Sumatra Coffee Tasting Methods: Mandheling Coffee Characteristics, Flavors and Taste Sharing

Introduction to Sumatran Coffee Characteristics and Tasting

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

Mandheling coffee is produced around Lake Toba in northern Sumatra, Indonesia, and is therefore also known as "Sumatran coffee."

In the 17th century, the Dutch introduced Arabica coffee seedlings to Ceylon (today's Sri Lanka) and Indonesia. In 1877, a large-scale disaster struck the Indonesian islands. Coffee leaf rust disease destroyed nearly all coffee trees, forcing people to abandon the Arabica coffee trees they had cultivated for many years and introduce Robusta coffee trees from Africa with stronger disease resistance. However, a small amount of Arabica remains in Mandheling, Sumatra - this is the Mandheling coffee we can taste today. These trees are planted on mountain slopes at elevations of 750-1,500 meters. The mysterious and unique Sumatra has endowed Mandheling coffee with rich aroma, full body, and strong flavor.

Step 1: Smell the Dry Aroma

Bring freshly ground coffee powder close to your nose, and you will experience the dry aroma from different coffee origins. This is the first information conveyed to you. If smelling can identify coffee, then your sensitive sense of smell will help you enjoy the atmosphere of major coffee estates.

Step 2: Taste the Flavor

Tasting the unique flavors of coffees from different origins is not an easy task. Coffee liquid undergoes sensory discrimination in the mouth. After a period of trial and practice, you can taste their respective flavors. Beans from different regions have their own characteristics - you can taste various flavors such as floral and fruity notes, nutty flavors, tea aromas, ginger notes, pine aromas, and many other peculiar tastes. Besides taste, this also requires our imagination.

Step 3: Perceive the Aftertaste

Tasting coffee is like tasting red wine - it requires aftertaste. When you drink coffee, don't swallow it easily. Instead, let it swirl in your throat, and you will feel a flavor returning from your throat. Some aftertastes are clear and persistent, while others are vague and brief, but all provide a wonderful sensation.

Step 4: Understand Acidity

Many friends, like me, don't particularly like the acidity in coffee and care more about the mellow or even slightly bitter coffee, believing this provides enough kick. However, if you want to become a true coffee connoisseur, you must first understand the acidity in coffee.

Acidity is a quite typical and expected part of coffee. It's a direct taste sensation that occurs on the lower sides of your tongue and on your palate. Acidity provides a sharp, bright, and lively quality characteristic. Without the expression of acidity, coffee will tend to be monotonous and flavorless.

Step 5: Perceive the Body

Body refers to the tactile sensation of coffee - how it feels in your mouth, ranging from light as water or skim milk to thick as milk or cream, syrup. People need to use the middle-rear part of their tongue to feel its "weight."

Knowledge Bonus: There is a faint earthy aroma, which some describe as the fragrance of herbal plants. Premium aged coffee beans are stored in cellars for three years before export and undergo special processing, also known as Aged Mandheling.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473