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If you're looking for FrontStreet Coffee's most popular medium-dark roast coffee, it has to be the Mandheling coffee beans. With rich flavors and captivating aroma, it boasts a full body with exceptionally distinct sweet aftertaste, making it a truly exceptional coffee. Although FrontStreet Coffee has always used Mandheling as a single-origin coffee bean, many cafes have discovered its rich chocolate and nutty flavors are perfect for espresso blends. That's why you might find Mandheling used in blended coffees at other cafes in the market. Indeed, before Blue Mountain became world-famous, Mandheling coffee was once considered the finest premium coffee in the world. After roasting, the beans become quite large, with green beans appearing brown or dark green, emitting a special caramel-like fragrance, and delivering a mellow, rich flavor that is bitter yet sweet without acidity. Many coffee connoisseurs, after trying numerous floral and fruity coffee beans, eventually return to Mandheling coffee.

The Origin Story of Mandheling Coffee

With all that said, do you know the full story behind Mandheling coffee? Today, let's learn about Mandheling coffee together with FrontStreet Coffee! Mandheling coffee is produced in Sumatra, Indonesia, also known as "Sumatran coffee," with main growing regions including Java Island, Sulawesi Island, and northern Sumatra. Although most coffee beans in Indonesia are Robusta, it's Mandheling that has made Indonesian coffee shine on the world stage. Mandheling is neither a region name, place name, port name, nor a coffee variety name. So how did its name come about? Actually, it's a phonetic misinterpretation of the Mandheling ethnic group from Indonesia.

During World War II when Japan occupied Indonesia, a Japanese soldier tasted an exceptionally mellow coffee at a cafe. When he asked the owner for the coffee's name, the owner misunderstood and thought he was asking where he was from, so he replied: "Mandheling." After the war, the Japanese soldier recalled the "Mandheling" he had drunk in Indonesia. He then commissioned an Indonesian coffee merchant to ship 15 tons to Japan, which became surprisingly popular. The name Mandheling spread this way, and that coffee merchant is now the renowned PWN (Pwani) Coffee Company. FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling has always been purchased from PWN company, undergoing one machine selection and three manual hand-sortings, ensuring product quality and excellent flavor!

PWN Golden Mandheling

Country: Indonesia
Grade: G1 Triple Hand-sorted
Company: PWN
Region: North Sumatra, Aceh GAYO Mountain
Processing Method: Wet-hulled
Variety: Ateng
Altitude: 1100-1600m

At that time, Mandheling coffee was mainly exported to Japan, where the standards for coffee quality were extremely high, with very strict management. The coffee often underwent four manual bean selections to remove defective beans, producing Mandheling coffee with dark green color and uniform bean appearance. It was precisely because of the excellent quality of Mandheling green beans that it created huge market demand, making even European and American markets go wild for it.

According to FrontStreet Coffee's understanding, although the title "Golden Mandheling" was spread by the Japanese, PWN registered the "Golden Mandheling" trademark first. Therefore, strictly speaking, only Mandheling coffee produced by PWN company can be called Golden Mandheling. However, due to the situation of limited production and high demand for Golden Mandheling, the market began to see numerous counterfeit Golden Mandheling coffees. Although some have undergone strict screening with bean sizes no different from authentic Golden Mandheling, if you have a discerning palate, you can still easily taste huge differences in flavor. Japan's "Golden Mandheling" also has its own brand called "Dingshang Mandheling." As for the flavor characteristics of PWN's Golden Mandheling, everyone can purchase separately and judge for themselves.

How to Identify Authentic Golden Mandheling

As mentioned earlier, there are many counterfeit Golden Mandheling coffees in the market, so how can everyone distinguish genuine from fake Mandheling? It's actually quite simple. FrontStreet Coffee believes it mainly comes down to two things: PWN Golden Mandheling's factory certificate and coffee burlap bags printed with the PWN logo. When purchasing Golden Mandheling, you can ask the seller to show these two items in advance. If they can't produce them, everyone should be extra cautious.

Differences Between Golden Mandheling and Other Mandheling Varieties

So what's the difference between Golden Mandheling and other Mandheling coffees? FrontStreet Coffee believes the difference lies in the producing company and the bean selection process. Strictly speaking, regular Mandheling can achieve a taste similar to Golden Mandheling after careful screening and selection. However, most of the higher-quality Mandheling beans from Indonesia are acquired by PWN company. The well-known Mandheling coffee is produced around Lake Toba in northern Sumatra.

Traditional Arabica coffee produced in northern Sumatra is generally marketed under the names Lintong and Mandheling. Specifically, Lintong refers to coffee grown in a small area located in the southwestern part of Lake Toba in the Lintong administrative region. The planting areas are scattered across high, undulating clay plateaus rich in fern cover. Lintong coffee is non-shade grown, uses no chemicals, and is almost entirely owned by small private farmers. Mandheling is a broader term that includes Lintong coffee and other coffee growing areas under similar conditions, such as Diari (capital Sidikalang), northern Lake Toba, and others.

Different Mandheling Varieties at FrontStreet Coffee

Careful customers will notice that FrontStreet Coffee's bean menu includes Mandheling varieties other than Golden Mandheling: Aged Mandheling, Lintong Mandheling, and Tiger Mandheling. The main difference still lies in the growing regions. Speaking of which, let's look at Indonesia's map together!

Lintong Mandheling comes from the Lintong Nihuta area southwest of Lake Toba. This large lake is one of the deepest in the world, reaching depths of 505 meters. The coffee region is a plateau famous for its rich tree fern species. This area produces 15,000 to 18,000 tons of Arabica coffee annually. Tiger Mandheling comes from the GAYO mountain area in northern Aceh Province, Sumatra. Indonesia, straddling both sides of the equator, has a humid tropical rainforest climate with abundant rainfall, and fertile volcanic soil provides favorable conditions for coffee cultivation. Gayo is a region located on the slopes around Takengon town and Lake Tawar at the northern end of Sumatra in the Aceh area. The growing region's altitude averages between 1,110 to 1,600 meters. The coffee is almost entirely grown by small farmers under shade trees.

Aged Mandheling is quite special, referring to Mandheling coffee beans that have been stored for an extended period as green beans. Compared to other Mandheling varieties, its characteristic is honey-like sweetness. Successful aged coffee eliminates Mandheling's less elegant acidity. The acidic components mature and convert to sugars, making the coffee rounder and sweeter when brewed. However, it's worth noting that failed aged Mandheling can be like "coffee zombies" with flavors that are difficult to drink.

Brewing Parameters for Golden Mandheling

FrontStreet Coffee currently only has one Golden Mandheling variety for sale in our stores, while other Mandheling green beans are out of stock. Therefore, today I'd like to share the brewing parameters and techniques for Golden Mandheling:

Filter: KONO
Dose: 15 grams
Ratio: 1:15
Water Temperature: 86-87°C
Grind Size: Medium-coarse (70% retention rate on national standard #20 sieve)

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Method:
First segment: Pour 30g of water for bloom, wait 30 seconds. Second segment: Continue with small circular pours until reaching 125g, then pause. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, proceed with the third segment: continue pouring 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 bloom) Total extraction time: 2'00".

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473