Who is Mandheling Drip Black Coffee Suitable For? Golden Mandheling Coffee Bean Flavor, Taste Characteristics, and Story

Like wine, coffee comes from major growing regions around the world. Soil, climate, and processing methods are all crucial factors that determine the final flavor profile of coffee from each region. Whenever customers request a coffee with rich body, FrontStreet Coffee's Mandheling is the top recommendation among FrontStreet Coffee's baristas. Today, FrontStreet Coffee would like to share with you all about FrontStreet Coffee's Mandheling coffee.

The History of Indonesian Coffee

Indonesia's Mandheling is one of the world's most popular coffees, known as the gem of Indonesian coffee. First, FrontStreet Coffee will start with the history of coffee in Indonesia to provide you with a comprehensive introduction to FrontStreet Coffee's Indonesian Mandheling coffee.

Did you know? Indonesia was one of the first countries in the world to start commercial coffee cultivation (before most regions in Africa, Asia, and the Americas). Coffee plants arrived in Indonesia in the late 1600s through Dutch merchants and colonists. The first island to grow coffee was Java, where Jakarta city (then called Batavia) is located. By 1699, the Dutch colonial government established plantations throughout the city, and by 1711, Indonesian coffee began exporting when the Dutch East India Company shipped the first cargo from Java to Europe. Java quickly became one of the world's largest coffee producers and the preferred source of coffee beans for Europe.

Between 1860 and 1880, a disease known as "coffee leaf rust" ran rampant, bringing devastating blows to Asian coffee. Therefore, the Dutch introduced a rust-resistant coffee variety to Indonesia—Robusta coffee. Today, Indonesia is the world's primary producer of Robusta coffee beans. Arabica coffee beans only account for 6%-10% of Indonesia's total coffee production, including the well-known FrontStreet Coffee's Mandheling coffee beans.

The Story of FrontStreet Coffee's Mandheling Coffee

Speaking of FrontStreet Coffee's Mandheling coffee, this coffee's name is not derived from a region name, place name, port name, or coffee variety, but rather from the name of the Mandailing people in North Sumatra. Why is this exactly?

The story dates back to the Japanese colonial period in Indonesia during World War II. At that time, a Japanese officer tasted a very delicious coffee in Indonesia and asked the shopkeeper what it was. The shopkeeper mistakenly thought the Japanese officer was asking about his origin and replied "Mandailing." After returning to Japan, the Japanese officer never forgot this coffee and asked locals to help collect high-quality coffee beans to bring back to Japan.

Due to pronunciation issues, the Japanese further mispronounced "Mandailing" as "Mandheling," and through this double misunderstanding, Mandheling coffee was born. The Indonesian local coffee trader was the later renowned owner of PWN (Pawani Coffee Company), which was the first company to export Golden Mandheling to Japan. It's worth mentioning that because "Golden Mandheling" was registered as a trademark by this company, "Golden Mandheling" is PWN's exclusive coffee bean.

Of course, Mandheling comes in many varieties. FrontStreet Coffee currently has four types of Mandheling in their stores: FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling, FrontStreet Coffee's Tiger Mandheling, FrontStreet Coffee's Aged Mandheling, and FrontStreet Coffee's Lintong Mandheling. We will introduce each one to you next.

FrontStreet Coffee · Indonesia PWN Golden Mandheling Coffee Beans

Region: Aceh Gayo Mountain
Variety: Ateng
Altitude: 1100-1600m
Processing Method: Wet Hulling
Grade: G1 Triple Hand-Sorted

As we mentioned earlier, only Mandheling produced by PWN can be called authentic FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling. So what are the differences between regular Mandheling and FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling? According to legend, after discovering Mandheling coffee, the Japanese maintained great attention to this coffee. During cooperation with local green bean merchants, they established strict selection standards. After processing, the green beans undergo density and color sorting, followed by four rounds of manual bean picking, finally presenting Mandheling with uniform color and consistent bean shape. When processing green beans, the Mandheling beans emit a golden luster under sunlight, hence they are called "Golden Mandheling."

For many years, FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling has been sourced from PWN company. The specifications for FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling coffee beans are 19 screen size, with fewer than three defective beans per 300-gram green bean sample, belonging to the highest grade G1. Due to strict selection standards, FrontStreet Coffee found that this FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling not only lacks the earthy impurities of regular Mandheling but also tastes very clean with a strong sweet aftertaste.

Careful observers should notice that FrontStreet Coffee's latest Golden Mandheling has changed in growing region. FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling was originally selected from Lintong region's Mandheling, but PWN company switched to using Gayo Mountain's Mandheling coffee, and the packaging also changed from the original 60KG to 30KG.

FrontStreet Coffee · Indonesia Tiger Mandheling Coffee Beans

Region: Aceh
Variety: Catuai, Typica, Sidikalong
Altitude: 1500m
Processing Method: Wet Hulling

There are multiple theories about the origin of the name Tiger Mandheling. FrontStreet Coffee will introduce you to the most credible one. Legend has it that tigers are rare and endangered animals in Sumatra. A coffee seeker discovered excellent Mandheling green beans in a place where the critically endangered Sumatran tiger once roamed, so he merged local small farmers and named it "Tiger" Estate.

FrontStreet Coffee's Tiger Mandheling possesses the most classic characteristics of Sumatran coffee, while also having a cleaner and sweeter flavor profile than standard FrontStreet Coffee's Mandheling. FrontStreet Coffee believes that in terms of aroma, FrontStreet Coffee's Tiger Mandheling evolves from traditional Mandheling's herbal notes to more distinct nutty flavors with caramel sweetness.

FrontStreet Coffee's Indonesian Aged Mandheling

FrontStreet Coffee has always emphasized the importance of fresh coffee beans for coffee flavor, so why would FrontStreet Coffee choose Aged Mandheling? First, let's understand the origin of FrontStreet Coffee's Aged Mandheling. During the Dutch colonial period in Indonesia, large quantities of coffee beans were transported to Europe. To ensure continuous supply, coffee beans were appropriately stored. However, due to weather and transportation distances, coffee beans often took a very long time to reach Europe. But it was precisely this aging process that eliminated the coffee beans' acidity, increased their body, and created unique flavors that were beloved by European coffee connoisseurs.

Of course, aged coffee beans don't mean randomly placing coffee beans in a warehouse for several years, because over time, coffee beans can rot or even become moldy and turn into bad beans. However, to recreate those classic flavors, FrontStreet Coffee's Aged Mandheling gradually developed a standardized production model.

Many coffee connoisseurs who visit FrontStreet Coffee like to order a cup of Mandheling to experience its herbal flavors and caramel-like aftertaste. Regardless of the type of Mandheling, they all seem to share common characteristics, which are related to Indonesia's unique coffee processing method. Due to Indonesia's humid climate, it's difficult to dry coffee for extended periods. To prevent the combination of rain and moisture, locals had to devise another processing method to handle coffee—wet hulling/Giling Basah (also called wet hulling in Chinese).

Although it sounds similar to the most common coffee processing type—wet processing—wet hulling is actually quite different. Wet hulling as a processing method has two driving factors: moisture and money (water conservation reduces costs). Coffee processed using wet hulling has unique earthy flavors. Due to fermentation during processing, its acidity and brightness are relatively low, while its body is enhanced.

Actually, whether it's suitable or not depends on what kind of coffee flavor you like. Some people prefer prominent floral and fruit notes; some are enthusiastic about flavors brought by special processing methods; while others might like the body and unique herbal, earthy flavors in FrontStreet Coffee's Mandheling coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee's Brewing Recommendations:

Dripper: Kono
Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15
Dose: 15 grams
Water Temperature: 88°C
Grind Size: Medium-coarse (70-75% pass-through rate on #20 standard sieve)

For brewing, FrontStreet Coffee suggests using freshly roasted coffee beans to maximize the rich flavors of the coffee. Coffee beans shipped by FrontStreet Coffee are all roasted within 5 days, because FrontStreet Coffee deeply understands that coffee bean freshness greatly impacts flavor. FrontStreet Coffee's roasting philosophy is "Freshly Roasted Good Coffee," ensuring that every customer who places an order receives the freshest coffee when it arrives. The coffee's degassing period is about 4-7 days, so when customers receive it, the flavors are at their best.

Use segmented extraction: bloom with 30g of water for 30 seconds, then continue pouring in small circular motions to 125g and segment. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 225g and stop. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, remove the dripper (timing starts from bloom). V60 dripper extraction time is 2'00", while Kono dripper extraction time is slightly longer at 2'10".

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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