Recommended Indonesian Coffee Beans: Best Mandheling Brands and Coffee Characteristics & Stories

Coffee is a globally beloved beverage, and as a player in the coffee industry, FrontStreet Coffee deeply understands this. Every day, FrontStreet Coffee serves people of various age groups - working young adults, recent university graduates, and retired elderly gentlemen. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee needs to recommend different coffee origins to suit the taste preferences of different age groups and demographics.

If one seeks acidity in Yirgacheffe, balanced sweet and sour in Costa Rica, then for rich, mellow bitterness, Indonesia's Mandheling coffee is unparalleled. Indonesian coffee belongs to the Asian coffee-producing countries, with herbal, dark chocolate, and cedar being typical Asian coffee flavors, deeply loved by those who enjoy rich tastes. The best planting areas throughout the Indonesian archipelago are Java Island, Sumatra, and Sulawesi. These three islands produce three representative Indonesian coffees: Mandheling coffee, produced in Sumatra, with moderate acidity and extremely heavy rich aroma; Indonesian Java coffee, produced on Java Island, belonging to the Arabica coffee species; and Indonesian Sulawesi Island coffee, with full-bodied beans and rich aroma.

Which Indonesian Coffee Brand is Best?

In the mid-17th century, coffee trees were introduced to Indonesia by the Dutch. In 1712, the first batch of coffee from Java was sold to Amsterdam. However, in 1877, all coffee trees in plantations were destroyed by coffee rust disease, and Robusta coffee trees had to be imported from Africa to replace the original species. Today, only 6-10% of coffee beans are Arabica. Indonesia is the world's main producer of Robusta coffee, producing 6.8 million bags annually, with most coffee coming from small plantations, accounting for about 90% of total production. To enjoy fine Indonesian Arabica coffee beans, naturally choose FrontStreet Coffee!

Indonesia Sumatra Producing Region

Indonesia is located in Southeast Asia, and its coffee history dates back to 1696, when Dutch coffee farm owners attempted to find broader coffee planting areas. After extensive exploration, they finally determined Java Island in Indonesia. After 30 years, Indonesia had established a sufficient foundation in the coffee market. However, today, Indonesia's coffee representative is Mandheling, which is actually not surprising, because most of the Java coffee originally exported to Europe came from the Sumatra region, and Mandheling comes from Sumatra. Therefore, Sumatra can be said to be an important coffee production area in Indonesia.

Mandheling Also Known as Sumatra Coffee

The hometown of quality Mandheling - Lake Toba area, located at the northern end of Sumatra Island, Indonesia. Lake Toba, located in central North Sumatra Province, where Dutch colonists moved "Java Mandheling" north to the Lake Toba area in 1888. Lintong in South Sumatra and the Lake Toba area can be called Mandheling, with the Lintong area being the true Mandheling producing region. Mandheling is produced from the mountainous areas surrounding Lake Toba. This lake is geographically located north of Medan, the capital of Sumatra Island, and belongs to high-altitude freshwater lakes. The average height is about 900m above sea level. The commonly mentioned Mandheling refers to Timor or Ateng varieties grown in the mountainous areas around Lake Toba.

FrontStreet Coffee - Indonesia PWN Golden Mandheling

Region: Aceh Gayo Mountain, Sumatra

Altitude: 1100-1600 meters

Variety: Ateng

Grade: G1, 3 times hand-selected

Processing Method: Wet-hulled

FrontStreet Coffee's flagship Mandheling coffee - PWN Golden Mandheling uses the Ateng variety. Ateng is the localized Indonesian name for Catimor. The Ateng variety is very suitable for cultivation and flavor development in the Aceh region. The original Catimor is a hybrid of Arabica and Robusta species, so if you ask about the relationship between Indonesian Golden Mandheling varieties and Robusta varieties, Ateng is roughly the "grandson" of Robusta. These Ateng plants are grown in the Gayo Mountain region, located in Aceh Province on the northern part of Sumatra Island. Coffee in the Gayo Mountain region is grown on hillside slopes around the town of Takegon and Lake Toba. The growing height in production areas averages between 1,110 and 1,600 meters. Coffee is grown by small tenant farmers under shade trees, using the wet-hulled processing method to express unique flavors and deep, lively rich taste characteristics.

Origin of Mandheling Coffee Name

The Mandheling of Indonesian coffee originally referred to a tribal name in Indonesia. After Japanese soldiers returned to Japan following the colonization of Indonesia, they couldn't forget the local delicious coffee. Through trade friends, they asked locals to help collect quality coffee beans, including this Mandheling. The Japanese loved this coffee bean very much. Since commercial sources couldn't be easily disclosed, locals casually said "Mandheling," and thus Mandheling accidentally became the name of this coffee bean. This local person was the owner of Indonesia's PWN company (Pwani Coffee Company). PWN company was the first to export Golden Mandheling coffee beans to Japan, and only Mandheling produced by this company is authentic Golden Mandheling. FrontStreet Coffee has used PWN Golden Mandheling for many years. PWN also changed from 60kg bags to 30kg bags, and the producing region also changed from Lintong to GAYO Mountain.

How to Distinguish Genuine PWN Golden Mandheling?

Severely affected by the pandemic, compared to previous years, Indonesia's shipping resources to China are quite tight this year. The new season Golden Mandheling, originally scheduled to arrive in October, was delayed by a full month. Compared to other Mandheling, Golden Mandheling has a stronger sweet aftertaste and sugarcane aroma. Although everyone knows that only PWN's Mandheling is called Golden Mandheling, in reality, PWN's annual production is not large, so a significant portion of large-particle selected Golden Mandheling is not from PWN. If you're not sure, you might ask the seller to provide PWN raw bean sacks or certificates attached with the beans to know if it's the PWN Golden Mandheling we're talking about.

Why is FrontStreet Coffee's PWN Golden Mandheling So Popular?

The specification for Golden Mandheling is above 18 mesh, with fewer than 3 defective beans (300g raw bean sample), belonging to the highest grade G1, with color偏向深绿色, and shape showing neat flat beans. After strict 4-time screening, Golden Mandheling not only eliminates the characteristic earthy impurity of ordinary Mandheling but also tastes cleaner and clearer, with stronger sweetness. FrontStreet Coffee's baristas have tried blind testing among 7 Indonesian Mandheling coffee beans, and all FrontStreet Coffee baristas could immediately identify it, showing how extraordinary it is.

Indonesia's Unique Raw Coffee Bean Processing Method - Wet-Hulled Method

Most Mandheling coffee adopts Sumatra's unique coffee bean processing method - wet-hulled method. Due to the local weather often being rainy with constant typhoons, it's impossible to achieve the good weather required for sun-drying, and the local economy is not good, making it equally impossible to use the more expensive washed method. This led to the development of the highly local characteristic wet-hulled method.

Nowadays, Indonesian coffee development is no longer the impoverished scene of the past. There are many estates and companies with certain conditions that can use the washed method, but why haven't they abandoned the wet-hulled method? FrontStreet Coffee believes the wet-hulled method is a factor that made Mandheling coffee known to the world. When Mandheling coffee is mentioned, the wet-hulled method comes to mind, so they already have a complementary relationship. The specific steps of the wet-hulled method can be divided into the following two stages: First stage, using a wooden peeler to remove the fruit skin and pulp, fermenting for 3 hours, then drying to reduce moisture content to semi-dry semi-wet 30-50%. Second stage, removing the mucilage and parchment layer, continuing the latter stage of drying, which takes 2-4 days, with moisture content reduced to 12-13%.

West Java Producing Region

Indonesia's West Java producing region is a first-level administrative region of Indonesia. Located in the western part of Java Island, facing the Java Sea to the north and the Indian Ocean to the south, including nearshore islands, with an area of 46,300 square kilometers. Java's climate type is tropical rainforest climate, hot and humid year-round. The plain areas along the northern coast have the highest temperatures, while mountainous areas are much cooler. High humidity often creates debilitating climate conditions. From November to March of the following year is the northwest monsoon period, with more rain and clouds; from April to October is the southeast monsoon period, with more sunny days and less rainfall. Jakarta's average annual rainfall is about 1,760 millimeters (69 inches). Jakarta's average daily maximum temperature is 30°C (86°F), minimum 23°C (74°F). In the highland Tosari (altitude 1,735 meters [5,692 feet]), the average temperature is 22-8°C (72-47°F). Because volcanic ash periodically fertilizes the land, Java's soil is very fertile.

FrontStreet Coffee: Indonesia West Java Imani Coffee Beans

Region: West Java Tengger Mountain

Altitude: 1400-1600m

Variety: S795/Jember

Processing Method: Natural Honey Process

The honey-processed West Java coffee beans that FrontStreet Coffee acquired have a very special variety. This bean uses S795, with blue-green colored beans. Its native tree species natural variation comes from S288, and the original S288 was an excellent hybrid variety cultivated in India in 1946. The predecessor of S288 came from the hybrid of S288 (first generation) and Typica, named S26. Because the first generation S288 beans were hybridized from Arabica and Liberica, they always carried Liberica's earthy smell. Indian botanists then hybridized the first generation S288 with the Kent variety (itself a hybrid of the first generation S288 and Typica) with the second generation S288 to create the current S795. Local coffee farmers call S795 Jembe because S795 was introduced to local varieties by the Jember Coffee Research Center in East Java and given to Java farmers for cultivation.

Coffee Bean Honey Processing Method

The honey processing method is Costa Rica's most skilled processing method. Indonesian coffee rarely uses this processing method, but West Java uses this method to increase coffee complexity and achieve breakthroughs in taste. Honey processing involves picking ripe coffee fruits, removing the skin to separate the coffee seeds, then spreading the coffee seeds with the coffee mucilage layer on drying racks for long-time drying.

During this period, continuous manual turning is required to ensure even fermentation of the coffee beans and avoid corruption from over-fermentation. This coffee mucilage has a slime-like state, similar to honey, hence named honey processing. Through cupping this honey-processed coffee bean, FrontStreet Coffee found that the main characteristics of this bean lie in its complex sweetness and fruit aroma. Compared with the flower aroma-renowned African Yirgacheffe, more obvious fruit flavors are its main characteristic. Its flavor profile leans toward heavier tropical fruits like mango and jackfruit, complex and steady, while the unique honey processing method brings subtle red wine charm.

Indonesia Sulawesi Island Producing Region

The old name of Sulawesi Island is Celebes. Sulawesi Island is one of the oldest islands in the archipelago, with exposed rocks exceeding millions of years. Yellow-red laterized soils are found in coffee production areas. Under these soil surfaces are often several layers of clay rich in iron. The most famous producing region is Toraja, located in the high mountains of South Sulawesi. Coffee beans produced in Toraja are also world-rare specialty beans, with an annual output of about 1,000 metric tons, distributed in the rugged slopes about 1200m above sea level in the central and southwestern parts of Sulawesi Island. Planting and harvesting are not easy, with an average annual output of only 300 kilograms per hectare. Semi-washed processing method is the common processing method for general Sulawesi Island.

Coffee Bean Semi-Washed Processing Method

Because they are planted in high-altitude areas with inconvenient transportation and excessive water resources, local coffee farmers will soak coffee berries in water basins, then put them in plastic bags for fermentation, and then dry them with parchment. After drying (moisture content between 11-13%), they are transported from mountain production areas to Kalosi downhill, then sold to intermediaries or processing plants for subsequent processing refinement, so Kalosi area has become an important coffee distribution center. This is also why some people call Toraja coffee Kalosi coffee. Coffee beans processed this way not only retain their flower aroma characteristics but fermentation brings the coffee beans gentle acidity with some grape ripening charm, clean yet solid taste, with surging caramel sweetness in the latter stage that lingers in the mouth.

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee on private WeChat, WeChat ID: kaixinguoguo0925

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Tel:020 38364473