What Flavors Does Medium Roast Mandheling Have? Golden Mandheling Roasting Profile Sharing

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FrontStreet Coffee's Indonesian Golden Mandheling Coffee Roasting Profile Introduction

Before roasting Golden Mandheling, we determine the roasting direction based on cultivation information. Golden Mandheling is grown at altitudes of 1100-1600 meters in the Lintong region of northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The climate is humid, and to accelerate drying, the wet-hulling method is used. Fully ripe fruits are hand-picked individually to ensure initial bean selection quality. They are placed in barrels for dry fermentation, allowing pectin sugars to fully ferment and enhance flavor. Fermentation typically lasts 12-36 hours, depending on specific conditions. Then, they are sun-dried for 1-2 days. When moisture content reaches 35-40%, the hull is removed using a hulling machine, followed by sun-drying until the moisture content reaches approximately 12-15%.

This results in green beans with relatively high moisture content, showing significant deviation from natural-process beans in moisture levels. Therefore, special attention must be paid during dehydration. For green beans with high moisture content, you can immediately close the air damper after adding the beans, let them sit for 30 seconds, then open it to 3. Continue until the beans turn light green or white, then open the damper to 4. After first crack, open it to 5 (maximum).

Simply put, the goal is to roast Golden Mandheling thoroughly "inside and out," using excellent roasting techniques to express this bean's flavor characteristics while ensuring proper development. Caramelization is the most significant factor affecting coffee flavor. After 6-7 minutes of roasting, the beans absorb significant heat energy, initiating thermal decomposition reactions. The first cracking sound occurs as some sugars convert to carbon dioxide, moisture continues to evaporate, new aromatic compounds gradually develop, forming so-called coffee oils that combine with hundreds of aromatic substances including nicotinic acid, citric acid, quinic acid, malic acid, acetic acid, and caffeine.

Thermal decomposition reactions can continue until the second crack. Although caramelization is an important process for awakening aromatic elements, as roasting time extends, some compounds become carbonized, forming undesirable astringent bitter substances. The challenge is achieving maximum caramelization while minimizing carbonization, avoiding the formation of flawed flavors such as charcoal and rubber.

Roasting Profile:

Set roaster to 200°C and add beans with damper at 3. After 1 minute, reduce heat to 160°C, keeping damper unchanged. At 5'40", when temperature reaches 148°C and beans turn yellow with grassy aromas completely disappeared, dehydration is complete. Reduce heat to 140°C and adjust damper to 4.

At 9'40", ugly wrinkles and black spots appear on bean surface, with toast aroma clearly transforming to coffee aroma - this can be defined as the prelude to first crack. Listen carefully for the sound of first crack onset. At 9'54", first crack begins. Reduce heat to 60°C, fully open damper (heat adjustment must be very careful - not so low that cracking stops). Remove from heat at 204.5°C.

Flavor Characteristics:

Golden Mandheling possesses fine herbaceous notes, with more intense caramel sweetness and relatively calm, elegant fruit acidity. It offers rich sweetness and thick, wild spice flavors. Generally, Lintong Mandheling is best roasted until after second crack to effectively reduce off-flavors, but Golden Mandheling removed before second crack already has excellent clarity and sweetness, allowing broader interpretation in roasting.

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