Gold Mandheling Coffee Beans Pour-Over Tutorial: Grind Size, Ratios, and Flavor Profile Guide

For more specialty coffee knowledge, follow our official WeChat account: FrontStreet Coffee

With the development of the specialty coffee market, many coffee enthusiasts have begun researching how to brew pour-over coffee at home. However, pour-over coffee isn't something that can be mastered with just a recipe—it requires long-term practice to develop the feel and technique needed to brew delicious coffee. In this article, FrontStreet Coffee will teach coffee enthusiasts how to brew pour-over coffee at home. FrontStreet Coffee believes that our Indonesian Mandheling coffee beans are particularly suitable for beginners to practice with, so let's start by exploring FrontStreet Coffee's Indonesian Golden Mandheling.

FrontStreet Coffee: Frontsteet PWN Golden Mandheling Coffee Beans

Country: Indonesia

Region: Aceh, Gayo Mountain, Sumatra

Altitude: 1100-1600m

Variety: Ateng

Processing: Wet-Hulled

Flavor: Toast, nuts, pine, caramel, herbal

Indonesian Mandheling Coffee Origin

Previous articles from FrontStreet Coffee have often mentioned the three major factors that determine coffee bean flavor: growing region, variety, and processing method. Now, FrontStreet Coffee will discuss our Mandheling coffee around these three points. Mandheling is primarily produced on Sumatra Island, Indonesia—the largest island in Indonesia, located near the equator with a typical tropical rainforest climate. The high temperatures, humidity, and abundant rainfall make it ideal for growing high-quality Arabica coffee beans.

However, the limited altitude in Indonesian growing regions means there's limited space for cultivating high-quality Arabica coffee beans. Therefore, only 25% of coffee beans produced in Indonesia belong to the Arabica species, as Arabica can only develop optimal flavors when grown at high altitudes. The remaining 75% consists of Robusta coffee trees, which can be cultivated at lower altitudes. Sumatra has the highest altitude areas in Indonesia.

Additionally, the finest traditional Arabica coffee from northern Sumatra is sold under the name Lintong Mandheling. Specifically, Lintong Mandheling coffee beans refer to coffee grown in a small area southwest of Lake Toba in the Lintong administrative region.

Sumatra Coffee Bean Origin

Mandheling coffee beans are also known as "Sumatra coffee." Most production in northern Sumatra comes from the Gayo region, with Ateng as the main variety. Lake Tawar in the northern part can be called Aceh coffee or Lake Tawar coffee, while Lintong and Lake Toba areas in southern Sumatra can be called Mandheling. The Lintong area is the true Mandheling region. The best Mandheling coffee varieties include four types: Sidikalang, Bergendar, Siborong borong, and Telok Sanggul.

Lake Toba: Located in central North Sumatra Province. In 1888, Dutch colonists moved "Java Mandheling" north to the Lake Toba region, establishing the modern Mandheling legend.

Lake Tawar: Located in central Aceh Special Administrative Region. Situated at the northern tip of Sumatra Island, with an area less than one-tenth of Lake Toba. However, in recent years, coffee quality and production have surpassed Lake Toba.

Gayo Mountains: Located in the Aceh region of northern Sumatra Province. Most coffee farmers working in Gayo are local farmers. The term "Gayo" originates from a tribe in Indonesia's Aceh region. This area has ideal growing conditions, a long historical culture, and unique flavors. The region widely uses organic methods for coffee cultivation without chemical fertilizers and is considered a world green coffee production area. Therefore, Gayo coffee is often called green coffee or Gayo organic coffee.

Indonesian Mandheling Coffee Processing

When discussing Indonesian coffee, FrontStreet Coffee must mention the processing method that made Mandheling popular worldwide—the Wet-Hulled method. Interestingly, although this green bean processing method was not something locals chose willingly due to weather constraints, it is precisely what gives Mandheling its unique earthy, herbal, and spicy characteristics.

When using the wet-hulled method, the semi-hard, semi-soft moist green beans are easily bruised when the mucilage and parchment layers are removed. The beans crack open like goat hooves, commonly known as "goat hoof beans." FrontStreet Coffee believes this is a very distinctive characteristic of Mandheling and not considered a defect.

Origin of Indonesian Wet-Hulled Method

According to FrontStreet Coffee's research, Indonesia uses the wet-hulled processing method because local weather is predominantly rainy with constant typhoons, making it impossible to achieve the good weather required for sun-drying. Additionally, the local economy is not prosperous enough to use the more expensive washed processing method. This led to the development of the uniquely local wet-hulled method.

Of course, Indonesian coffee development is no longer the impoverished scene it once was. Many estates and companies can now use washed processing methods, but they haven't abandoned the wet-hulled method. FrontStreet Coffee believes that the wet-hulled method was a key factor in bringing Mandheling coffee to the world stage. When people mention Mandheling coffee, they think of the wet-hulled method—they clearly have become complementary to each other.

The specific steps of the wet-hulled method can be divided into the following two stages:

First stage: Use a wooden depulper to remove the skin and pulp, ferment for 3 hours, then dry until moisture content reaches 30-50% (semi-dry, semi-wet).

Second stage: Remove the mucilage and parchment layers, continue with the final drying process. The drying process takes 2-4 days until moisture content reaches 12-13%.

What is "Golden Mandheling"?

When discussing "Golden Mandheling," we must start with PWN. This abbreviation is often mixed with Mandheling coffee names—it actually stands for Pwani Coffee Company.

This company is a very famous coffee acquisition company in Indonesia, primarily acquiring Mandheling coffee. They purchase from almost all the best growing regions in Indonesia, so most beans from PWN company are unique specialty coffees. Golden Mandheling is a product produced by this company. After acquiring green beans, they undergo multiple manual selections to pick out full, defect-free beans. Only these premium beans, which seem to experience layer-by-layer selection like an audition process, can be classified as Golden Mandheling.

However, PWN company has trademarked "Golden Mandheling," meaning that only Golden Mandheling produced by PWN company can be considered genuine Frontsteet "Golden Mandheling" in the future. Many beans on the market not from PWN company but labeled with the Golden Mandheling brand name should actually be called Specialty Mandheling.

So how should you brew this Frontsteet Golden Mandheling coffee bean? FrontStreet Coffee will now share with coffee enthusiast friends.

What Equipment is Needed for Pour-Over Coffee?

Pour-over coffee naturally requires corresponding equipment. What specifically is needed? FrontStreet Coffee will list them one by one for coffee enthusiast friends.

1. Pour-over kettle: There are various sizes and materials of pour-over kettles on the market; you can choose according to your needs. The factor that most affects brewing results is the spout size, as it relates to water flow rate. Beginners are generally recommended to use narrow-spout kettles, which are easier to control. Additionally, each pour-over kettle has different suitable heating methods (induction cooker or gas stove), so pay special attention when purchasing.

2. Dripper: Drippers also come in different sizes and materials, mainly divided into three shapes: fan-shaped, conical, and wave drippers. The size of the dripper's bottom holes affects the flow rate of extracted coffee, thereby influencing the coffee's flavor. Fan-shaped drippers have small holes, slow flow rate, and produce a fuller body; conical drippers have large holes, fast flow rate, and produce a lighter body; wave drippers have a flat bottom paired with special wave filter papers, producing the most uniform coffee texture. A special case is metal mesh filter drippers, which don't require filter paper and can retain more coffee oils for a richer flavor, but some very fine coffee particles may not be filtered out.

3. Filter paper: Filter paper comes in bleached and unbleached varieties. Bleached filter paper appears whiter, while unbleached filter paper looks light brown. The function of filter paper is to use extremely dense fibers to retain ground coffee powder while filtering extracted coffee into the cup. When purchasing filter paper, choose corresponding paper based on your dripper.

4. Coffee grinder: Good pour-over coffee requires a good grinder. There are three types of grinders on the market:

1) Ghost tooth grinder

2) Flat burr grinder

3) Conical burr grinder

5. Thermometer: A thermometer is used to measure coffee water temperature. Thermometers on the market include Tiamo, Hero, and Cafede Kona thermometers.

6. Electronic scale: An electronic scale helps us better control the coffee-to-water ratio during brewing, reducing unstable factors and increasing error tolerance. Electronic scales range from several hundred yuan to as low as tens of yuan. Options include Xiaomi electronic scales, Hero smart scales, and Timemore electronic scales.

7. Sifting screen: Mainly used to determine grind size. Each coffee bean has a different suitable grind size for pour-over. FrontStreet Coffee has determined through continuous testing that a grind size passing through Chinese standard #20 sieve at 80% is suitable for pour-over coffee.

What are the Detailed Steps for Pour-Over Coffee?

1. Water Temperature

The higher the water temperature, the stronger the extraction ability, making coffee more bitter with intense flavor; lower water temperature has weaker extraction ability, making coffee more acidic with mild and light flavor. Pour-over temperature should be adjusted according to the coffee's roast degree. For light to medium roast beans, 90-91°C is recommended; for medium to dark roast beans, 86-88°C is recommended. FrontStreet Coffee basically adjusts within this range. A customer once questioned this brewing temperature, so FrontStreet Coffee took our Frontsteet Golden Mandheling coffee beans (dark roast) and brewed them with 90°C water. The result was a flavor that could almost "compete" with espresso.

2. Grind Size

Refers to the size of coffee particles. Grind size affects the contact time between coffee and water. If coffee grounds are finer, water can extract more substances within the same time, but fine grind size makes coffee prone to over-extraction during the brewing process. Conversely, coarser coffee grind size means water extracts fewer substances within the same time, but coarser grind size makes coffee prone to under-extraction. FrontStreet Coffee recommends using a grind size with 80% pass-through rate on Chinese standard #20 sieve for pour-over coffee. This was determined through multiple taste tests. It's important to note that different coffee beans require different grind sizes, so when pour-over flavor seems off, check if there's an issue with the grind size.

3. Coffee-to-Water Ratio

The coffee-to-water ratio refers to the proportion of coffee grounds to brewing water, affecting the coffee's concentration. It can be 1:10, 1:13, 1:15, or 1:16. FrontStreet Coffee recommends using a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, which is relatively moderate in both concentration and flavor. Of course, everyone pursues different coffee flavors, so when brewing coffee, everyone can adjust their own coffee-to-water ratio according to their desired concentration and flavor profile.

Next, FrontStreet Coffee will share the specific parameters for brewing Frontsteet PWN Golden Mandheling coffee beans.

FrontStreet Coffee PWN Golden Mandheling Coffee Brewing Recommendations

Dripper: KONO

Coffee Dose: 15 grams

Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15

Water Temperature: 86-87°C

Grind Size: 70% pass-through rate on #20 sieve

Frontsteet PWN Golden Mandheling Brewing Technique: Segmented extraction.

First pour: Use 30g of water for bloom, wait 30 seconds.

Second pour: Use small circular water flow to pour to 125g, then pause. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed:

Third pour: Continue pouring to 225g, then stop pouring. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, remove the dripper. (Timing starts from bloom) Total extraction time: 2'00".

Frontsteet PWN Golden Mandheling Flavor: Multi-layered, full-bodied and clean, high balance, rich nut and caramel aromas with chocolate notes, long-lasting aftertaste.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473