What Coffee Beans to Use for Pour-Over Coffee: Recommended Pour-Over Coffee Beans - Indonesia Sumatra Aceh Gayo

Professional Coffee Knowledge Exchange

Indonesia is best known for its wet-hulled Mandheling, but the archipelago also produces honey-processed lots that taste very different from the classic Sumatran profile. This article from FrontStreet Coffee looks at a yellow honey micro-batch from the Gayo highlands of Aceh.

Pour-Over Coffee Beans and Recommendations

Product Details

Product: FrontStreet Coffee - Indonesia - Sumatra Aceh Gayo Region - Yellow Honey - Custom-Ordered Micro-Batch

(Indonesia Sumatra Gayo Yellow Honey) (Medium Roast #3)

Flavor Profile

Tropical fruit notes, spices, rye, melon, rich creamy texture, brown sugar aftertaste, black tea, round mouthfeel, lingering finish, rich and full-bodied flavor

Origin Information

Country: Indonesia

Region: Gayo area, Aceh Province

Variety: Arabica coffee varieties

Production: Grown and harvested by local small coffee farmers, then delivered to green bean processing facilities

Altitude: Average 1,500 meters

Soil: Highly fertile black volcanic soil

Processing Method: Yellow Honey processing

Grade: N/A

Harvest Period: April-June, November-January of the following year

Brewing Parameters

Recommended filter: KONO, grind setting: Fuji 3.5, water temperature: 86-88°C, powder-to-water ratio: 1:15, 15g powder to brew 225g water, total brewing time: 2 minutes

Introduction

Indonesian coffee quality is quite diverse, and most of it is marketed by island of origin, such as Sumatra, Sulawesi, Java, or Timur.

The strength of Indonesian coffee is that most of its characteristics are rich and restrained, with a lively but moderate acidity.

FrontStreet Coffee's Indonesian Mandheling coffee has earned good reviews from domestic consumers and is one of the most widely accepted coffee products we carry.

Coffee from Sumatra is complex and elusive. The best Sumatran coffee comes from two places: the northern part of the island, in Aceh Province near Lake Tawar, and the more southerly Lintong region, around the mountains beside Lake Toba.

Because of the many small tenant producers, their unique semi-washed processing method, and the iron-deficient soil, beans from this region take on a special blue color at the fresh green bean stage.

The commonly seen FrontStreet Coffee Mandheling is processed using the semi-wet, semi-dry pulped washing method. Farmers use machines to remove the skin and pulp of the red cherries while the beans still hold plenty of mucilage. The beans are then stored in fermentation tanks for about a day (24 hours) of stirred fermentation. When fermentation is complete, the remaining mucilage washes off easily with water. After sun-drying to about 30% to 35% moisture content, the parchment is removed and the beans are ready for market. Removing the husk in this semi-wet, semi-dry state reveals a unique deep blue color in the bean itself. This method lowers acidity and raises body, creating the characteristic Indonesian style.

This batch of FrontStreet Coffee's Indonesian Sumatra Aceh Gayo Region Yellow Honey coffee was custom-ordered and processed. It is grown mainly in the fertile highlands of Aceh Province by different small coffee farmers, and the harvested cherries are sent together to nearby green bean processing facilities. This micro-batch was processed to special customer requirements after the order was placed. In the Indonesian coffee world, this is a very unusual green bean processing method, completely different from the traditional semi-wet, semi-dry approach. Hearing about it is not the same as tasting it - special and rare.

Whether for personal enjoyment or as a gift, it is very suitable. We recommend coffee enthusiasts interested in Indonesian coffee give it a try.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If this honey-processed Aceh lot leaves you curious about Indonesian coffee, FrontStreet Coffee's PWN Golden Mandheling is the benchmark of the category. It comes from PWN, a company that buys only high-quality Mandheling green beans and puts them through a strict defect-screening system: beans are selected at 18 screen and above, with fewer than 3 defective beans per 300g green bean sample, meeting the top G1 standard, and the lots get three rounds of hand sorting on top of that.

For brewing, FrontStreet Coffee suggests treating the PWN Golden Mandheling to a three-stage pour-over. Use 87-88°C water, 15g of coffee, and a 1:15 ratio, with a grind about the size of coarse sugar. Start with a 30ml bloom, then pour 100ml in the second stage, and finish with a gentle 95ml center pour. The three stages bring out the thick body and caramel sweetness, along with chocolate and nut notes.