Origin of Sumatra Coffee Beans? FrontStreet Coffee's [Sumatra Coffee Beans] Pricing? How to Brew

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Sumatra Coffee Bean Origin and Pricing

Where are Sumatra coffee beans from? What is the price of Qianjie's Sumatra coffee beans? How to brew Sumatra coffee beans?

Qianjie Indonesia Sumatra Aceh Tiger Mandheling imported G1 fresh dark roasted premium single-origin coffee beans - ¥79 for 227g

Qianjie Indonesia PWN Golden Mandheling black coffee beans G1 washed imported single-origin premium fresh dark roasted - ¥89 for 227g

Qianjie Indonesia Aged Mandheling G1 washed imported single-origin premium fresh roasted - ¥89 for 227g

Indonesian Coffee Overview

Indonesia is a country composed of many large and small islands centered around the equator, ranking third globally in coffee production. Most of the coffee is of the Robusta variety, while Arabica is also grown on the islands of Java, Sulawesi, and Sumatra. In particular, Sumatra's Mandheling coffee can be said to represent Indonesian coffee, with GRADE 1 being the highest grade with the fewest defective beans.

Among them, Sumatra Mandheling coffee produced on Indonesia's Sumatra island is the most renowned. It has two famous varieties: Sumatra Mandheling DP Grade 1 and Classic Sumatra Mandheling. Sumatra Mandheling DP Grade 1 has a long aftertaste with a wild fragrance, which is the characteristic earthy flavor of primitive forests. Besides the mellow taste unique to Indonesian coffee, it also has a bitter-sweet flavor, sometimes mixed with a slight musty taste, deeply loved by those who enjoy dark roasted coffee; Classic Sumatra Mandheling coffee is called "Classic" because it is stored in cellars for three years before export. However, classic coffee is not stale coffee, but slightly pale coffee processed through special methods. This coffee is richer, with reduced acidity but increased body, longer aftertaste, and carries strong spice flavors, sometimes pungent, sometimes walnut-like, and sometimes chocolate-like. Before Blue Mountain coffee was discovered, Mandheling was once considered the finest among coffees.

Mandheling Coffee Processing Method

In other Mandheling producing areas, after removing the fruit skin, the mucilage is allowed to dry attached to the beans, similar to Brazil's semi-washed processing. Afterwards, machines are used to remove the dried mucilage and silver skin. Finally, it undergoes the same two-stage drying, first in the middleman's warehouse and then in the exporter's warehouse located at Medan port.

The reason for describing these processing processes in such detail is that it's unclear to what extent the soil, atmosphere, unusual processing techniques, and three-stage drying each influence the formation of Lindong and Mandheling coffee characteristics. Only one thing is certain. These processing methods occasionally produce excellent coffee but are also extremely inconsistent. Only through ruthless selection at the exporter's warehouse in Medan port can the deep texture and unique yet understated rich flavor of Lindong and Mandheling emerge from other miscellaneous flavors. Sumatra Mandheling is a premium coffee bean grown in mountainous areas at elevations of 750-1500 meters.

Historical Background

In the 17th century, the Dutch first introduced Arabica seedlings to Ceylon (today's Sri Lanka) and Indonesia. In 1877, a large-scale disaster struck the Indonesian islands, with coffee rust disease destroying almost all coffee trees. People had to abandon the Arabica they had cultivated for many years and introduced Robusta coffee trees from Africa, which have strong disease resistance. Today, Indonesia is a major coffee-producing country. Coffee production areas are mainly in Java, Sumatra, and Sulawesi, with Robusta varieties accounting for 90% of total production. Sumatra Mandheling is the rare Arabica variety. These trees are planted on mountain slopes between 750 and 1500 meters above sea level. The mysterious and unique Sumatra variety gives Mandheling coffee rich aroma, full-bodied texture, strong flavor, with slight chocolate and syrup notes. Mandheling coffee beans are relatively large with hard texture, prone to defects during cultivation. After harvest, they usually undergo strict manual selection. If quality control is not strict enough, it easily leads to inconsistent quality. Additionally, different roasting degrees directly affect the taste, making it a controversial single-origin coffee.

Indonesia introduced Arabica coffee cultivation as early as the 18th century during Dutch rule. The Mandheling produced was called 'the world's most important coffee.' It is the world's fourth-largest producer with an annual output of 7 million bags, of which Arabica only accounts for 10-15%. The main production areas are located on Sumatra, Java, and Sulawesi islands.

Regional Characteristics

Coffee from Sumatra island is all called Mandheling, but Mandheling is neither a coffee variety nor a production area; in fact, it's the name of a local ethnic group. Lindong is a small town located near Lake Toba, which is the world's largest volcanic lake with a vast hinterland. Therefore, the quality difference from north to east is very significant, and this particular coffee is the highest grade Mandheling from the Lindong production area.

This region has flat terrain with an altitude of approximately 1300-1600 meters, medium fertile soil rich in organic matter. Most coffee trees are grown under shade. Traditionally, shade trees maintain humidity and increase soil fertility. Most coffee women perform tasks including weeding and fertilizing by hand. When coffee cherries ripen to red, they are harvested manually and depulped by hand. The wet pods are placed in plastic bags for 10-12 hours of fermentation, then manually removed of pectin, floating matter, and shells with minimal use of machinery. This differs from Central and South American methods and is Indonesia's unique semi-washed method, called Giling Basah processing method (same as Wet Hulled Process).

Sellers often mark Lindong and Mandheling coffee as dry-processed. In fact, they often use various mixed methods to separate pulp from coffee seeds, with the more common being a backyard-style wet processing. Smart farmers put freshly picked coffee cherries into crude depulping machines assembled from scrap metal, wood, and bicycle parts. The depulped sticky wet beans are then placed in plastic woven bags to ferment overnight. The next morning, they manually wash away the fermented soft pulp and mucilage. Coffee beans wrapped in silver skin are pre-dried on thin boards in the front yard and then sent to middlemen's warehouses to remove the silver skin and further dry. Finally, coffee is transported by truck to Medan port (Sumatra's provincial capital), completing the third and final drying.

Flavor Profile

Coffee beans processed through Giling Basah have particularly low acidity and a thick body. Light-roasted Golden Mandheling, compared to dark-roasted Mandheling, especially after cooling, has a subtle lemon-like fruit acidity characteristic of high-quality Arabica. After swallowing, it transforms into a caramel sweetness that is distinctly felt on the upper palate and both sides of the tongue root.

Brewing Recommendations

Recommended Brewing Setup:

Filter Cup: KONO filter cup

Water Temperature: 88°C

Grind Size: Fuji Royal grind level 4

Brewing Method: Water-to-coffee ratio 1:14, 17g coffee grounds, first infusion with 25g water, bloom for 30 seconds, second infusion to 238g water, extraction time around 2:30 minutes

Analysis:

The KONO filter cup doesn't have many ribs at the bottom, allowing the filter paper to fit tightly against the filter cup, achieving the purpose of restricting airflow. This allows water and coffee grounds to have longer contact and steeping time in the filter cup, ensuring extraction time and rate for coarse grinding. This enables the coffee grounds to be fully extracted, enhancing the mellow texture and making the flavor more concentrated.

Flavor:

High balance, clean, thick and solid texture, long-lasting dark chocolate aftertaste.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473