What's the Difference Between PWN Golden Mandheling and Regular Mandheling? How are G1 Washed Specialty Coffee Beans Graded?

In the market, Mandheling truly has many names: Lintong Mandheling, PWN Gold Mandheling, Dingshang Mandheling, Tiger Mandheling, Mamian Mandheling, Emerald Mandheling... the list is seemingly endless, almost overwhelming to the point where one doesn't know where to start. But did you know? According to FrontStreet Coffee's understanding, Mandheling is actually not a region name, place name, or port name, nor is it a coffee variety. Its name is a phonetic error of the Indonesian Mandailing ethnic group. Regarding the origin of "Mandheling," many friends should already know something about it from the internet. To avoid newcomers being unclear, FrontStreet Coffee will retell this story for everyone here.

During World War II, a Japanese soldier accidentally drank a cup of rich and mellow coffee at a local café. The soldier was greatly impressed and asked the shop owner for the name of the coffee. However, due to the language barrier, the owner mistakenly thought the soldier was asking about his origin and answered "Mandailing," the Mandailing ethnic group. After the war, the Japanese soldier commissioned this Indonesian broker to transport 15 tons of "Mandheling coffee" to Japan, which unexpectedly became extremely popular. Because of this, it can be said that this broker made Mandheling, and Mandheling also made him become the founder of the now-famous P.W.N. Coffee Company (N.V. Pawani Medan company, abbreviated as PWN).

In reality, Mandheling coffee more often refers to high-quality Arabica beans produced on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. Sumatra Island is located in the western part of Indonesia and has eight provinces. The high-quality coffee growing areas are all in the northern part of the island, namely the northernmost Aceh province and the adjacent North Sumatra province (Sumatera Utara). Each of these two provinces has a relatively large lake: Aceh has Lake Tawar, and North Sumatra has Lake Toba. The important coffee growing areas in these provinces are also centered around these two lakes.

Sumatra has a very complex system for distinguishing the Mandheling coffee it produces. The previously mentioned Lintong Mandheling, Tiger Mandheling, Gold Mandheling, Aged Mandheling... are precisely Mandheling coffees named and distinguished according to different regions, green bean suppliers, and processing methods. On FrontStreet Coffee's bean list, we daily maintain a regular "Lintong Mandheling" and a premium "PWN Gold Mandheling" for everyone to choose from.

FrontStreet Coffee: PWN Gold Mandheling Coffee Beans

Region: Sumatra, Indonesia

Grade: G1, Triple Hand-sorted

Altitude: 1100m-1600m

Variety: Ateng

Processing Method: Wet-hulled

Flavor: Spices, dark chocolate, nuts, caramel, cedar

PWN Company mainly focuses on acquiring high-quality batches of Mandheling green beans from local sources, producing only specialty-grade Mandheling. "Gold Mandheling" is their signature product. After the Japanese took a liking to Sumatran coffee, they purchased it long-term and gradually discovered that the quality of local beans was often inconsistent. Therefore, they became more attentive to Mandheling production and began to establish strict standards and methods for screening defects, including starting with values such as bean density, size, shape, and color. The produced Mandheling needs to undergo multiple manual hand-sorting to remove defects, ensuring that the produced Mandheling beans are complete, uniform, large, and translucent, while also reducing the earthy and grassy flavors of Mandheling. Legend has it that it shines golden under the sun, which is why it was named "Gold Mandheling."

PWN purchases Mandheling green beans of 18 mesh or above, G1 grade with fewer than 3 defective beans in a 300g sample, which is the highest grade of Indonesian green beans. Subsequently, it will strictly follow the standard for 1 machine selection + 3 manual selections of defective beans, ensuring the color, shape, and size of the Mandheling coffee beans are uniform. Therefore, compared to other regular Mandheling coffees, PWN Gold Mandheling tastes cleaner and more translucent, with more noticeable body and sweetness.

As the market for specialty Mandheling coffee grew larger, PWN Company also realized the importance of trademarks. They registered the English "Gold Mandheling" as an exclusive trademark one step earlier than the Japanese. Therefore, only Gold Mandheling produced by PWN Company can be considered genuine "Gold Mandheling," while those produced by the Japanese had to be renamed "Dingshang Mandheling." The Gold Mandheling that FrontStreet Coffee acquired is, of course, the genuine product from PWN Company. Everyone can identify authentic Gold Mandheling by the green bean burlap bags with the PWN logo and a certificate of origin signed by PWN Company. FrontStreet Coffee displays both of these identifiers in its Dongshankou store.

Friends who often drink Mandheling should know about Sumatra's wet-hulling method. In wet-hulling, before the final drying stage, the beans are poured into a huller. Using greater friction, the semi-dry parchment layer tightly attached to the green beans is torn open. Through the stirring of friction, the green beans are easily crushed or squeezed. The "naked beans" without the parchment layer dry very quickly and are also directly exposed to the humid environment, where various microorganisms proliferate.

Although wet-hulling does create unique herbaceous, woody, and spicy aromas for Mandheling, it also results in a higher defect rate in the green beans. Dark roasting can perfectly mask this defect. In addition, Mandheling's fame mainly comes from the early exploration by the Japanese, who roasted according to their taste preferences, most favoring the Japanese-style dark roast. This is why most Mandheling coffee beans are roasted so dark.

For this reason, FrontStreet Coffee wants everyone to taste the classic Mandheling flavor, so the two types of Mandheling we daily sell are both medium-dark roasted, including the Lintong region Mandheling daily beans and the Aceh region's PWN Gold Mandheling coffee. However, to extract the best aroma from Mandheling coffee, certain techniques are still needed. Here, FrontStreet Coffee will use the store's most popular PWN Gold Mandheling coffee beans as an example to explain the extraction approach!

For coffees with rich body like Indonesian Mandheling coffee, Brazil Queen's Manor coffee, and Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee, FrontStreet Coffee's baristas will prioritize using the KONO dripper for brewing. Compared to V60, the KONO dripper has a smooth curved surface. This design is actually to ensure that after wetting the filter, it clings tightly to the dripper wall. At the same time, it only has ribs that are one-quarter the height of the dripper, restricting airflow from moving upward. Water can only pass through the bottom to the server below. This increases the water absorption time of the coffee powder particles, allowing the coffee powder layer and hot water to form an immersion extraction. The coffee taste becomes more rounded, rich, and concentrated.

Medium-dark roasted coffee beans greatly change the internal structure of the beans, making them loose. When ground into coffee powder, their water absorption is stronger. If the brewing parameters are not adjusted properly, the coffee will easily become over-extracted and bitter. To have enough aroma without over-extraction, it's necessary to reduce the extraction rate. FrontStreet Coffee will use lower water temperature and a coarse sugar grinding degree to reduce the release of bitter large molecules in the coffee.

Brewing Parameters

Dripper: KONO

Water Temperature: 87°C

Coffee Amount: 15g

Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15

Grind Size: Coarse sugar (70% pass-through rate on China standard #20 sieve)

Pouring Method: Three-stage pouring

First, inject 30g of water for a 30-second bloom. Start timing while pouring. Use a small water flow to pour from the center point and spiral outward, making sure to moisten the entire coffee bed.

After 30 seconds, start pouring the second stage of 95g water with a slightly larger water flow. The purpose is to raise the entire coffee bed. The water column needs to be poured vertically and evenly. At this time, the timer scale shows 125g, and pouring should be completed in about 55 seconds.

When the liquid level drops to halfway, start using a small water flow to pour the third stage of 100g in small circles. Try to control the water flow to not be too large, as it easily washes away the coffee bed and causes under-extraction. Finally, the total injection amount is 225g, and the drip completion time is about 2 minutes. After removing the dripper, shake the coffee liquid in the sharing pot evenly, and you can start tasting.

Hand-poured PWN Gold Mandheling Coffee: Rich dark chocolate aroma, with flavors of roasted hazelnuts, caramel, and sweet melon that are very harmonious. Distinctive spice notes in the mouth, with a rich, clean texture and a long-lasting aftertaste.

Professional Coffee Knowledge Exchange

For more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style)

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

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473