[Indonesian Lake Toba Mandheling] The Flavor and Mouthfeel of Sumatra Coffee Beans? How to Pour Over Sumatra Mandheling Coffee?

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[Indonesia Lake Toba Mandheling] Flavor and Profile of Sumatra Island Coffee Beans? How to Brew Sumatra Mandheling Coffee by Hand?

Sumatra Island extends northwest-southeast, crossing the equator in the middle, and consists of two regions: the western Barisan Mountains and the eastern swamps. Southeast of Sumatra lies Java Island across the Sunda Strait, to the north lies the Malay Peninsula across the Malacca Strait, to the east lies Borneo across the Karimata Strait, and to the west borders the Indian Ocean. Indonesian coffee quality is quite diverse, with most named after their island of origin: such as Sumatra, Sulawesi, Java, or Timur.

Sumatra Island is Indonesia's second-largest island and the world's sixth-largest, with an area of 470,000 square kilometers, thirteen times the size of Taiwan. It is divided into eight provinces, but only two provinces grow coffee extensively—Aceh Province and North Sumatra Province. The most representative coffee-growing areas in these two provinces are the Gayo Mountains surrounding Lake Tawar in Aceh Province, where coffee is grown by the local indigenous Gayo people, featuring a distinctive culture where women primarily handle cultivation and harvesting. Meanwhile, North Sumatra Province's coffee is grown around Lake Toba. This lake is extremely large and is the world's largest volcanic lake, with the famous growing region being the Lintong production area south of Lake Toba.

Lake Toba (Indonesian: Danau Toba, English: Lake Toba) is a volcanic lake located in northern Sumatra Island, Indonesia. This diamond-shaped lake is 100 kilometers long, 30 kilometers wide, with an area of 1,130 square kilometers, and is an alpine lake at an average elevation of about 900 meters; it is also the world's largest volcanic lake. The Barisan Mountains are a continuation of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau's Cenozoic mountain range, running through Sumatra Island. Coal and gold deposits have been discovered in this area. Minerals erupted by volcanoes make the soil fertile. The mountain scenery is beautiful and captivating, such as the area surrounding Lake Toba. Lake Toba (Indonesian: Danau Toba, English: Lake Toba) is a volcanic lake located in northern Sumatra Island, Indonesia. This diamond-shaped lake is 100 kilometers long, 30 kilometers wide, with an area of 1,130 square kilometers, and is an alpine lake at an average elevation of about 900 meters; it is also the world's largest volcanic lake.

Mandheling Coffee Characteristics

Mandheling is produced in Indonesia and has relatively stable quality, making it the most representative coffee from Sumatra. The beans are quite large, yellow or brown in color, with relatively low production, hence the higher price. Before Blue Mountain became world-famous, Mandheling coffee was considered the world's finest coffee. Mandheling became famous due to the Golden Mandheling produced in the Lintong region. It has a special flavor, rich texture, aromatic, with no acidity, and its strong bitterness is its unique characteristic. Moreover, its body is particularly strong. It's generally consumed as a single-origin coffee, but when blending composite coffees, it's an indispensable variety, making it the main pillar of blended coffee for many years. For those who dislike acidic coffee, this is an excellent choice.

Mandheling grows in high-quality mountain coffee at elevations of 750-1500 meters, with first-grade Mandheling from Takengon and Sidikalang having the highest quality. Due to Mandheling's irreplaceable mellow flavor, Japan's largest coffee company UCC Ueshima Coffee Co. partnered with renowned Sumatra coffee merchant PT Gunung Lintong in 1995 to operate their first coffee plantation in Asia, demonstrating how important Mandheling's position is in the coffee world.

Volcanic Ash Soil

The mountainous area is originally quite foggy, and the abundant water vapor from Lake Toba makes the nearby mountains often shrouded in clouds and mist. This special environment allows this region, which doesn't have extremely high elevation, to produce high-quality Mandheling that compares favorably with other famous coffee-producing regions worldwide.

For centuries, the high-quality Mandheling praised by coffee connoisseurs and passed down by word of mouth is naturally the delicious Arabica variety. True Mandheling refers to Typica or its variant coffee beans grown in the mountainous areas surrounding Lake Toba. The Golden Mandheling and Gold Top Mandheling sought after by European and American enthusiasts are even superior to regular Mandheling. The secret to their higher quality lies in... 3-4 rounds of manual selection, achieving true flavor by eliminating the inferior and preserving the excellent.

Flavor Profile

Rich and solid mouthfeel, mellow and intense aroma, neither acidic nor astringent, expressing unique sweetness through its distinctive strong bitterness. Incredibly full-bodied, it's an indispensable variety when blending composite coffees.

Avoid These Three Traps to Enjoy Genuine High-Quality Mandheling:

1. Indonesia's largest coffee crop is still low-quality Robusta (mainly used for instant coffee, with poorer flavor; therefore not discussed in the specialty coffee category), with Arabica coffee beans accounting for only 10% of annual production. Poor or unprofessional coffee dealers will use Indonesian Robusta to fake Mandheling.

The "Mandheling" produced on Indonesia's "Sumatra" island is actually the name of a local ethnic group on Sumatra Island. Japanese trading companies were the first major customers to handle "Mandheling" coffee. Through Japan's meticulous production management processes, "Sumatra Mandheling" gained a new name—"Golden Mandheling." This coffee has a rich mouthfeel, wine-like body, with an initial honey fragrance that gives way to strong spicy and dark chocolate flavors. It has a quite rich and mellow flavor, with more obvious bitterness and carbonized notes, possessing unique charm.

FrontStreet Coffee's Brewing Recommendation:

Filter: KONO dripper

Water Temperature: 88°C

Grind Size: Fuji Mini Mill grind setting 4

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

Analysis: The KONO dripper doesn't have many ribs at the bottom, and the filter paper fits closely against the dripper, achieving the purpose of restricting airflow. This allows water and coffee grounds to have longer contact and steeping time in the dripper, ensuring extraction time and rate for coarse grinding. This allows the coffee grounds to be fully extracted, enhancing the rich mouthfeel and making the flavor more concentrated.

Flavor: High balance, clean, heavy and solid mouthfeel, with a persistent dark chocolate aftertaste.

Important Notice :

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