What is Mandheling Honey Process Coffee Beans_West Java Honey Process ≠ Mandheling Honey Process Coffee Price

Indonesia West Java Honey Processed Coffee Beans

West Java is a first-level administrative region of Indonesia, lying in the western part of Java. It borders the Java Sea to the north and the Indian Ocean to the south, includes nearshore islands, and covers an area of 46,300 square kilometers. Java has a tropical rainforest climate, hot and humid all year round. The coastal plains in the north are hottest, while the mountains are much cooler; the high humidity often makes the climate enervating.

From November to March the northwest monsoon brings more rain and cloud; from April to October the southeast monsoon brings more sunny days and less rain. Jakarta's average annual rainfall is about 1,760 millimeters (69 inches), with average daily highs of 30°C (86°F) and lows of 23°C (74°F). In the highland area of Tosari, at 1,735 meters (5,692 feet), the average temperature ranges from 22°C to 8°C (72°F to 47°F). Because volcanic ash periodically fertilizes the land, Java's soil is very fertile.

Aromanis is a traditional Indonesian sweet made from flour and sugar. Here the name is used for a coffee to suggest that the beans have a cotton-candy-like texture. The beans actually come from Ciwidey Garut in West Java. No special variety is used; it is the natural drying process that produces this distinctive flavor. Even so, the flavor is not widely recognized within West Java itself.

The cherries are picked from the branches, separated from the fruit, rinsed and dried straight away. The beans are "diserok," or stirred and turned, every hour to ensure even drying, including at midnight. "This is especially important at night because of the high humidity," said Arief of the coffee operation on August 5, 2014, translated from the Indonesian original.

Processing takes 25 to 26 days, which is why Aromanis beans cost a little more than ordinary beans. The Coffee Farmers' Cooperative sells raw Aromanis at 130,000 to 150,000 Rupiah per kilogram, while Transformasi Coffee offers a retail price of 80,000 Rupiah per 200-gram package.

Honey Processed Coffee Beans

Honey processing, called Honey Process or Miel Process, is known as Honey Coffee. Plantations in Costa Rica, Panama and Guatemala have adopted it. Honey processing means drying the raw bean in the sun with the mucilage left intact. After the outer pulp is removed, a sticky, gelatinous layer remains on the bean; traditional washed processing would rinse it away with clean water, but in some high-altitude areas where water is scarce, growers developed this direct-drying alternative.

Honey processing keeps some of the cleanliness of washed coffee. The brightness drops somewhat, but sweetness and caramel notes increase. Depending on how much mucilage is left on the bean, honey coffee is divided into yellow honey, red honey and black honey. The advantage of the method is that it preserves the natural sweetness of the ripe fruit best, giving the coffee an elegant brown-sugar and nutty sweetness, while berry notes support a red-wine-like aroma, making it a very elegant product.

West Java Honey Processing

Indonesia's West Java Aromanis natural beans score as high as 92 points in cupping. The processing method is very special, and this was their first entry into China. The bird is Indonesia's national bird, so special bags are used for packaging. The bean's English name, Aromanis, is Indonesian for sweet mango.

• Region: Mount Tangkuban Perahu, Indonesia
• Altitude: 1400-1600 meters
• Roast Level: Light
• Processing Method: Honey Process
• Flavor Description: Intense fruit aroma, with plum and jackfruit flavors, clean and sweet aftertaste.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

For drinkers who want to explore honey processing, FrontStreet's honey-processed Costa Rica black honey beans are a well-sourced choice. A 227-gram package costs only about 95 RMB, and at 15 grams per single-origin cup one package makes about 15 cups, roughly 6 RMB each, far less than the dozens of RMB charged in most cafes.

Those who prefer a heavier, low-acid cup should look to FrontStreet PWN Golden Mandheling. The PWN company applies very strict standards: it selects beans of 18 screen and above, requires fewer than three defective beans per 300-gram green sample to meet the top G1 grade, and then applies three rounds of hand sorting to remove remaining defects and raise the cup's cleanliness and sweetness. The result is a deep-roasted coffee with very low acidity, a thick and lingering body, abundant herbal and black chocolate aroma, and a faint earthy note.

For a wilder, more traditional Mandheling, FrontStreet Lintong Mandheling comes from the Lintong region around Lake Toba. It is medium-dark roasted to bring out black chocolate and caramel while keeping Mandheling's herbal character. It is best brewed by hand: use 87°C to 88°C water, 15 grams of grounds and a 1:15 ratio with a coarse-sugar grind, then pour in three stages - 30 ml to bloom, 100 ml for the second pour and a gentle 95 ml center pour to finish - which draws out the full body and the caramel, chocolate and nut sweetness.