PWN Golden Mandheling vs. Indonesian Sumatra Mandheling Coffee Beans: Differences in Pour-Over Flavor and Taste

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As one of the world's major coffee-producing countries, Indonesia's coffee boasts a rich, unique charm that is irreplaceable elsewhere. Among Indonesia's most famous coffees, Mandheling stands out, yet many people struggle to distinguish between the various types of Indonesian Mandheling. Today, FrontStreet Coffee will introduce you to the world of Mandheling coffee!

The Origin of Mandheling

Mandheling originally refers to the name of an indigenous tribe in Indonesia. As for when "Mandheling" became synonymous with coffee beans, it relates to a legendary story. According to legend, after Japanese soldiers returned from Indonesia following colonial rule, they couldn't forget the local delicious coffee. Through trading connections, they asked locals to help collect high-quality coffee beans. The Japanese loved this coffee bean, but due to a pronunciation error, the local term "Mandaining" was spoken as "Mandheling" by the Japanese. Thus, Mandheling accidentally became the name of this coffee bean.

Mandheling coffee is also known as "Sumatra Coffee." Most coffee produced in North Sumatra is Gayo, primarily of the Ateng variety. Coffee from Lake Tawar in the northern region can be called Aceh coffee or Tawar Lake coffee, while coffee from the Lintong and Lake Toba areas in South Sumatra can be called Mandheling coffee. Mandheling is produced in the mountainous areas surrounding Lake Toba. This lake is located north of Medan, the capital of Sumatra Island, and is a high-altitude freshwater lake with an average elevation of about 900 meters. The commonly referred Mandheling consists of Typica or its variety variants grown in the mountainous areas around Lake Toba.

Lintong Mandheling

Lintong Mandheling is produced in the Lintong mountainous area of north-central Sumatra, near Lake Toba. Lintong Mandheling represents the standard version of Mandheling. It also uses the traditional wet-hulling method, which creates its characteristic low acidity and high body. However, the wet-hulling process can result in semi-hard, semi-soft moist beans being pressed and injured when the mucilage and parchment layer are removed. The beans crack open like goat hooves, commonly known as "goat hoof beans." These are not defective beans but rather a distinctive characteristic of Mandheling.

Tiger Mandheling

In Aceh, coffee ranks as the second-largest export economic crop. Local estimates suggest about 60,000 small-scale coffee farmers, each owning approximately 1-2 hectares of coffee cultivation land. Indonesia's traditional coffee trade method involves a multi-layered supply chain, starting from farmers, passing through multiple intermediaries, before gradually accumulating into large export shipments. Within Indonesia's coffee trading system, direct trade from farmers to a single window for export arrangement is quite rare.

Tiger Mandheling requirements specify that the coffee must exhibit traditional Chinese medicinal herb aromas, and only Mandheling with 17 screen size or above and a defect rate below 4% can be called "Tiger."

Aged Mandheling

Aged Mandheling is created by extending the storage time of green beans to achieve natural aging (typically 2-3 years). These changes include reduced acidity, color changes, and thicker bean texture. The storage environment must be cool and well-ventilated. Due to the dim storage environment and extended time, aged coffee often carries complex flavors similar to musty notes, commonly described as burlap bags or leather. The special processing of Aged Mandheling gives it a more mellow and deep flavor, intoxicating like Pu-erh tea.

Golden Mandheling

Since discovering Mandheling, the Japanese have maintained great interest in this coffee bean. During cooperation with local green bean suppliers, they established strict screening standards. After processing, the green beans undergo density and color sorting, followed by multiple manual bean selections, finally presenting Mandheling with uniform color and consistent bean shape. It is said that when processing the green beans, Mandheling emits a golden luster under sunlight, hence the name Golden Mandheling.

Golden Mandheling specifications require 18 screen size or above, with fewer than 3 defective beans (in a 300g green bean sample), belonging to the highest G1 grade. The color tends to be dark green, with flat, uniform bean shapes. After strict screening, Golden Mandheling not only eliminates the typical earthy impurity flavors of regular Mandheling but also tastes cleaner and brighter, with more intense sweetness and aroma.

However, it wasn't a Japanese company that registered Golden Mandheling as a trademark, but rather the local Indonesian company PWN (Pwani Coffee Company), which had early cooperation with Japanese companies to export Mandheling coffee beans. The Japanese company registered "Gold Top Mandheling," which is known as Ding Shang Golden Mandheling. In terms of flavor performance, there is actually little difference between the two, but due to different brands and marketing strategies, public opinion may have changed. Therefore, which Golden Mandheling is superior is a matter of personal opinion.

Severely affected by the pandemic, in 2020 compared to previous years, shipping resources from Indonesia to China were quite tight. The new season PWN Golden Mandheling, originally scheduled to arrive in October, was delayed by a full month.

The difference between Golden Mandheling and regular Mandheling is that Golden Mandheling has a more intense aftertaste and sugarcane aroma. Although everyone knows that only PWN's Mandheling can be called Golden Mandheling, in reality, PWN's annual production is not large. Therefore, a significant portion of large-particle selected Golden Mandheling does not come from PWN. If you're not sure, you can ask the seller to provide PWN green bean burlap bags or certificates attached to the beans to determine if it's the PWN Golden Mandheling we're referring to.

FrontStreet Coffee Indonesia PWN Golden Mandheling

Region: Gayo Mountains, Aceh, Sumatra
Altitude: 1100-1600 meters
Variety: Ateng
Grade: G1, 3-time manual selection
Processing: Wet-hulling method

Processing Method

Most Mandheling uses Sumatra's unique coffee bean processing method - the wet-hulling method. Due to the region's frequent rainy weather and constant typhoons, it's difficult to achieve the good weather required for sun-drying. Additionally, the local economy isn't prosperous enough to use the more expensive washed method. This led to the development of the distinctly local wet-hulling method. Although Indonesia's coffee industry has developed beyond its former poverty, there are now many estates and companies with conditions to use the washed method. However, FrontStreet Coffee believes that the wet-hulling method is a key factor that brought Mandheling coffee to the world stage. When mentioning Mandheling coffee, people think of the wet-hulling method, so they share a complementary relationship.

The wet-hulling method can be divided into the following two stages:

First stage: Using a wooden depulper to remove the skin and pulp, followed by 3 hours of fermentation, then drying to reduce moisture content to semi-dry, semi-wet 30-50%.

Second stage: Removing the mucilage and parchment layer, continuing with the final drying process, which takes 2-4 days, reducing moisture content to 12-13%.

FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Analysis

FrontStreet Coffee's roasters use medium-dark roasting to bring out the rich, sweet, and clean flavors of Golden Mandheling.

Heat the roaster to 200°C, start roasting with the damper at 3. After 1 minute, reduce heat to 160°C, keeping the damper unchanged. At 5'40'', when the temperature reaches 148°C, the bean surface turns yellow, grassy aroma completely disappears, and dehydration is complete. Adjust heat to 140°C and damper to 4.

At 9'40'', ugly wrinkles and black spots appear on the bean surface, and the toasted bread aroma clearly transitions to coffee aroma, which can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this point, listen carefully for the sound of first crack. At 9'54'', first crack begins. Reduce heat to 60°C, open damper fully (be very careful when adjusting heat - don't reduce it so much that cracking stops), and finish at 204.5°C.

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Suggestions

This brewing highlights the rich, clean, and aromatic characteristics of Golden Mandheling. Use a KONO dripper for brewing (this dripper was invented to imitate flannel filtering for producing thick coffee). For medium-dark roasted coffee, choose medium-coarse grinding. Use a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio with 15 grams of coffee grounds and water temperature of 88°C. Friendly reminder: Reducing the coffee-to-water ratio will result in a more intense coffee flavor.

Brewing process: Slowly pour the coffee grounds, keeping them as level as possible during pouring. Avoid shaking the dripper (as shaking will reduce the spacing between coffee grounds, which is not conducive to bloom degassing). For the first stage, pour 40g of water in small circles in the center for a 30-second bloom. The coffee layer will slowly expand into a "hamburger" shape.

For the second stage, pour 120g of water in circles from the center outward. Keep the pouring height as close to the coffee layer as possible, moving slowly to avoid excessive stirring. For the final stage, pour 100g of water, and wait until all coffee liquid flows into the lower pot to complete extraction. Total extraction time: 2 minutes.

Mandheling Coffee Flavor Characteristics:

Lintong Mandheling: Herbal, chocolate, caramel, overall well-balanced
Tiger Mandheling: Nuts, cream, dark chocolate, caramel, traditional Chinese medicinal herbs, obvious sweetness, relatively clean and clear flavors
Aged Mandheling: Ripe Pu-erh tea, caramel, herbal, chocolate, lower acidity
Golden Mandheling: Nuts, spices, herbal plants, licorice, chocolate, caramel, clean and mellow flavors

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