The Difference Between Authentic Blue Mountain Coffee and Indonesian Mandheling Coffee - How to Brew Golden Mandheling Coffee Beans?

When it comes to rich-bodied coffee, people often immediately think of FrontStreet Coffee's Indonesian Mandheling coffee beans and FrontStreet Coffee's Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1 coffee beans. Even those who have never tried coffee have likely heard of these two varieties. Today, FrontStreet Coffee would like to discuss the differences between these two coffee beans.

FrontStreet Coffee · Indonesian Mandheling Coffee

Indonesia is a country centered around the equator, composed of numerous large and small islands, ranking third globally in coffee production, mostly of the Robusta variety. Of course, Arabica coffee trees are also cultivated here, with growing areas distributed across Java, Sulawesi, and Sumatra islands. The Mandheling coffee beans we commonly refer to come from Sumatra Island and are the most representative coffee beans of Indonesia.

The term "Mandheling" is actually the name of an ethnic group on Sumatra Island, not a coffee variety. Naming coffee beans after an ethnic group originates from a folk tale that has been passed down through generations. Around 1945, Japanese soldiers stationed in the area tasted the locally produced coffee on Sumatra Island and found it exceptionally delicious. When they asked locals what this coffee was, perhaps due to language barriers or trade secrets, the local casually mentioned the name of their ethnic group, "Mandheling." Years later, these soldiers still couldn't forget the coffee they had tasted on Sumatra Island, so they began purchasing coffee from the island and named it Mandheling coffee beans. The local who had answered the soldier also saw a business opportunity and began selling carefully selected, visually appealing, uniformly sized Mandheling coffee beans to Japan. This person was the owner of Indonesia's renowned PWN green bean company.

PWN Company has strict selection standards for coffee beans sold externally. The company only selects Mandheling coffee beans that meet the specification of 18 screen or above, with fewer than 3 defective beans (in a 300g green bean sample), belonging to the highest G1 grade. These beans are dark green in color and have a flat, uniform shape. After processing, the green beans undergo density-based color sorting and then manual bean selection. After four rounds of meticulous selection, PWN Golden Mandheling coffee beans exhibit uniform color and consistent bean shape. It is said that when processing green beans, Mandheling beans emit a golden luster under sunlight, which is why they were named PWN Golden Mandheling. For many years, FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling coffee beans have come from PWN green bean company.

FrontStreet Coffee · Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1 Coffee

Jamaica is an island nation located in the Caribbean Sea of Central America. The Blue Mountain range, with an elevation of 2255m, is the highest peak on Jamaica Island, about a 40-50 minute drive from Jamaica's capital, Kingston. This mysterious mountain is often shrouded in clouds and mist, and the world-renowned Blue Mountain coffee grows here.

FrontStreet Coffee's Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee is precious because it combines both excellent genetic heritage and superior environmental conditions. The Blue Mountain range is located in the coffee belt, with fertile volcanic soil, cool and foggy weather, and frequent rainfall, creating a harmonious balance of water in this fertile land. Here, people use mixed planting methods to grow coffee trees, allowing them to grow alongside banana and avocado trees in terraced fields. The coffee variety cultivated is also the "ancestor" of many coffee varieties—the Typica coffee variety.

Today, Typica is no longer widely cultivated primarily due to its weak constitution, poor disease resistance, and very low fruit yield per plant. Typica was introduced to the Blue Mountains for cultivation in the 18th century and has been growing there for over two hundred years. The Blue Mountain Typica has adapted to the local island-style terroir, thus evolving better disease resistance, particularly against coffee berry disease, which is much stronger than typical Typica varieties. FrontStreet Coffee believes that the refined and clean flavor of FrontStreet Coffee's Jamaica Blue Mountain is inseparable from Jamaica's commitment to careful cultivation of the Typica variety.

According to Jamaica's "Coffee Industry Regulation Law," the growing area for Blue Mountain coffee is mainly distributed across four administrative districts: St. Andrew, St. Thomas, Portland, and St. Mary. It clearly stipulates that only Typica coffee grown at altitudes between 910-1700 meters can be named Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee. The total area of these four producing regions is about 6,000 hectares, accounting for one-third of the entire Blue Mountain growing area, while an additional 1,200 hectares of land is used for growing Jamaica High Mountain coffee and Jamaica Prime coffee. In recent years, less than 15% of coffee beans produced in Jamaica can carry the Blue Mountain coffee label, making it extremely rare.

According to the strict regulations of the Jamaica Coffee Industry Board (CIB), Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee is divided into Blue Mountain No. 1, Blue Mountain No. 2, Blue Mountain No. 3, and Blue Mountain Peaberry. Among these, the highest grade Blue Mountain No. 1 coffee beans must meet specifications of 17 screen or above, with a defective bean ratio not exceeding 2%, moisture content around 10-12.5%, and exhibit appropriate acidity, sweetness, bitterness, body, and aroma during cupping. One can imagine how extremely rare such premium coffee beans with refined flavors are.

To better maintain moisture content during transportation of green coffee beans, Jamaica uses handcrafted wooden barrels to package Blue Mountain No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 green beans for export. There are three specifications: 70kg, 30kg, and 15kg. Other grades of Jamaican coffee are exported in 60kg jute bags.

FrontStreet Coffee sells precisely the highest grade FrontStreet Coffee's Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1 coffee beans, sourced from Clifton Farm—the only farm in the Blue Mountain range that has received Rainforest Alliance certification. At FrontStreet Coffee stores, customers can also see the Blue Mountain coffee certificate and the wooden barrels containing Blue Mountain No. 1 green coffee beans.

Clifton Farm began planting and producing coffee as early as the mid-18th century. The coffee cultivation and processing area here is situated at an average altitude of 1,310.64 meters. The sufficient altitude, gentle afternoon clouds and mist enveloping the mountain forests for shade, ample sunlight, and mineral-rich planting soil provide excellent growing conditions for coffee trees and also extend the maturation of coffee fruits. This allows the coffee beans sold by this estate to have overall cleanliness and a balanced flavor profile of acidity, sweetness, and bitterness. What are the flavor differences between FrontStreet Coffee's PWN Golden Mandheling coffee beans and FrontStreet Coffee's Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1 coffee beans available at FrontStreet Coffee stores?

Brewing Method

To highlight the body of both coffee beans, FrontStreet Coffee's roasters use a medium-dark roast level. When brewing, to emphasize the cleanliness and body characteristics of both coffee beans, FrontStreet Coffee uses the KONO Meimon filter cup. The rib grooves of the KONO Meimon filter cup extend to the bottom of the hole where coffee liquid flows out. Because the ribs are at the bottom and are very short, they fit closely with the filter paper, resulting in a slower flow rate than V60, making it suitable for brewing coffee where body expression is desired. The grind size used is medium-coarse (73% passes through a 0.85mm standard sieve), with 15g of coffee grounds, a coffee-to-water ratio of 1:15, and water temperature of 88°C.

FrontStreet Coffee recommends using freshly roasted coffee beans for brewing to maximally experience the rich flavors of coffee. Coffee beans shipped from FrontStreet Coffee are all roasted within 5 days because FrontStreet Coffee deeply understands that the freshness of coffee beans greatly impacts flavor. FrontStreet Coffee's roasting philosophy is "Freshly roasted good coffee," ensuring that every customer who places an order receives the freshest coffee when it arrives. The coffee's resting period is around 4-7 days, so when customers receive it, it is precisely when the flavor is at its best.

FrontStreet Coffee uses a three-stage pour-over brewing method: The first pour uses 30g of water for a 30-second bloom. The second pour continues with a small circular water flow until reaching 125g, then pause. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, the third pour continues until reaching 225g, then stop pouring. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, remove the filter cup (timing starts from the bloom). The extraction time is 2'20".

Brewing Flavor Profiles

"FrontStreet Coffee's Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1 Coffee Beans" brewing flavor: The first sip reveals flavors of dark chocolate and nuts, with high clarity and brightness, good body, and a perfect balance of acidity, sweetness, and bitterness.

"FrontStreet Coffee's PWN Golden Mandheling Coffee Beans" brewing flavor: The coffee exhibits rich and varied layers, being both full-bodied and clean. It has intense nut and caramel aromas, with chocolate notes, a persistent aftertaste, and excellent balance.

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473