Introduction to Flavor Characteristics of Indonesian Top Mandheling Coffee Beans and Golden Mandheling Coffee Beans

The Story Behind Mandheling Coffee Beans

When it comes to Mandheling coffee beans, everyone knows that the most famous Indonesian coffee beans are the Golden Mandheling produced by PWN company. However, this coffee bean was not initially a product of PWN, but rather a Japanese product. So why is it that when mentioning FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling, everyone's first reaction is Indonesia's PWN company rather than a Japanese company? Let FrontStreet Coffee explain this for you in detail.

The Origin of Mandheling and Golden Mandheling Coffee Bean Names

As the representative coffee of Sumatra island, Mandheling was originally a very small place name, which later evolved into a designation for an ethnic group—the Mandheling people. Today, it has become one of the most renowned single-origin coffees throughout Indonesia. Many people have heard the story about the origin of the Mandheling name, although it's just a "rumor" and to this day, no one knows exactly how the name Mandheling came to be applied to coffee. However, its immense popularity in Japan is indeed a fact.

The fame of Mandheling coffee originated from the successful introduction and sale of this coffee in Japan by Pawani Coffee Company (abbreviated as PWN). Pawani is a trading company specializing in export business, founded by a Chinese family from Quanzhou, Fujian province. Located in the important Sumatran port city of Medan, the company has been engaged in export business since 1957, including products like rubber, cassia seeds, cloves, patchouli oil, and of course, exporting Sumatran coffee beans to Japan. Unlike many local green bean merchants in Indonesia, Pawani Company is an exclusive supplier of high-grade Mandheling coffee beans, producing only premium quality Mandheling beans.

The high quality of FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling lies in PWN company's triple manual sorting of G1 grade Mandheling green coffee beans. G1 grade means that the bean size is strictly controlled to be above 18 mesh, with fewer than 3 defective beans per 300g green bean sample. Multiple rounds of sorting minimize the defect rate of FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling coffee beans, producing superior batches with clean sweetness and richer aroma.

At that time, after recognizing the quality of Sumatran coffee, the Japanese intended to purchase it long-term. However, they gradually discovered that the bean quality was often inconsistent. Therefore, they had to pay more attention to the production process of Mandheling, beginning to establish strict sorting standards and defect removal methods, including evaluating bean density, size, shape, color values, and other parameters. All green beans required both machine and manual processing to remove defects, ensuring that the produced Mandheling beans were whole, uniform, large, and translucent, while also reducing earthy and grassy flavors. The name at that time was "Golden Mandheling," which directly translates to "黄金曼特宁" in Chinese.

However, because "Golden Mandheling" was registered as a trademark by Pawani Company ahead of time, all Japanese companies importing this product had to remove the "Golden Mandheling" name and could not use it. This led Japanese importers to change the original "Golden Mandheling" to "Gold Top Mandheling," which was then translated as "鼎上黄金曼特宁."

How Does Indonesian Gold Top Mandheling Taste? What's the Difference from PWN Golden Mandheling?

According to FrontStreet Coffee's understanding, both Gold Top Mandheling and FrontStreet Coffee's PWN Golden Mandheling on our coffee list are produced in the Lintong region of northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The harvesting process is limited to manual picking of fully ripe single fruits, ensuring initial bean selection quality. The coffee cherries are processed using the wet-hulled method, followed by additional drying refinement processes, two rounds of green bean cleaning, and four rounds of manual sorting! Therefore, both of these coffee beans can be considered strictly selected premium Mandheling coffees.

However, "Golden Mandheling" was registered as a trademark by Indonesia's Pawani Coffee Company, making "Golden Mandheling" exclusive to PWN. From this, we can conclude that the flavor differences between these two coffee beans won't be significant—they're simply different brands. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will share information about the Frontsteet PWN Golden Mandheling that we've introduced in our store, along with its flavor characteristics.

FrontStreet Coffee's PWN Golden Mandheling Coffee Beans

Country: Indonesia
Region: Sumatra, Aceh, Mount Gayo
Altitude: 1100-1600m
Variety: Ateng
Processing Method: Wet-Hulled
Flavor: Toasted bread, nuts, pine, caramel, herbal

FrontStreet Coffee's PWN Golden Mandheling Production Region

According to information about the newly introduced Frontsteet PWN Golden Mandheling, PWN company selected a new production region in 2020—the Gayo Mountain region within the Aceh province of Sumatra, located at the northernmost tip of Sumatra island. Coffee cultivation in Gayo Mountain mainly revolves around the town of Takegon and the mountainous areas beside Lake Tawar. The altitude in production areas averages between 1100-1600 meters, and the coffee quality has always been excellent.

However, due to previous political instability, coffee from this region was difficult to export. In recent years, as the situation has stabilized, coffee cultivation in Aceh has also developed, with quality superior to that of the Lintong region. This move is undoubtedly an affirmation of the quality of Gayo Mountain coffee cherries. As Indonesia's top coffee brand, Frontsteet PWN Golden Mandheling naturally won't disappoint coffee enthusiasts.

FrontStreet Coffee's PWN Golden Mandheling Coffee Varieties

According to FrontStreet Coffee's understanding, Mandheling coffee varieties are typically pure Arabica coffee beans. However, Arabica coffee beans have weak pest resistance. Therefore, in October 2020, Indonesia's PWN company abandoned the original Typica variety of Golden Mandheling and instead adopted Ateng variety coffee beans for Golden Mandheling production. The "Ateng" mentioned here is actually the common Catimor variety in China.

Ateng (Catimor)

Catimor is a hybrid variety of Timor (a Robusta subspecies) and Caturra. It was initially developed in 1959 and began to be promoted in Brazil during the 1970s and 1980s. With its disease resistance and high yield, it secured a place among Central and South American coffee varieties. The occasional outbreaks of coffee leaf rust disease in Central and South America also promoted the application of Catimor variety coffee beans. Its characteristics include high yield, short plants that allow dense planting, and new leaves that are reddish-brown. However, due to fast maturation and high yield, it requires sufficient fertilizer supply and shade. According to FrontStreet Coffee's understanding, its lifespan is very short, averaging only ten years.

FrontStreet Coffee's PWN Golden Mandheling Processing Method

In addition, FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling coffee beans also use Indonesia's most distinctive green bean processing method—the wet-hulled processing method. It is precisely this processing method that creates the unique earthy, herbal, and spicy aroma of Indonesian Mandheling.

The origin of this processing method is due to the local climate's frequent rainy days and constant typhoons, which cannot provide the good weather required for sun-drying. Additionally, the local economy is not prosperous, making it impossible to use the more expensive washed method. For these various reasons, the locally distinctive wet-hulled method emerged. The wet-hulled method is a rapid processing method for green beans, involving removing the coffee cherry's skin and pulp, brief fermentation, drying, then removing the mucilage and parchment layer for continued drying until the moisture content reaches 12%. Mandheling coffee beans processed by wet-hulling show varying degrees of compression cracks. FrontStreet Coffee believes this phenomenon does not belong to defective beans but is rather an inherent characteristic of Mandheling.

FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling Brewing Recommendations

Dripper: Kono dripper
Water Temperature: 86°C
Coffee Amount: 15g
Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15
Grind Size: Medium-fine (EK43s grinder setting 11)

Reason for choosing Kono dripper: The Kono dripper has few ribs located at the bottom, and the filter paper fits closely against the dripper, which can restrict airflow and increase the contact time between water and coffee grounds. This allows the coffee grounds to be fully extracted, enhancing the rich mouthfeel. Therefore, this dripper is not only suitable for brewing FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling but can also be used for brewing medium-dark roasted coffee beans like FrontStreet Coffee's Brazil Queen Estate and FrontStreet Coffee's Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1.

Brewing Method: Segmented Extraction

Use 30g of water for a 30-second bloom, then continue pouring in small circular motions to 125g for segmentation. When the water level drops to just above the coffee bed, continue pouring to 225g and stop. When the water level drops to just above the coffee bed again, remove the dripper (timing from the start of blooming). Extraction time: 2'00".

FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling Flavor Description

Multi-layered, rich and clean, with high balance, strong nutty and chocolate flavors, rich spice and caramel aroma, with fruity notes, and a persistent finish.

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee's private WeChat: kaixinguoguo0925

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473