levels: G1-G6.

Typically, the coarse burlap bags containing Indonesian coffee beans will be labeled with: Country + Grade + Green Bean Supplier. For example, both the FrontStreet Coffee Indonesian Lintong Mandheling and FrontStreet Coffee PWN Golden Mandheling on FrontStreet Coffee's bean list are Grade 1.

Characteristics of FrontStreet Coffee PWN Golden Mandheling

"Golden Mandheling" is the exclusive brand of Indonesia's PWN Coffee Company. There are many different types of Mandheling products on the market, but since PWN Company registered the English name "Golden Mandheling" as their trademark, only Golden Mandheling coffee produced by PWN Company is truly FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling. You can identify authentic FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling by the PWN logo on the green bean bags and a certificate of origin signed by PWN Company. FrontStreet Coffee displays these two identification marks in our Dongshankou store.

At that time, the Japanese took a keen interest in Sumatran coffee and purchased it long-term, gradually discovering that local bean quality was often inconsistent. They became more dedicated to Mandheling production and began establishing strict standards and methods for screening defects, including bean density, specifications, shape, color values, etc. The resulting Mandheling requires both machine and manual defect removal to ensure the coffee颗粒 are complete, uniform, large, and translucent, while also reducing the earthy and grassy flavors of Mandheling. Legend has it that it glistens golden in the sun, which is how it got the name "Golden Mandheling."

Indonesian coffee bean grading is based primarily on the number of defective beans, with size as a secondary factor. General quality requirements are no live insects, no moldy or rotten beans, maximum moisture content of 12.5%, and impurity rate less than 0.5%. According to defect rate, they are divided into six grades, with the highest grade G1 requiring that total defective beans in a 300g sample must be fewer than 11. The FrontStreet Coffee Indonesian Lintong Mandheling in FrontStreet Coffee's daily bean series is G1, using the wet-hulled processing method, which is the conventional version of Indonesian Mandheling flavor.

PWN Company, which has achieved excellence in selection, purchases Mandheling green beans above 18 mesh, with Grade 1 quality where defective beans in a 300g sample number fewer than 3 - the highest grade of Indonesian green beans. Subsequently, they strictly follow standards with 1 machine selection + 3 manual defect selections to ensure the shape and size of Mandheling coffee beans are uniform. Additionally, before packaging, PWN Company places the green beans in machines for density and color sorting, making the Golden Mandheling color uniform and translucent. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee's PWN Golden Mandheling tastes cleaner and more translucent, with more pronounced body and sweetness.

FrontStreet Coffee's Brewing Recommendations

For coffee like FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling, which has a rich body and distinct regional flavors, FrontStreet Coffee recommends extraction and tasting via pour-over black coffee to better appreciate the coffee's aroma. The coffee beans shipped by FrontStreet Coffee are freshly roasted within 5 days, ensuring they reach you at their optimal freshness stage, adding more flavor layers to your cup.

Due to the medium-dark roast level used for FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling coffee beans, the internal texture is loose and has strong water absorption. If you use the same water temperature and grind size as for light roast beans, the coffee can be over-extracted, presenting unpleasant burnt and astringent flavors. To avoid this, FrontStreet Coffee's barista will lower the water temperature and use a coarser grind to reduce the release of bitter macromolecules in the coffee. Here, FrontStreet Coffee uses 87°C hot water with medium grind size (70% pass-through rate on China standard #20 sieve), paired with a KONO dripper for extraction.

Three-stage pouring: First inject 30g of water for a 30-second bloom, then inject from the center with a fine water stream and slowly circle to 125g. Wait until the water level in the dripper drops to just above the coffee bed, then continue circular pouring to 225g. Total extraction time is approximately 2 minutes.

The pour-over FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling presents a rich dark chocolate aroma upon entry, with very integrated flavors of roasted hazelnuts, caramel, and sweet melon, distinct spicy notes in the mouth, and a long-lasting aftertaste.

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style).

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee's private WeChat (FrontStreet Coffee), WeChat ID: qjcoffeex

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473