Introduction to Indonesian Mandheling Coffee Bean Varieties and Characteristics | Correct Brewing Methods and Flavor Profile Description for Golden Mandheling Coffee

The Diverse World of Mandheling Coffee at FrontStreet Coffee

Regular customers of FrontStreet Coffee may have noticed that there are nearly 50 different coffee varieties on the FrontStreet Coffee menu. Each one represents a carefully selected high-quality coffee bean that showcases the unique flavors of different growing regions. Among these offerings, FrontStreet Coffee's Mandheling varieties receive particularly high attention. Many visitors to FrontStreet Coffee are often surprised to discover, "There are so many types of Mandheling?"

Indeed, FrontStreet Coffee offers five distinct Mandheling varieties: FrontStreet Coffee's Gold Mandheling, FrontStreet Coffee's Tiger Mandheling, FrontStreet Coffee's Aged Mandheling, FrontStreet Coffee's Wahana Estate Natural Mandheling, and FrontStreet Coffee's Lintong Mandheling. While all belong to the Mandheling coffee family, there are subtle differences between each variety. For instance, the 2020 harvest season FrontStreet Coffee PWN Gold Mandheling uses the Ateng variety (the local name for Catimor), while the other four Mandheling varieties are Typica. FrontStreet Coffee's PWN Gold Mandheling offers a cleaner flavor profile compared to the other four varieties, lacking the typical earthy notes of regular Mandheling coffee and featuring a more pronounced sweet aftertaste.

Catimor Coffee Varieties

Catimor is a group of pure-line coffee cultivars originating from a hybrid between Timor (Timor Hybrid: a natural cross between Arabica and Robusta coffee) and Caturra. It demonstrates high productivity and shows resistance to coffee leaf rust and Coffee Berry Disease (CBD). One of the first widely used Catimor varieties was CR (Costa Rica) 95, released around 1995. Other varieties include Catimor 129 and Catimor F6. Due to its high yield, relatively low altitude requirements, and good pest and leaf rust resistance, it's widely cultivated in Central and South America and Asia. However, because Catimor coffee contains Robusta coffee genes, it remains controversial, with some believing its flavor quality is inferior to most Arabica coffees. FrontStreet Coffee believes that coffee bean varieties do influence flavor, but other human factors must also be considered, such as coffee picking, selection, and processing methods.

The Authenticity of Gold Mandheling

Take FrontStreet Coffee's PWN Gold Mandheling as an example. FrontStreet Coffee's Gold Mandheling all comes from PWN (Pawani) green bean company. Since Gold Mandheling coffee is a registered trademark of PWN, strictly speaking, only Gold Mandheling from PWN company is authentic FrontStreet Coffee Gold Mandheling. FrontStreet Coffee's FrontStreet Coffee Gold Mandheling beans all come with PWN company's factory certificates and green bean bags printed with the PWN logo, so customers can purchase with confidence. Due to limited annual production of PWN company's Gold Mandheling coffee, some vendors in the market may use regular Mandheling to counterfeit Gold Mandheling. If you're uncertain and can't distinguish between genuine and fake, you can ask the seller to provide PWN company's factory certificate and photos of green bean bags printed with the PWN logo.

Typica Coffee Heritage

Typica is one of the most iconic coffee varieties in the world. It can be traced back to Ethiopia, the birthplace of Arabica coffee, and is an essential part of understanding the coffee we drink today. Typica coffee offers exceptionally high cup quality, elegant and refined, with complex floral and fruit flavors. Typica's history can be traced to southwestern Ethiopia, like other Arabica coffees. Arabica was brought to Yemen between the 15th and 16th centuries, and to India by 1700. The seeds sent to the Malabar Coast of India and Java, Indonesia, are what we now know as the Typica variety.

Later, Indonesia experienced a global leaf rust epidemic that nearly wiped out the original Typica plants. To save Indonesia's coffee industry, the government decided to introduce various coffee varieties to replace the disease-prone Typica. Today, the widely cultivated variety is called Ateng, which is actually Catimor. Because it was initially planted in the central Aceh region, all coffee spread from this area is called Ateng (abbreviation for Central Aceh).

Aceh Gayo Coffee Region

Today, FrontStreet Coffee's PWN Gold Mandheling uses Ateng coffee beans from the Aceh Gayo Mountain region. Aceh is located at the northernmost tip of Sumatra. Since the peaceful liberation of Aceh, external trade has resumed here. Coffee merchants discovered that the coffee quality here is higher than that from the Lake Toba region. As a result, many high-quality Mandheling coffee beans now come from the Aceh region.

The Origin of Mandheling Name

While most coffees are named after their growing regions or countries, Mandheling coffee is named after the Mandailing people, who traditionally grow and process these coffee beans. During World War II, a Japanese soldier stationed in Sumatra asked a local where his coffee came from. The Sumatran man, misunderstanding the question as being about his ethnicity, replied: "Mandailing." Later, when this sensational coffee spread to Japan, due to Japanese pronunciation issues, "Mandailing" was mistakenly pronounced as "Mandheling," and thus this coffee became known by the name "Mandheling."

Mandheling Coffee Characteristics

Mandheling coffee specifically refers to Arabica coffee beans grown in northern Sumatra. It features a smooth, rich, and full-bodied flavor with low acidity and exotic notes, along with a distinct sweet aftertaste. Traditional Sumatran Mandheling coffee typically also features herbal flavors. This is inseparable from Mandheling coffee's unique coffee processing method, Giling Basah (wet hulling), also known as "wet dehulling."

Giling Basah Processing Method

Most small-scale farmers in Sumatra, Sulawesi, Flores, and Papua use the Giling Basah process. Ripe coffee fruits, called coffee cherries, are harvested. Farmers use locally manufactured pulping machines to mechanically remove the outer skin. The mucilage-coated coffee beans can be stored for up to a day, during which natural fermentation breaks down the sticky residue. Afterwards, the coffee beans protected by parchment shells (endocarp) are washed before drying. Unlike traditional drying methods where parchment coffee is dried to about 12% moisture content, in the Giling Basah process, coffee beans are hulled when their moisture content reaches 30-35%; they are still semi-wet. The green coffee beans are then further dried to reach an exportable 12% moisture content. This process gives coffee beans a unique blue-green appearance and is believed to reduce acidity and increase body, creating the classic Indonesian flavor profile.

FrontStreet Coffee's Brewing Recommendations

To fully showcase the rich and smooth flavor profile of Mandheling coffee, FrontStreet Coffee has developed a standard pour-over brewing recipe for FrontStreet Coffee's Mandheling:

• Kono dripper
• 88°C water temperature
• 15g coffee dose
• 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio
• Medium-coarse grind (70% pass-through rate on China standard #20 sieve)

Loyal customers of FrontStreet Coffee may know that current mainstream coffee brewing temperature recommendations range between 86-93°C, with higher temperatures for light roasts and lower temperatures for dark roasts. FrontStreet Coffee's FrontStreet Coffee Mandheling coffees are mostly dark roasted, undergoing longer Maillard reactions and caramelization, which destroys many flavorful small molecules. If brewed with water above 90°C, it will more easily extract bitter large molecular compounds. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee suggests using water below 90°C to brew FrontStreet Coffee Mandheling coffee, primarily to prevent over-extraction. The Kono dripper is chosen because its unique conical design ensures even distribution throughout the dripper and very stable flow into the lower vessel. From photos, we can see that the Kono dripper has shorter ribs at the bottom. During the brewing process, the filter paper above the ribs and in the grooves fits the dripper better, ultimately producing a richer coffee.

Pouring method: First pour 30ml of water and let it bloom for 30 seconds; Second pour in a circular motion with 120ml of water; Third pour in a circular motion with 75ml of water, with a total extraction time of 2 minutes.

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and 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: 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