Aged Mandheling vs Fresh Mandheling: Which Tastes Better? Brewing Recommendations for Aged Mandheling Coffee Beans

FrontStreet Coffee has shared many varieties of Mandheling before, but this particular one is so special that FrontStreet Coffee believes it's essential to share the story behind it. This Mandheling shares similarities with the Indian Monsooned coffee, as it must be aged for many years to develop its special flavors—it's called Aged Mandheling. They say wine gets better with age, and similarly, Aged Mandheling must undergo specialized technical processing to achieve those delightful flavors. This is also why some people find Mandheling coffee delicious, while others don't appreciate it because its flavors can be challenging to accept. The storage environment and conditions must provide good ventilation and cool temperatures, and the process must be handled with extreme care and precision. Otherwise, improper handling can cause the coffee beans to spoil or even develop insects!

Aging Process

The aging process is a special treatment method that stores green coffee beans in a unique storage environment to reduce acidity and develop certain aged characteristics. Just like aged wines, green beans must undergo proper processing and long-term storage before they can be called true "Aged Coffee." The fruit acidity of Mandheling, after long-term maturation, not only becomes softer and smoother but its body and unique flavors become remarkably impressive in the mouth—this is the charm of Aged Mandheling. Coffee farmers select high-quality green beans and then subject them to rigorous monitoring standards for up to 24 months of static aging. During this waiting period, they regularly turn the green beans in storage tanks to prevent moisture and mold. This process is extremely labor-intensive and results in this more aromatic and enduring Aged Mandheling.

Actually, such aged coffee has a long history in Indonesia. In earlier times, shipping wasn't as developed, and transporting coffee from Indonesia to other countries took considerable time. Over this period, the originally moisture-rich fresh coffee beans gradually dried, and with the exposure to sea breezes, they developed quite special flavors! Due to advances in modern shipping that have significantly reduced transport time, coffee with such special flavors has become a specialty processed bean. Processing aged beans is a technical skill that requires careful monitoring during the aging process—not to lose flavors but to create another kind of flavor, and a pleasant one at that!

Which is Better: Aged Beans or Fresh Beans?

It's a matter of personal preference. The vast majority of coffees are better fresh, but since aged beans undergo different processing methods—similar to how decaffeination changes flavor profiles—they cannot be directly compared. To clarify: so-called "aged" beans are NOT beans that some merchant bought fresh, couldn't sell, and then left sitting for years. Aged beans are all produced at the origin following specific procedures, which is why they have vintage years. The origin of aged beans supposedly dates back to the era before steamships, when transporting coffee and other goods often took several months. Because the beans spent a long time at sea, their flavors transformed. Some people tasted this special flavor and found it excellent, so they bought in large quantities. Afterwards, producers began to "manufacture" aged beans following similar storage conditions, and it became an important product category.

Green Bean Analysis

Properly stored coffee beans will change their flavor and appearance. For example, acidity diminishes, color becomes darker and less moist, texture becomes thicker with better consistency, sweetness carries honey-like aromas, and certain defects originally present in the green beans become less noticeable. Because the storage environment is relatively dark and the time period is long, aged coffee often retains complex flavors similar to mold or what are commonly called burlap or leather notes. Aged beans must be stored under strictly controlled conditions during the aging period, with regular even turning, humidity and ventilation adjustments to prevent insect infestation or mold. Generally, storing aged beans doesn't occur at the growing region or estate but is rather a commercial activity conducted by green bean dealers or brokerage companies. Properly stored coffee beans will change their flavor and appearance: acidity diminishes, color becomes darker and less moist, texture becomes thicker with better consistency, sweetness carries honey-like aromas, and certain defects originally present in the green beans become less noticeable.

FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Analysis - Yangjia 800N, 550g green beans input

Aged Mandheling may look somewhat unattractive. The baptism of time will smooth out Mandheling's acidity while increasing its purity, and the medium-dark body becomes rounder. Because Mandheling green beans have high density but low moisture content due to aging, heat adjustments at each stage must be handled with particular care. For Mandheling coffee, be careful not to scorch the oils on the bean surface. Heat the drum to 200°C and load the beans, open the damper to 3. After 1 minute of steaming, adjust heat to 160°C, keeping the damper unchanged. At 165°C, adjust heat again down to 140°C. At 5'35", temperature reaches 146°C, the bean surface turns yellow, grassy aroma completely disappears, dehydration is complete—open damper to 4. At the 9-minute mark, the bean surface shows ugly wrinkles and dark spots, the toasted bread aroma clearly transitions to coffee aroma—this can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this point, listen carefully for the sound of first crack. At 9'30", first crack begins, reduce heat to 80°C, fully open damper to 5 (heat adjustment must be very careful—don't reduce it so much that cracking stops). At 194°C, reduce heat and drop at 197.4°C.

FrontStreet Coffee Cupping Records

Sumatra Aged Mandheling

Region: Sumatra
Variety: Typica
Processing Method: Wet-Hulled

FrontStreet Coffee Aged Mandheling Brewing Parameters

Dripper: KONO Dripper
Water Temperature: 88°C
Grind Size: Fuji Royal grind setting 4

Analysis: The KONO dripper doesn't have many ribs at the bottom, so the filter paper fits tightly against the dripper, achieving the goal of restricting airflow. This allows water and coffee grounds to have longer contact and steeping time in the dripper, ensuring extraction time and extraction rate for coarse grinding. This allows the coffee grounds to be fully extracted, enhancing the rich body and making the flavor more concentrated.

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Method

Water-to-coffee ratio: 1:14
17g coffee grounds
First infusion: 25g water, 30s bloom
Second infusion: up to 238g water
Extraction time: around 2:00 minutes

Flavor Description: Herbal notes, caramel

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473