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Like aged coffee beans, aged fine wines, and aged teas, aged coffee beans must undergo proper processing to be truly called "aged coffee beans." FrontStreet Coffee often sees people confusing this concept, thinking that coffee beans stored long enough become aged coffee beans. This is not the case. The storage conditions for aged coffee beans are very demanding, requiring long-term storage in an environment with appropriate temperature and humidity for 3-5 years, with regular inspections and bag changes.

There is a fundamental difference between truly aged coffee beans and old beans that have been stored for too long without careful attention. FrontStreet Coffee has encountered customers who bought a bag of coffee beans, felt they didn't taste as good as before, and concluded they were old beans. Firstly, specialty coffee has many variables. Secondly, coffee is not an industrial product but an agricultural one, with certain variations at different times. The value of specialty coffee beans lies in their ability to clearly and specifically express regional flavor characteristics.

How Did Aged Coffee Beans Come About?

Aged beans are an accidental result of coffee history. During the Dutch colonial period, Sumatra was one of the world's major coffee-producing regions, and the coffee produced had to supply the huge demand of European consumer countries. Indonesia continuously exported coffee beans to Europe. To ensure continuous supply, coffee beans were properly stored. However, due to external factors such as long transportation distances, the journey time became too long, and the beans were eroded by sea winds. When the coffee beans reached Europe, they developed a unique special flavor that European coffee connoisseurs eagerly sought.

The aged coffee beans we see today are made from carefully selected high-quality green coffee beans that have been stored for more than 3-5 years. They are kept in well-ventilated warehouses or special temperature and humidity-controlled storage facilities. The bags must be regularly turned and inspected to ensure consistent drying of the coffee beans. As time passes, the acidity of the coffee gradually diminishes, leaving a solid aftertaste and sweet flavor profile. The flavor becomes as charming as Pu-erh tea.

How Are Coffee Beans Aged?

Today, the most representative aged coffee from Indonesia is undoubtedly aged Mandheling. FrontStreet Coffee also offers this Frontsteet Indonesian Aged Mandheling coffee. Through comparisons between Mandheling coffee beans from different regions, and continuous adjustments to roasting curves, cupping, brewing parameters, and other aspects, FrontStreet Coffee has gained a thorough understanding of how to best highlight the unique characteristics of this Frontsteet Aged Mandheling.

In recent years, aging processing has become quite mature. Coffee beans first undergo the wet-hulling method (wet-hulling involves sun-drying the beans with parchment for 2-3 days to reach 20-24% moisture content during the regular washed process, then hulling the parchment to dry the green beans to 12-13% moisture content), after which they are sealed in warehouses. The warehouse environment must be cool and well-ventilated, and the beans must be regularly turned to prevent mold and spoilage. After 2-3 years of storage, the acidity of the coffee beans gradually weakens and converts to sugar content, and the color becomes deeper, mostly yellowish-brown or dark brown, making them quite distinctive.

Properly stored coffee beans will change their flavor and appearance. For example, acidity diminishes, color becomes darker and lacks moisture, the texture becomes thicker and richer, sweetness carries honey-like fragrance, and certain defects originally present in the green beans become less noticeable. Because of the dimmer storage environment and longer time, aged coffee always has complex flavors similar to mold or the commonly known burlap or leather notes.

Not all coffee beans are suitable for storage as aged beans. Typically, green beans selected for storage must have a robust constitution. Therefore, coffee beans from Indonesia's three important and renowned regions—Sumatra Mandheling, Sulawesi, and Java—produced in tropical rainforest areas, have solid, high-density beans that are the best choice for making aged coffee. The internationally acclaimed Hawaiian Kona also has a small amount of aged beans, but not many people know about them mainly because they don't represent a mainstream flavor.

Differences Between Aged Coffee Beans and Monsoon Coffee Beans

Aged coffee is different from Indian monsoon coffee. Monsoon coffee is exposed to monsoon winds for a short period of 3-4 months, causing the moisture content in green beans to rapidly decrease to achieve aging purposes. Monsoon coffee beans are young and robust; aged coffee beans are the result of long-term slow natural aging of green beans. Aged coffee beans are also different from coffee that has simply grown old. Green coffee beans retain their flavor for about 12 months in natural environments, with flavor weakening toward the end. Coffee beans older than 12 months taste old and flat when roasted, lacking layers and complexity, thus losing their tasting value.

FrontStreet Coffee's Roasting Level for Aged Mandheling

From roasting records, we can see that FrontStreet Coffee uses a medium-dark roast for this Frontsteet Aged Mandheling coffee bean. This roast level can highlight the herbal and spice flavor characteristics of Mandheling coffee beans while better expressing the mellow coffee flavor of aged coffee beans and the thick coffee texture, giving tasters a calm and solid feeling.

How Does FrontStreet Coffee Brew Frontsteet Aged Mandheling?

Recommended dripper: KONO

The ribs of the KONO dripper stop at less than half the height of the dripper. This design actually ensures that after wetting, the filter paper closely adheres to the dripper wall, restricting airflow. This increases the water absorption time of the coffee powder particles, resulting in more evenly extracted coffee overall and enhancing the mellow texture. Additionally, the concave skeleton at the bottom of the KONO dripper is a key design that allows subsequent brewing to produce a siphon effect.

Recommended water temperature: 87-88°C

Grind size: 70-75% pass-through rate on a #20 standard sieve

Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15

FrontStreet Coffee's brewing method: Use 30g of water for a 30-second bloom. When the water reaches 125g with a small stream pour, create a segmentation. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 225g and stop. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed again, remove the dripper. (Timing starts from the bloom) Extraction time is 2'00".

Brewing flavor: The aroma of wood, malt, and caramel comes rushing forth. In terms of texture, it's less wild than traditional Mandheling, with more mellowness and delicacy, giving a mature and composed feeling. The acidity is relatively low, with flavors of ripe Pu-erh tea, caramel, herbs, and chocolate in the mouth, with abundant sweetness.

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473