Blue Mountain Coffee vs Golden Mandheling Coffee: Differences, Mandheling Coffee Bean Flavor Characteristics, Stories, and Brewing

At FrontStreet Coffee, we often hear customers ask: "I'd like a cup of non-acidic coffee, what do you recommend?" FrontStreet Coffee would suggest a Mandheling coffee, and of course, some friends might directly say "I'll have a Blue Mountain." Because both of these coffees have flavors that are not acidic.

We know that basically all good coffee beans are Arabica varieties, because this variety has poor resistance to pests, diseases, or climate, requires stricter growing conditions, but has better aroma and lower caffeine content, making it more economically valuable for premium coffee. The other variety is Robusta, which is mostly used for making instant coffee.

Blue Mountain Coffee

The Blue Mountain coffee introduced by FrontStreet Coffee is of the Typica variety. Typica is the oldest Arabica variety, with bronze-colored leaf tips, oval or slender pointed beans, tall trees with slightly inclined branches at 50-70 degree angles, known as red-topped coffee. The coffee tree's opposite leaves are long oval with smooth surfaces, long terminal branches with few branches, and white flowers that bloom at the base where leaf stems connect to branches. It has elegant flavor but weak constitution, poor disease resistance, and very low fruit yield per tree. Mature coffee fruits look like cherries and are bright red.

However, due to Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee's weak disease resistance, low yield, and susceptibility to insect attacks, this is one reason why Blue Mountain coffee is expensive. FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain coffee is priced at 158 yuan/100g, and of course, friends might ask: "Is this real Blue Mountain? How can it be so cheap?" FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain coffee is authentic Jamaican Blue Mountain No. 1, certified by the Jamaica Coffee Industry Board. Additionally, the wooden barrels packaging Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee beans feature a green frog logo. FrontStreet Coffee specifically chose the Clifton Farm, a Rainforest Alliance certified Jamaican Blue Mountain No. 1 coffee estate. Jamaica is also the only region that uses wooden barrels for green beans, along with the most iconic Blue Mountain flavor - authentic Blue Mountain has very rich aroma, balanced mouthfeel, with no flavor being too prominent or lacking. Authentic Jamaican Blue Mountain No. 1 coffee is priced higher than other coffees. FrontStreet Coffee believes there are three main reasons: limited quantity, excellent flavor, and strict quality control, which create the world's highest-priced coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain No. 1 Coffee Bean Processing

Before this year, Blue Mountain No. 1 coffee was only available in washed processing. Using washing and fermentation methods to remove fruit pulp and mucilage. Farms using the washed method must build washing pools and have access to continuous fresh water. During processing, the fruit pulp is first removed, then fermented for 12-18 hours, after which the fermented beans are placed in pools and moved back and forth, using the friction of the beans and the power of flowing water to wash the coffee beans until smooth and clean. After washing, the coffee beans are still encased in parchment, with a moisture content of 50%, and must be sun-dried to reduce moisture content to 12-14%, otherwise they will continue to ferment and become moldy and spoiled. The coffee beans are then screened and stored in special warehouses. These procedures must be strictly controlled, otherwise coffee quality will be affected. In 2020, the Blue Mountain region also exported a batch of natural processed Blue Mountain No. 1 coffee. FrontStreet Coffee immediately imported and roasted it.

Actually, the production of this natural Blue Mountain coffee was quite challenging. Previously, it was only available in washed processing because washing is the best way to ensure the essential Blue Mountain flavor characteristics. Changing the processing method would definitely alter its flavor structure. This is also why when FrontStreet Coffee introduces coffee beans from various regions to customers, we first recommend washed processed beans - because washed processing best represents the regional flavor characteristics. Of course, Blue Mountain coffee using natural processing is more about following market developments, just as FrontStreet Coffee recently added a natural processed Mandheling coffee bean, which differs from the traditional wet-hulling method.

Mandheling Coffee

The Story of Mandheling Coffee

The Mandheling coffee story originates from Japanese soldiers returning to Japan after Indonesia's colonization, who couldn't forget the delicious local coffee. Through their trading connections, they asked locals to help collect high-quality coffee beans, including this Mandheling. The Japanese loved this coffee bean and asked for its name. Since the commercial source couldn't be disclosed, the locals casually said "Mandheling." The Japanese then commissioned Indonesian coffee merchants to ship 15 tons to Japan, which unexpectedly became extremely popular. The name Mandheling was thus established.

Mandheling coffee, known for its non-acidic profile, is also an Arabica variety. Typica performs exceptionally well and is recognized as a premium coffee variety, originally from the Mandailing region near Mount Bukit Barisan in North Sumatra. This coffee's flavor is: full-bodied, low acidity, with slightly herbaceous notes. Mandheling coffee cultivation originated from the compulsory cultivation system introduced by the Dutch East Indies government. In 1835, the Dutch brought coffee seeds from Java and attempted to grow them on Sumatran soil. With the help of the Dutch East Indies government, coffee was subsequently spread to several regions in North Sumatra.

FrontStreet Coffee offers Lintong Mandheling, Sumatran Tiger Mandheling, and Gold Mandheling.

Indonesian Coffee Regions

90% of coffee beans grown in Indonesia are Robusta varieties, with the remaining 10% being Arabica coffee beans mainly produced from Lintong in the Lake Toba region of Sumatra, Gayo Mountain in Aceh, Java, and Sulawesi. Indonesian regions typically have two harvest seasons: the main harvest season occurs around September-October, and the fly harvest season is in May-June.

Lake Toba Lintong Region: Lake Toba is located north of Medan, the capital of Sumatra Island, and is a high-altitude freshwater lake. Average altitude is about 900m. The lake is diamond-shaped, 100 kilometers long and 30 kilometers wide, covering an area of 1,130 square kilometers, with an average altitude of 1100-1600 meters. It's also the world's largest volcanic lake. The commonly referred to Mandheling actually refers to Typica or its variant coffee beans grown in the mountainous areas around Lake Toba, with Lintong being the most famous Mandheling coffee-producing region in the Lake Toba area. Lintong Mandheling is the regular version of Mandheling. Lintong Mandheling also uses the conventional wet-hulling method, which creates its characteristics of low acidity and full body. However, a situation that occurs with wet-hulling is that because the semi-hard, semi-soft moist green beans are easily damaged when the parchment and mucilage layers are removed, the beans crack open like goat hooves - commonly known as "goat hoof beans." These are not defective beans but can be considered a distinctive characteristic of Mandheling.

Aceh, located at the northernmost tip of Sumatra Island, is a fascinating and complex place. Due to long-term political instability, Aceh is not a region that ordinary people typically visit. The Gayo Mountain region is located in Aceh Province in northern Sumatra Island, where coffee is grown on the slopes surrounding Takegon town and Lake Tawar. Planting altitude in production areas averages between 1,110 and 1,300 meters. FrontStreet Coffee's new harvest Gold Mandheling comes from GAYO Mountain in North Sumatra's Aceh region.

FrontStreet Coffee's Gold Mandheling

Why is it called Gold Mandheling? Does it contain gold? Or is it the same color as gold? FrontStreet Coffee will explain the origin. It's said that when processing green beans, Mandheling beans emit a brilliant golden luster under sunlight, hence the name Gold Mandheling. However, it wasn't a Japanese company that registered "Gold Mandheling" as a trademark, but the local Indonesian PWN company (Pwani Coffee Company), which previously cooperated with Japanese companies to export Mandheling coffee beans. Because "Gold Mandheling" was already registered by PWN Company, it means only Gold Mandheling coffee beans from PWN Company can be considered authentic Gold Mandheling. To present everyone with true Gold Mandheling coffee flavor, FrontStreet Coffee insists on selling only PWN Company's Gold Mandheling.

PWN Company is actually an abbreviation for Pwani Coffee Company. This company is a very famous coffee acquisition company in Indonesia, mainly acquiring Mandheling coffee. Almost all the best Indonesian growing regions are sourced by them, so most beans from PWN Company are unique specialty coffees. Gold Mandheling is their product, where green beans are acquired and then undergo multiple manual selections to pick out full, defect-free beans. Only these beans, which go through layer upon layer of selection like a talent show, can be classified as Gold Mandheling. However, PWN Company registered Gold Mandheling as a trademark, meaning only Gold Mandheling produced by PWN Company can be considered authentic "Gold Mandheling." Many Gold Mandheling beans on the market not from PWN Company but carrying the Gold Mandheling brand name should actually be called Premium Mandheling. So "Gold Mandheling" is simply a product name from a company. Gold Mandheling is produced in the Lintong region of northern Sumatra, Indonesia, and is a higher grade of Mandheling, processed with more delicate methods, with coffee beans harvested purely by hand.

FrontStreet Coffee's PWN Gold Mandheling specification is 18 screen or larger, with fewer than 3 defective beans (in a 300g green bean sample), belonging to the highest G1 grade, with a dark green color and uniform flat bean shape. After strict screening, FrontStreet Coffee found that PWN Gold Mandheling not only lacks the typical earthy impurities of regular Mandheling but also tastes cleaner and brighter, with stronger sweetness.

PWN Company's high standards for Gold Mandheling determine that its price is higher than regular Gold Mandheling. But why do some Gold Mandheling coffee beans on the market not indicate they're from PWN Company? Actually, some green bean merchants selling Gold Mandheling on the market raise prices by selecting 18 screen or larger beans from the same G1 grade Gold Mandheling coffee beans. Some even use three rounds of selection to make the appearance as close as possible to PWN Gold Mandheling. Even if the appearance is similar, it's ultimately superficial - flavor can't be faked. FrontStreet Coffee acquired several coffees also called "Gold Mandheling" for blind testing, and Frontsteet's baristas could always identify PWN Gold Mandheling because PWN Gold Mandheling's cleanliness is unmatched by other "Gold Mandheling."

Gold Mandheling Coffee Varieties

FrontStreet Coffee's new harvest Gold Mandheling coffee beans are the Ateng variety, which is the local Indonesian name for Catimor coffee. The name Ateng comes from the Aceh Tenggah region.

What is Indonesian Wet-Hulling?

The flavor characteristics of Indonesian Mandheling are related to its unique coffee processing method. Indonesian wet-hulling is also known as Wet Hulling, called Giling Basah in the local language, and is a traditional Indonesian coffee processing method. Indonesian wet-hulling produces completely different cupping flavors from the washed method. According to FrontStreet Coffee's understanding, Indonesia's tradition of using wet-hulling stems from local weather conditions. Indonesia's annual humidity ranges between 70-90%, with constant typhoons, and in some regions, annual rainfall can even reach 2,000mm.

Furthermore, geographically speaking, under tropical climate conditions, coffee takes an average of 2-3 weeks to dry. In Indonesia's humid climate, drying coffee becomes a major problem. Coffee drying requires much longer time, during which coffee maintains higher humidity, making it easier for bacteria to penetrate green coffee beans. In regular washed processing, drying is done with parchment to protect green beans from external damage. However, wet-hulling removes parchment for the final drying step, allowing sunlight to directly hit the green bean surface, making coffee beans dry 2-3 times faster than washed processing.

This also demonstrates the wisdom of local people. However, wet-hulling has a disadvantage - it makes coffee beans look ugly, which is what people now call "goat hoof beans." These coffee beans form because when wet-hulling removes parchment, the coffee's moisture content is still 20-24%, whereas in regular processing methods, coffee moisture content drops to 10-12% before hulling. In the "semi-dry" state, parchment tends to stick to the green bean surface, making dehulling more difficult than "fully dry" beans, requiring greater friction force during the hulling process.

But on the other hand, "semi-dry" green coffee beans are very fragile at this stage, with much lower hardness than "fully dry" beans, so beans are more easily damaged, forming small cracks. This is what we commonly call horse hoof or goat hoof beans (locally called kuku kambing).

According to FrontStreet Coffee's understanding, Teacher Han Huaizong once described wet-hulled coffee bean flavor characteristics in his book: "This is also a rare processing method in the world, accidentally creating Mandheling's special low-acid, thick, and mellow aromatic flavor." Through years of cupping different wet-hulled Indonesian coffee beans, FrontStreet Coffee believes that Mandheling coffee has relatively low acidity, thick mouthfeel, and unique flavors like herbal spices, but the disadvantage is inconsistent quality. Of course, inconsistent quality can't be entirely attributed to wet-hulling - in most cases, it might be caused by relatively poor quality of some green coffee beans.

Additionally, because Mandheling coffee beans themselves don't have many acidic characteristics, they won't develop unpleasant sour or astringent tastes even after long保温 or when made into iced coffee. After roasting, the coffee beans are relatively large, with green beans being brown or dark green, carrying a special caramel-like aroma, with mellow and rich flavor. Most coffee enthusiasts prefer to drink it as single-origin, and it's also an indispensable variety for blended coffee.

The Mandheling coffee beans introduced by FrontStreet Coffee are all made using the wet-hulling processing method.

FrontStreet Coffee's Brewing Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee recommends using freshly roasted coffee beans for brewing to fully experience the rich coffee flavors. Coffee beans shipped by FrontStreet Coffee are roasted within 5 days because FrontStreet Coffee understands that bean freshness greatly affects flavor. FrontStreet Coffee's roasting philosophy is "Freshly Roasted Good Coffee," ensuring every customer receives the freshest coffee when their order arrives. Coffee's resting period is about 4-7 days, so when customers receive their coffee, it's at peak flavor.

For darker roasted coffee beans that highlight body, FrontStreet Coffee chooses the Kono dripper for brewing. The Kono dripper's characteristic is its immersion function, allowing for extraction of more coffee substances to enhance body. Because its ribs are few and located at the bottom, it allows the filter paper to fit tightly against the dripper to restrict airflow, thereby slowing water flow and increasing water-coffee contact time.

Dripper: Kono dripper
Water temperature: 88°C
Dose: 15g
Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15
Grind size: Medium grind (70% passing through Chinese standard #20 sieve)
Brewing method: Three-stage extraction. Bloom with 30g water for 30 seconds, then pour in small circles to 125g for segmentation, continue pouring to 225g when water level is about to expose the coffee bed, stop pouring and wait for all coffee to finish dripping. Remove dripper. Time starts from the beginning of pouring: V60 dripper extraction time is 2'00", Kono dripper extraction time is slightly longer at 2'10".

Washed Blue Mountain: Rich dark chocolate and nutty flavors, creamy smooth mouthfeel, balanced sweet, sour and bitter;

Gold Mandheling: Nuts, spices, herbs, licorice, chocolate, caramel, clean and soft flavors;

Lintong Mandheling: Herbs, chocolate, caramel, overall balanced.

Regarding which coffee tastes better, FrontStreet Coffee believes that all coffee tastes good - different processing methods create different flavors. Tasting different flavored coffees allows you to experience local coffee culture and better understand regional coffee flavors. So, if possible, FrontStreet Coffee suggests everyone try different flavored coffees - you might fall in love with them! FrontStreet Coffee has over 50 single-origin coffees with numerous flavors. Friends are welcome to come taste and discuss coffee!

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style)
For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee's private WeChat: qjcoffeex

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473