Characteristics and Story of Indonesian Sumatra Mandheling Coffee Beans: Pour-Over Temperature, Ratio, and Grind

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Many coffee enthusiasts first discovered FrontStreet Coffee through the 9.9 yuan daily bean promotion when buying coffee beans online. Taking a "nothing to lose" approach to try it out, they became convinced by FrontStreet Coffee's fresh, well-roasted coffee beans. FrontStreet Coffee's daily beans are the "showcase representatives" among coffee beans from major producing regions. FrontStreet Coffee's daily beans have higher recognition of basic regional flavors while also being low-priced, high-value coffee beans. Among these, FrontStreet Coffee's Lintong Mandheling serves as the representative of Indonesian regional flavors, being Indonesia's most characteristic flavor coffee.

Mandheling Coffee

In the mid-17th century, coffee trees were introduced to Indonesia by the Dutch. Indonesia exported 300,000 tons last year, making it the world's fourth-largest coffee producer. Approximately 75,000 tons are Arabica coffee. Ninety percent of this coffee is grown by small tenant farmers on plots of one hectare or less.

Indonesia's main coffee-producing regions include Sumatra, Java, and Sulawesi islands, with Sumatra's "Mandheling" being the most famous. In the northern Lake Tawar area, it can be called Aceh coffee or Lake Tawar coffee, while around Lintong and Lake Toba it can be called Mandheling. It's divided into eight provinces, but only two provinces grow coffee extensively—Aceh Province and North Sumatra Province. The most representative coffee-producing areas in these two provinces are the Gayo mountains surrounding Lake Tawar in Aceh Province, where coffee is grown by the local indigenous Gayo people. Meanwhile, North Sumatra Province's coffee is grown around Lake Toba. This lake is extremely large, being the world's largest volcanic lake. Mandheling produced from Lake Tawar and Lake Toba constitute the famous "Two Lakes, Two Mandhelings," while Lintong is the producing area south of Lake Toba.

FrontStreet Coffee · Indonesian Lintong Mandheling Coffee

Country: Indonesia

Region: Sumatra Lintong

Altitude: 1100-1600 meters

Varieties: Typica, Caturra

Processing: Wet-Hulled Method

Flavor: Toasted bread, nuts, caramel, pine, herbs

Coffee Growing Region

Mandheling is not actually a specific coffee variety or a coffee region name, but rather a tribal name. The Japanese mistakenly thought it was the name of a coffee bean, and this name has been used ever since.

FrontStreet Coffee's Lintong Mandheling comes from the Lintong mountainous area in north-central Sumatra, near Lake Toba. FrontStreet Coffee's Lintong Mandheling grows on plateau mountain land at 1000-1500 meters above sea level, with numerous volcanoes and volcanic lakes within its territory. The most famous coffee-growing area is located around the freshwater Lake Lawar. The fresh soil comes from volcanic mud, which is a primitive brown podzolic substance mixed with considerable organic matter. Combined with the local tropical rainforest climate and year-round abundant rainfall, it provides the most suitable geographical and climatic environment for coffee growth.

FrontStreet Coffee's Lintong Mandheling is the regular version of Mandheling. FrontStreet Coffee's Lintong Mandheling also uses the conventional wet-hulled method, which creates its characteristic low acidity and high body. However, a situation that occurs with the wet-hulled method is that because the semi-hard, semi-soft moist green beans are easily crushed when the parchment and mucilage layers are removed, the beans crack open like sheep's hooves, commonly known as "sheep-hoof beans." These are not defective beans, but rather a significant characteristic of FrontStreet Coffee's Mandheling.

FrontStreet Coffee's Lintong Mandheling doesn't focus on screening, so beans of varying sizes will appear. The less refined processing can lead to inconsistent coffee quality, but this doesn't diminish the world's love for its rich, mellow flavor.

Coffee Varieties

Mandheling varieties are a mixture of Ateng and Tim Tim, with Golden Mandheling's coffee variety being Ateng, named after the Aceh Tenggara region in central Aceh. The Ateng series is the collective name for Catimor varieties on Sumatra and other Indonesian islands. It's a hybrid of Arabica and Robusta, widely grown on Sumatra, featuring high yield, strong resistance to coffee leaf rust and coffee berry disease, and relatively good cupping performance.

Coffee Processing Method

The wet-hulled method is a rapid coffee bean processing method that allows flavors to be rich and intense, with very distinct characteristics. Coffee drying takes an average of 2-3 weeks, because Indonesia's humidity is between 70-90% year-round, with continuous typhoons and heavy rainfall. In Indonesia's such humid climate, drying coffee becomes a major problem, while farmers pursue more efficient economic returns. It has obvious differences from the washed method: removing the skin and pulp, retaining parchment and mucilage for fermentation in water tanks, then washing away the mucilage, and drying with parchment for 2-3 days until moisture content reaches 20-24%. Removing the parchment for the final drying step allows direct sunlight to hit the green bean surface, making coffee beans dry quickly, 2-3 times faster than washed processing. Therefore, the beans are more easily crushed, forming small gaps, which is what we commonly call "horseshoe" or "sheep-hoof" beans.

FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Analysis

FrontStreet Coffee's roasters used medium-dark roasting for this FrontStreet Coffee's Lintong Mandheling coffee bean to highlight Mandheling's spices, rich herbal notes, and thick body.

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee uses a Kono dripper to brew FrontStreet Coffee's Lintong Mandheling coffee. The Kono's ribs don't reach even half the dripper's height, a design that ensures the filter paper clings tightly to the dripper wall after wetting, thereby restricting airflow. This increases the water absorption time of coffee particles, resulting in more evenly extracted coffee with enhanced body, suitable for brewing FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling, FrontStreet Coffee's Jamaica Blue Mountain, and other medium-dark roasted coffee beans. Additionally, the groove structure at the bottom of the Kono dripper is a key design that creates a siphon effect during brewing.

Dose: 15 grams

Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15

Recommended water temperature: 87-88°C

Grind size: Coarse sugar (70% pass-through rate with #20 standard sieve)

FrontStreet Coffee brewing technique: Use 30g of water for a 30-second bloom. Pour in small circular motions to 125g, then segment when the water level drops to just expose the coffee bed. Continue pouring to 225g and stop. Wait until the water level drops to just expose the coffee bed, then remove the dripper (timing starts from bloom). Extraction time: 2'00".

[FrontStreet Coffee's Lintong Mandheling] Brewing Flavor:

Sweet herbs, cinnamon-like spices, citrus peel notes, rich and intense sweetness, creamy walnut chocolate. Fruity acidity is reserved and gentle, with strong cantaloupe aroma in the fragrance. As temperature decreases, herbal notes emerge with light spices, creating a thick herbal sensation with rich sweetness.

Important Notice :

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