How to Brew Mandheling Coffee to Highlight Its Flavor - Golden Mandheling Coffee Brewing Methods

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"Ah! Why can others brew Mandheling coffee that's always rich and sweet with aftertaste, while my Mandheling coffee only has bitterness?" Many friends experience uncomfortable bitterness when first trying to brew Mandheling coffee, sometimes even a throat-catching sensation. This might be caused by grinding too fine or using too high water temperature.

FrontStreet Coffee often mentions that to brew coffee beans well, first the beans must be freshly roasted and freshly ground. Then you need to understand the roast level and regional flavor characteristics of the coffee beans themselves, before determining the appropriate water-to-coffee ratio, water temperature, and grind size suitable for these coffee beans. Coffee beans from different regions have different roasting approaches and use different parameters for extraction.

Why Does Coffee Brewing Emphasize Bean Freshness?

Although roasted coffee beans are in a dry state and can be stored for long periods, the shelf life of their flavor is actually very short! The optimal tasting period for a bag of freshly roasted coffee beans is about 30 days after the roast date.

Under normal circumstances, coffee beans produce large amounts of carbon dioxide during the roasting process, which has the effect of locking in coffee flavor. After roasting is complete, carbon dioxide also decreases over time, and flavor is carried away by the carbon dioxide, so the older the coffee, the less flavor it will have. After coffee is ground, the cut surface of coffee particles increases, accelerating the dissipation of flavor.

Mandheling Coffee Bean Flavor Characteristics

Mandheling coffee beans specifically refer to Arabica coffee beans grown on Sumatra island, with varieties mostly being Timtim and Ateng.

Timtim, the Timor variety, is an Arabica variety with Robusta heritage. Meanwhile, PWN Golden Mandheling coffee beans use the Ateng variety, which is the Catimor variety - a hybrid of Caturra and Timor.

The characteristic of both varieties is their higher disease and pest resistance. In warm, humid places like Indonesia, not only plants but also pests and pathogens love such environments, so coffee plants themselves need better disease and pest resistance than plants grown in other high-altitude regions. Because they carry Robusta genes, Mandheling coffee flavors often appear relatively muted, with herbal and spicy aromas, rich dark cocoa-like intensity, and low acidity.

Mandheling Coffee Bean Roasting Characteristics

To allow Mandheling coffee to express such rich, solid flavors, FrontStreet Coffee currently sells "Lintong Mandheling Coffee Beans" and "PWN Golden Mandheling Coffee Beans" roasted to medium-dark level, removed from the roaster just before the second crack.

The characteristic of good medium-dark roasting is rich, mellow flavor without unpleasant bitterness or throat discomfort after drinking. FrontStreet Coffee believes that good Mandheling coffee beans should be strong but not bitter, smooth with sweet aftertaste.

Additionally, the darker the roast level, the more carbon dioxide is produced inside the coffee beans. After roasting, the rich carbon dioxide inside the coffee beans continues to be expelled, while the oils from the coffee beans themselves also surface along with the extraction of carbon dioxide. Therefore, 3-4 days after roasting, darker roasted coffee beans will show an oily surface - this is a normal phenomenon.

How to Brew Mandheling Coffee Beans for Better Taste?

In terms of coffee grind size, Mandheling coffee should be ground slightly coarser than light roast coffee beans because Mandheling uses dark roasting, which makes its structure more porous and more likely to absorb water and release coffee substances. If ground to the fineness of light roast beans, it's easy to extract burnt bitterness; if ground even coarser, the coffee will become thin and tasteless, with a watery texture. The coarseness level should have a 70% pass-through rate on a #20 sieve.

For water temperature, FrontStreet Coffee recommends using 87-88°C water for brewing. Many cases of burnt bitterness come from water temperature being too high. Of course, too low water temperature will also make the coffee flat and tasteless.

For brewing quantity, use the standard 15g for one serving. It's recommended to let the coffee beans rest for 4-7 days (counting the roast date as day one), and brew at a 1:15 ratio (i.e., 15g coffee with 225g water) for the main pour. This will produce coffee with better flavor.

The brewing method uses the common three-stage pouring technique. Dividing the pour into three stages can better express the rich texture of Mandheling coffee and the sweetness of caramel.

The specific water distribution is: first stage bloom pour of 30ml, which completely wets the coffee grounds and allows degassing for 30 seconds to better extract flavor substances in subsequent stages. Second stage pour of 100ml, which mainly brings out all the golden foam of Mandheling. Final stage gentle center pour of 95ml. Move the filter cone away after all water has passed through the layers, with total extraction time controlled around 2 minutes and 10 seconds.

FrontStreet Coffee - Lintong region Mandheling coffee flavor profile: Rich herbal aroma upon entry, dark chocolate, caramel, sweet aftertaste.

FrontStreet Coffee - PWN Golden Mandheling coffee flavor profile: The overall coffee has varied layers, rich and clean. Intense nut and caramel aromas with chocolate notes, persistent finish, high balance.

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473