Introduction to PWN Gold Mandheling Coffee Bean Varieties and Grades - Origin Flavor Characteristics and Pour-Over Requirements for Indonesian Mandheling

When it comes to Asian coffee beans, nothing is more familiar than FrontStreet Coffee's Indonesian Mandheling coffee - the most representative Asian bean and once known as the world's mellowest coffee. For friends who don't like acidic coffee, this FrontStreet Coffee Mandheling is worth trying. Mandheling coffee has a rich texture, with most varieties exhibiting herbal plant and dark chocolate flavors. FrontStreet Coffee believes that those who love this FrontStreet Coffee Mandheling find it irresistible and order it every time. Those who dislike it, however, dismiss it contemptuously, calling it dishwater. Many newcomers to specialty coffee are often confused by the intense flavors of Mandheling coffee, mistakenly believing it to be Robusta coffee.

Sumatran Mandheling Coffee Beans

Sumatran Mandheling coffee is a famous Indonesian specialty coffee and one of the best-selling Indonesian coffee beans in FrontStreet Coffee's daily selection. Indonesia is located in Southeast Asia, and its coffee history dates back to 1696, when Dutch coffee plantation owners sought to find broader areas for coffee cultivation. After extensive exploration, they finally settled on Java Island in Indonesia. Over 30 years, Indonesia established a solid foundation in the coffee market. However, today's representative of Indonesian coffee is actually the Mandheling produced in Sumatra, which is not surprising since most of the Java coffee originally exported to Europe actually came from the Sumatra region, and Mandheling originates from Sumatra. Therefore, Sumatra can be considered an important coffee production area in Indonesia.

What is Golden Mandheling Coffee?

FrontStreet Coffee's Mandheling coffee is an Indonesian specialty coffee, while FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling is the cream of the crop among Indonesian specialty coffees. Is it more premium than regular Mandheling? FrontStreet Coffee explains: Golden Mandheling is not a grade but a registered trademark of the Indonesian company P.W.N. Pawani Medan (PWN), established in 1957. The company exports Indonesian products including coffee, rubber, cinnamon, cloves, and patchouli oil. It was the first company to export coffee from North Sumatra Island and the first to make "Mandheling coffee" famous in Japan.

Since 1977, the company has focused on exporting premium Sumatran Arabica Mandheling Grade 1 and Robusta AP-I Grade 2 coffee beans, primarily to Japan, Taiwan, and the United States, with exports to Japan and Taiwan accounting for over 95%. In Japan and Taiwan, "PWN" has become synonymous with "quality assurance." PWN holds the "Golden Mandheling" trademark, so Japanese companies had to register the separate "Gold Top Mandheling" trademark.

Since PWN Golden Mandheling is coffee among the finest, its price is naturally higher than regular Mandheling. Some merchants label their Mandheling coffee beans as "Golden Mandheling" to sell at higher prices without indicating whether they come from PWN. FrontStreet Coffee currently sells FrontStreet Coffee Golden Mandheling coffee beans that come from PWN's Golden Mandheling coffee beans. PWN Golden Mandheling coffee beans undergo at least three rounds of purely manual selection after harvesting and drying processing, ensuring the coffee beans reach a size of 18 or above with fewer than 3 defective beans (300g raw bean sample), belonging to the highest G1 grade. FrontStreet Coffee's PWN Golden Mandheling raw beans are deep green in color and have uniform flat shapes.

Golden Mandheling Coffee Varieties

FrontStreet Coffee's new season Golden Mandheling is produced in the Gayo Mountains of Aceh, North Sumatra. The variety is Ateng, which is a hybrid between Arabica and Robusta, widely cultivated in Sumatra and other Indonesian islands. Ateng is actually the local name for Catimor coffee. Catimor was created in 1959 when Portuguese moved the Brazilian Bourbon mutant Caturra to East Timor to hybridize with Timor, which has Robusta bloodlines. It possesses extremely high disease resistance and yields three times the production capacity of Typica. During the leaf rust crisis, the Indonesian government not only introduced Robusta (whose flavor differs greatly from Arabica) but also introduced Timor from East Timor to replace Typica. According to later expert investigations, a batch of Timor seeds introduced by the Indonesian government in 1980 was mixed with some Catimor seeds. These seeds were planted in Aceh, northern Sumatra, and Catimor was first noticed in the central Aceh region, so locals also call Catimor "Ateng," taken from Aceh Tengah (Central Aceh).

Aceh's Gayo Mountains are located at the northernmost tip of Sumatra Island. Coffee cultivation in the Gayo Mountains mainly centers around the town of Takegon and the hillside areas beside Lake Tawar. The altitude in production areas averages between 1100-1600 meters, and the coffee quality has always been excellent. However, due to previous political instability, coffee from this region was difficult to export. In recent years, with improved stability, coffee cultivation in Aceh has developed, and the quality is superior to that of the Lintong region.

FrontStreet Coffee's PWN Golden Mandheling has even stricter quality requirements, first ensuring the coffee beans reach size 19 with full, uniform particles. Then they undergo one machine selection and three manual hand-pickings to ensure the defect rate of raw beans. This undoubtedly demonstrates confidence in the coffee quality from the Aceh Gayo Mountains region.

Golden Mandheling Coffee Processing Method

FrontStreet Coffee Mandheling's unique flavor is fundamentally related to its processing method. Due to Indonesia's perennial hot and humid climate and water scarcity, Indonesian coffee farmers developed a method to better dry coffee beans while conserving water - the Wet Hulling method, also known as wet dehulling. This is the standard processing method for Mandheling coffee beans. The characteristics of wet hulling processing include staged, rapid drying and hulling of parchment during drying. Teacher Han Huaizong describes it as "a rare processing method worldwide that accidentally created Mandheling's special low-acidity, thick, and mellow aroma characteristics. FrontStreet Coffee's PWN Golden Mandheling coffee also uses the wet hulling processing method.

FrontStreet Coffee believes that FrontStreet Coffee PWN Golden Mandheling, as Indonesia's unique specialty coffee, with each carefully selected bean being full and plump, delivers rich aroma when consumed. The taste is more intense, rounded, and mellow compared to regular Mandheling, with a slightly sweet aftertaste! FrontStreet Coffee Golden Mandheling can be said to hold the undefeated myth title in direct coffee.

How to Brew FrontStreet Coffee Golden Mandheling Coffee Beans

Coffee beans have light and dark roasts, with different pour-over considerations. FrontStreet Coffee Golden Mandheling coffee beans belong to the dark roast category, so water temperature should not be too high, and a Kono dripper is recommended. The lower water temperature is to avoid extracting excessive undesirable flavors. When FrontStreet Coffee chooses dark roasting, many aromatic substances have already been released. If extraction continues with light roast water temperatures, over-extraction will occur. FrontStreet Coffee chooses the Kono dripper because V60 drippers have too fast flow rates, which can lead to under-extraction at low water temperatures. The Kono dripper has few ribs located at the bottom, and the filter paper fits tightly against the dripper, which can restrict airflow, increase contact time between water and coffee grounds, ensure full extraction, and enhance the rich texture.

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Parameters for PWN Golden Mandheling Coffee:

Water temperature: 88°C, Coffee amount: 15g, Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15, Grind size: Medium-fine (70% pass-through rate on #20 sieve).

Use staged extraction, blooming with 2 times the coffee amount in water (30g water for 30 seconds). The blooming process allows the coffee grounds to release internal carbon dioxide gas, ensuring more stable extraction in later stages. Pour with small circular motions until reaching 125g, then continue pouring to 225g and stop. Remove the dripper once all water has dripped through, timing from the start of pouring - extraction time is 2'00". Next, pick up the entire cup of coffee and shake it well before pouring into cups for tasting.

FrontStreet Coffee PWN Golden Mandheling Coffee Bean Flavor Profile:

The coffee overall has complex layers, rich and clean, with intense nut and caramel aromas, chocolate notes, persistent aftertaste, and high balance.

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Recommendations

For coffee brewing, FrontStreet Coffee recommends using freshly roasted coffee beans to maximize the rich flavors of the coffee. FrontStreet Coffee ships coffee beans roasted within 5 days because FrontStreet Coffee deeply understands that coffee bean freshness greatly affects flavor. FrontStreet Coffee's roasting philosophy is "Freshly Roasted Quality Coffee," ensuring every customer receives the freshest coffee when their order arrives. The coffee resting period is about 4-7 days, so when customers receive their coffee, it's at peak flavor.

Of course, some customers need FrontStreet Coffee to grind their beans, which is fine, but FrontStreet Coffee must remind you: when coffee beans are pre-ground, no resting period is needed because during transportation, the pressure from carbon dioxide inside the packaging also helps round out the coffee flavor, 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 recommends purchasing whole beans and grinding fresh before brewing to better experience the coffee's flavor.

This FrontStreet Coffee PWN Golden Mandheling has always been the most popular in FrontStreet Coffee stores! And FrontStreet Coffee Indonesian Lintong Mandheling in the daily selection series is also an economical and popular choice! Besides Indonesian coffee beans, there are dozens of single-origin beans from different regions in South America and Africa. Welcome to experience them!

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style)

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Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473