How to Brew Indonesian PWN Golden Mandheling Coffee Beans - Mandheling Pour-Over Brewing Guide with Water Ratio, Grind Size, and Temperature Parameters

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What is coffee? Coffee is one of the three most popular beverages globally, and coffee grown in different countries has unique flavors and textures. Indonesia is an Asian coffee-producing country. Many people don't know that Indonesia's coffee production ranks among the top in the world, and its coffee enjoys very high recognition, especially Golden Mandheling!

Indonesia is the world's largest archipelagic country. As early as the 18th century during Dutch rule, Arabica coffee trees were introduced for cultivation. The main production areas are located on Sumatra, Java, and Sulawesi islands.

The coffee produced on Indonesia's third-largest island, Sulawesi, amounts to about 70,000-80,000 bags annually, accounting for only 9% of Indonesia's total coffee production. Coffee grows in rainforests at altitudes of 750-1,500 meters. Most high-quality coffee is planted around the Tana Toraja highlands in the southwestern region. Tana Toraja is situated at an altitude of 1,500 meters on the equatorial belt, where afternoon rain clouds and mist linger year-round, combined with fertile volcanic soil—these are the best natural climate and environment for coffee growth. Most Indonesian coffee is handled by local coffee companies responsible for trading and export sales.

The Origin and Development of Mandheling Coffee

The origin of Mandheling coffee in Indonesia began during Dutch colonial rule when coffee cultivation started, gradually forming a unique special coffee flavor, with the most famous being Mandheling coffee from Sumatra. Mandheling was originally a tribal name. Due to a misunderstanding when Japanese people were promoting it, they mistakenly thought it was the coffee name and spread it under that name. Now, Mandheling has many categories such as Golden Mandheling, Tiger Mandheling, Aged Mandheling, etc. Today, we will focus on introducing the story of Golden Mandheling.

The "Battle" for Golden Mandheling

We all know that Japanese people particularly enjoy detailed research, especially in the category of food. Since Mandheling was promoted by the Japanese, they naturally had an advantage in seizing high-quality resources. Therefore, to improve the characteristic of Mandheling's relatively high defect rate, they established strict screening standards. After processing, the raw beans undergo density and color sorting, followed by four rounds of manual bean selection before presenting the uniformly colored and consistently sized Golden Mandheling. After strict screening, Golden Mandheling not only lacks the typical earthy impurities of ordinary Mandheling but tastes cleaner and more transparent, with even stronger sweetness.

Golden Mandheling has been registered as a trademark, but ironically, the registrant was not a Japanese company but an Indonesian company that took the first step—PWN Company (Pwani Coffee Company). Subsequently, the Japanese company was forced to change to "Gold Top Mandheling," which is Ding Shang Golden Mandheling. There are slight differences in bean appearance between the two. PWN Company's beans are mainly ancient Typica, with larger beans, while Ding Shang's are mainly variant Typica, with smaller beans. As for which one is superior in flavor, that's a matter of personal preference.

Special Processing Method

Due to the local weather often being rainy with continuous typhoons, making it impossible to achieve the good weather required for sun-drying, and because the local economy is not good, making it equally impossible to use the more expensive washed method, these various reasons led to the development of the locally distinctive Wet Hulling method (Wet Hulling involves sun-drying with parchment for 2-3 days during the regular washing process until the moisture content reaches 20-24%, then removing the parchment).

The extremely fast processing speed of the Wet Hulling method also results in a higher defect rate for Mandheling coffee. Golden Mandheling effectively avoids this drawback. Golden Mandheling's specifications are 19 screen or above, with fewer than 3 defective beans (300g raw bean sample), belonging to the highest grade G1 level. The color is dark green, and the shape is neat flat beans.

Example: FrontStreet Coffee Indonesia Golden Mandheling Coffee

Company: PWN
Region: Sumatra
Altitude: 1100-1600m
Variety: Typica

Processing Method: Wet Hulling

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Suggestions

Filter: Kono filter
Water Temperature: 86°C
Dose: 15 grams
Ratio: 1:15
Grind Size: Medium-fine grind (BG#6W)

*Reason for choosing Kono filter: The Kono filter has few ribs located at the bottom, and the filter paper fits tightly against the filter, which can restrict airflow and increase the contact time between water and coffee grounds, allowing the coffee grounds to be fully extracted and enhancing the rich mouthfeel.

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Technique

Segmented extraction
Use 30g of water for a 30-second bloom, then continue pouring in a small circular motion to 125g for 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 filter cup. (Timing starts from the bloom) Extraction time is 2'00".

Flavor Description

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

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473