What's the Difference Between Mandheling and Golden Mandheling? Is Mandheling Coffee Bitter? Is Mandheling Coffee Famous?

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When it comes to Asian coffee, Indonesian Mandheling coffee inevitably comes to mind. Before Blue Mountain coffee emerged, Mandheling coffee was considered the most mellow coffee by coffee connoisseurs. FrontStreet Coffee certainly agrees with this point. The body of Mandheling coffee ranks among the top in specialty coffee, with its heavy mouthfeel and low acidity as its signature characteristics. The smoothness and sweetness reminiscent of dark chocolate and caramel provide a very persistent aftertaste in the latter part, creating complex flavor layers. Especially in the Asian region, Mandheling coffee holds a significant position.

The flavor of Mandheling is indeed quite distinctive, which could be described as what people refer to as bitterness. At FrontStreet Coffee, there are two phenomena: one group prefers the light, fresh, floral and fruity aromatic coffee from Ethiopia; the other group favors the mellow coffee like Mandheling. Some say Mandheling coffee is very "MAN" - the more you drink it, the more flavorful it becomes. Actually, FrontStreet Coffee believes that Mandheling coffee does have some bitterness. If you don't like this bitter taste, you'll certainly turn your nose up at it and stay far away; but if you like Mandheling coffee, you'll grow to love it more and more. Especially Golden Mandheling coffee. FrontStreet Coffee has two types of Mandheling coffee: one is the daily blend Lintong Mandheling, and the other is the single-origin Golden Mandheling. If Mandheling is the specialty among Indonesian coffees, then Golden Mandheling is the finest specialty among Mandhelings. Golden Mandheling coffee is cleaner and clearer than regular Mandheling, with more complex layers than ordinary Mandheling, which also makes it more expensive.

Sumatran Mandheling Coffee

Indonesia, located in Southeast Asia, has a coffee history dating back to 1696, when Dutch coffee plantation owners sought broader coffee cultivation areas. After extensive exploration, they finally settled on Java Island in Indonesia. Within 30 years, Indonesia had established a solid foundation in the coffee market.

However, today's representative of Indonesian coffee is Mandheling, which is actually not surprising because most of the Java coffee originally exported to Europe came from the Sumatra region, and Mandheling originates from Sumatra. Therefore, Sumatra can be considered an important coffee production area in Indonesia. Currently, the highest quality beans from the entire Sumatra region come from the GAYO mountain area, mostly planted with old tree varieties. The Gayo Mountains are located in the Aceh production area of North Sumatra Province, at elevations between 1500-2500 meters. The majority of coffee farmers are local indigenous people - the GAYO tribe.

Sumatra is not only Indonesia's largest island but also the world's sixth-largest island. It is located in northwestern Indonesia. Extending from northwest to southeast, the equator passes through its central region. The terrain is higher in the northwest, with the Barisan Mountains running through it, primarily growing Arabica varieties, making it the main production area for Mandheling. The southeast is lower, mostly flat or marshy land, primarily growing Robusta varieties. The entire island has over 90 volcanoes and numerous volcanic lakes, providing fertile soil for coffee growth. Due to its geographical location, Sumatra has the country's earliest harvest season - from November to March.

Mandheling:

Lintong Mandheling is produced in the Lintong mountain area of north-central Sumatra, near Lake Toba. Lintong Mandheling is the regular version of Sumatran Mandheling. Mandheling refers to the semi-washed or natural processed beans most famous from the area around Lake Toba in north-central Sumatra, particularly the Lintong mountain area at elevations of 900-1200 meters on the southwestern shore. The Batak people are the main coffee farmers in this region. Once praised as the world's fullest coffee beans, Mandheling is a trademark used for Arabica coffee from North Sumatra, produced in the Tapanuli region of northwest Sumatra, named after the Mandailing people.

Golden Mandheling Coffee

PWN company adopts extremely strict standards when producing Golden Mandheling coffee beans. After selecting G1 grade beans above 18 screen size with fewer than 3 defective beans (in a 300g green bean sample), they subject them to three additional manual selections. This allows PWN Golden Mandheling coffee beans to present a uniform color and consistent bean shape. PWN Golden Mandheling coffee selected under extremely high standards has a clean and transparent taste with intense sweetness.

FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling coffee comes from PWN company. Golden Mandheling originates from Mandheling and can be understood as selected Mandheling, which is why FrontStreet Coffee chose to stock it. FrontStreet Coffee cup-tests 300-500 groups of beans annually, selecting one-fifth with the most regionally representative flavors, and Golden Mandheling is a masterpiece under this selection. FrontStreet Coffee believes it perfectly represents the Sumatran style. The difference between Mandheling and Golden Mandheling for professional-level coffee connoisseurs and taste-sensitive coffee friends is that if you drink these two coffees simultaneously, the comparison will be very obvious. The sweetness and cleanliness, richness, and wild spice notes of Golden Mandheling are slightly superior to G1, which is one of the reasons why Golden Mandheling is much more expensive than G1.

Mandheling Coffee Bean Varieties

The Indonesian region has a very long history of coffee bean cultivation. Previously, Arabica was grown, but due to leaf rust disease, currently 90% of coffee beans exported from Indonesia are Robusta, with only 10% being Arabica. FrontStreet Coffee's Lintong Mandheling variety is TimTim Ateng, while the Golden Mandheling variety is listed as Ateng. Actually, timtim is Timor - an Arabica variety with Robusta bloodline, while Ateng is Catimor - a hybrid of Caturra and Catimor. These are just local names for the varieties.

Mandheling Coffee Bean Processing Method

Mandheling coffee beans are processed using the wet-hulling method. Some customers see the appearance of Mandheling coffee beans and think they look a bit ugly because they have gaps at both ends - what we commonly call "elephant hoof beans." These are not defective beans. Because Indonesia is located near the equator and has a tropical rainforest climate, mass-produced coffee beans mostly use rough wet-hulling processing. Wet-hulling greatly accelerates the entire processing process, but removing the parchment layer while still semi-dry requires significant friction, so the green beans are easily crushed and squeezed, especially at both ends, forming small gaps.

FrontStreet Coffee's roasters use a medium-dark roast level when roasting Mandheling coffee beans to highlight its mellow mouthfeel. When FrontStreet Coffee's baristas brew this coffee, they use a KONO dripper to extend the contact time between hot water and coffee powder particles, using 88°C hot water and a relatively coarse grind to avoid burnt bitterness.

FrontStreet Coffee's Mandheling Brewing Parameters:

FrontStreet Coffee typically uses a KONO dripper for daily brewing of medium-dark roast Mandheling. The KONO dripper makes the coffee taste rounder and more mellow, with flavor expression more direct. The KONO dripper has less than half of the flow ribs compared to V60, with a smooth curved surface on the upper part that allows the filter paper to fit more closely. This restricts upward airflow, forcing hot water to flow downward only, creating a siphon-like extraction effect that allows the aroma compounds from the coffee powder to be released more fully, thereby enhancing the mellow mouthfeel.

Using Kono dripper: Water temperature 88°C, Amount: 15g, Powder-to-water ratio: 1:15, Grind size: Medium-fine grind (Chinese standard 20-mesh sieve pass rate 75%)

Adopting three-stage extraction, bloom with twice the amount of water as the coffee powder, i.e., bloom with 30g water for 30 seconds. The blooming process is necessary to allow the coffee powder to release internal carbon dioxide gas, thereby making the later extraction more stable. With a small water flow, pour in circles until reaching 125g, then continue pouring until 225g and stop. Wait until all water has dripped through the filter cup, then remove the filter cup. Start timing from the beginning of pouring, extraction time is 2'00". Next, pick up the entire cup of coffee and shake it evenly, then pour it into a cup for tasting.

FrontStreet Coffee Lintong Mandheling Flavor Characteristics:

Rich nutty notes, with a hint of melon aroma in the latter part. As the temperature drops, herbal plant flavors emerge, with a mellow mouthfeel and rich layers.

FrontStreet Coffee PWN Golden Mandheling Flavor Characteristics:

Rich nutty flavor, as the temperature slightly drops, melon, herbal, and spice flavors begin to emerge. The aftertaste has dark chocolate notes, with obvious caramel sweetness. Clean and smooth mouthfeel.

FrontStreet Coffee's Brewing Suggestions:

Regarding coffee brewing, FrontStreet Coffee has always believed that the freshness of coffee beans greatly affects the flavor of coffee. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee ships coffee beans roasted within 5 days. FrontStreet Coffee's roasting philosophy is "freshly roasted good coffee," ensuring that every customer who places an order receives the freshest coffee upon receipt. The coffee resting period is around 4-7 days, so when customers receive it, it's at its optimal flavor.

For friends who need ground coffee, FrontStreet Coffee kindly reminds: if coffee beans are ground in advance, there's no need for further resting, because during transportation, the pressure from carbon dioxide in the package can also make the coffee flavor rounder. So you can brew a cup immediately upon receiving the ground coffee. However, ground coffee needs to be brewed promptly because it oxidizes quickly when exposed to air, meaning the coffee flavor will dissipate relatively quickly, and the coffee won't taste as good. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee suggests buying whole beans and grinding fresh for each brew to better appreciate the coffee's flavor.

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Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473