Characteristics and Flavor of Sumatran Golden Mandheling - Introduction to Golden Mandheling Coffee Beans

The Origin of Mandheling Coffee

Indonesia is a traditional coffee producing region. Since the 17th century, the Dutch have been cultivating coffee on Java Island, gradually expanding to Sumatra Island, forming Indonesia's important coffee producing regions. On FrontStreet Coffee's bean list, there are only several Mandheling coffee beans from Indonesia. Strictly speaking, only Arabica coffee beans produced from Sumatra Island can be called "Mandheling."

The origin of FrontStreet Coffee's Mandheling name is related to Japanese coffee seekers. Legend has it that a Japanese veteran tasted a very delicious coffee while in Indonesia. When he returned to Indonesia to find it again, under the guidance of a local guide, he found these coffee beans. When asked what these coffee beans were called, the locals mistakenly thought he was asking where they were from, so they replied: "Mandaining!" The Japanese veteran misheard it as "Mandheling," and so this bean became Mandheling coffee beans by a happy coincidence.

Mandheling is just a very general term. If you want to describe a specific coffee bean more precisely, there are names like Aged Mandheling, Tiger Mandheling, Ma Pian Mandheling, and so on. However, when it comes to the most famous one, we must talk about FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling coffee beans.

The Story Behind FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling

Speaking of "FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling," we must first start with PWN: Golden Mandheling is produced by Pwani Coffee Company, which acquires Mandheling locally in Indonesia. Almost the best producing areas in Indonesia have been acquired by this company, which is why the name FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling came about. Most beans from PWN company are also unique specialty coffees.

FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling is a higher grade of Mandheling, meaning it's processed with more meticulous methods. Therefore, in specialty coffee shops, the price of "FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling" is usually much higher than regular "Mandheling."

Production and Authenticity

FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling is considered one of the mellowest coffees in the world. The coffee beans are hand-picked and processed as raw beans using semi-washed methods. FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling 18-screen beans undergo four manual selections to remove defective beans. After processing, the coffee raw beans are complete and uniform in size.

Due to the strict selection system, the seasonal production of FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling is very limited. Only full, defect-free beans that have been carefully selected manually can be classified as Golden Mandheling. Additionally, only Golden Mandheling produced by PWN company can be considered the true "Golden Mandheling." As the saying goes, rarity makes things valuable, which explains why Golden Mandheling is expensive.

Because Golden Mandheling is priced higher than regular Mandheling, some merchants use ordinary Mandheling G1 to impersonate Golden Mandheling, passing off fakes as genuine. In response, FrontStreet Coffee suggests that if buyers want to purchase Golden Mandheling coffee beans, they can ask merchants whether there is certificate authentication, because genuine Golden Mandheling coffee beans come with an authentication certificate in the gunny sack. This can be used to judge authenticity.

Flavor Profile

The flavor characteristics of FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling coffee beans are sweeter and mellower than ordinary FrontStreet Coffee's Mandheling. The taste is rich with intense body, and though bitter, the layers are complex yet distinct. However, dark roasted FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling typically has relatively low acidity, with strong flavor, persistent aftertaste, and herbal and pine aromas.

Brewing Recommendations

Since FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling uses dark roasting, it contains large amounts of carbon dioxide immediately after roasting, which is not conducive to extraction. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee recommends resting the beans for about 7 days before brewing. The best flavor period for FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling is approximately 45 days. FrontStreet Coffee recommends that everyone purchase whole coffee beans and grind them fresh before brewing to maximize the coffee's flavor expression.

For brewing dark roast coffee beans like Golden Mandheling, FrontStreet Coffee recommends choosing a Kono dripper. This can enhance the full-bodied texture of the coffee. If you don't have one, a V60 dripper can also be used.

Use 15g for a standard single serving. It's recommended to rest the coffee beans for 4-7 days (counting the roast date as day one), which will result in better coffee flavor when brewed.

For coffee grind size, the grind for brewing FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling should be slightly coarser than for light roast coffee beans. Because FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling uses dark roasting, its structure will be looser and more likely to absorb water and release coffee substances. If ground to the fineness of light roast beans, it's easy to brew out 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 brew ratio, FrontStreet Coffee recommends using 1:15. Although some brewing methods suggest using 1:13 or even smaller coffee-to-water ratios for a richer taste, this approach of reducing the ratio is partly to avoid bitterness and off-flavors in the tail section, which correspondingly affects the aftertaste. FrontStreet Coffee believes that as long as you master the relationship between water temperature and grind size, using a 1:15 ratio can better express the overall flavor and sensory experience of Golden Mandheling.

The brewing method uses the common three-stage pouring method, divided into three stages to better express the rich body and caramel sweetness of FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling coffee. The specific water distribution is: first stage bloom with 30ml of water, completely wetting the coffee grounds for degassing to better extract coffee flavor substances in subsequent stages; second stage inject 100ml, mainly to bring out all the golden foam of Mandheling.

The final stage uses gentle center pouring with 95ml, which enhances the coffee's sweetness, expressing an overall rich body with caramel sweetness and chocolate, nut flavors.

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style)

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee's private WeChat account: qjcoffeex

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473