What Are the Characteristics of Sumatra Golden Mandheling and How to Properly Enjoy It

FrontStreet Coffee - Golden Mandheling Coffee

In the 1950s, a new trading company named PAWANI (known to coffee enthusiasts as PWN) opened in Medan, Indonesia. PWN is the creator of Golden Mandheling coffee. According to many historical records, Japanese soldiers after World War II sought out the delicious coffee they had enjoyed during the colonial period in North Sumatra, which led to the creation of "Mandheling." Everyone recognizes PWN as the first merchant in North Sumatra to export green coffee beans to Japan, and it was the Japanese who introduced North Sumatra coffee to the international market under the name "Mandheling." But why is it called Mandheling?

Today, let's unveil this historical mystery. According to oral history from PWN's Mr. Du, when he was young helping his father with the coffee business around the late 1970s and early 1980s, some Japanese people approached him through their company's rubber production division in North Sumatra (at that time, PWN traded rubber, coffee beans, and other commodities). They asked him to help find the delicious coffee that Japanese soldiers had enjoyed during the colonial period. After accepting the commission, Mr. Du collected many high-quality coffee beans from various producing areas in North Sumatra and sent them to Japan for evaluation. Among them, one variety was so delicious that the Japanese were captivated. They asked what kind of coffee this was. Mr. Du, thinking that their rubber department was near Mandailing, and not wanting to disclose the commercial source, casually gave it the name "MANDHLING" (Mandheling). From then on, the term "Mandheling" became famous abroad through the export of coffee beans from Medan.

By the late 1990s, many competitors had fraudulently used the PWN brand for business, so in 2001, Mr. Du officially applied for trademark registration. However, "Mandheling" was both a geographical name and a broad term that could not be registered. When handling the highest grade of parchment coffee from North Sumatra, Mr. Du was inspired by the golden brilliance of the beans under the sunlight and thought of the name "Golden Mandheling," which he successfully registered. From then on, PWN's highest grade beans have been called "Golden Mandheling." Why "Pawani"? He smiled and said, "Pa (protect) Wa (ten thousand) Ni (years in Medan language)" - "protect for ten thousand years."

Golden Mandheling is the premium specialty among Mandheling coffees. Over a decade ago, the Japanese adopted stricter quality control, using four rounds of careful manual bean selection to remove defective beans, producing Golden Mandheling with full, uniform particles and lustrous appearance, creating another wave of market demand that even drove Europe and America wild. Without a doubt, Golden Mandheling is absolutely an exceptional beauty among coffees.

Golden Mandheling possesses excellent rich mouthfeel, wild flavor, bitterness with sweetness, standing as a unique presence in the specialty coffee world. When drinking, first smell the aroma, then take a small sip to feel the sensation in your mouth - rich, full-bodied, then swallow to experience the smoothness as it goes down, as well as the aftertaste and sweet finish that follows.

Knowledge Point: Mandheling is neither an Indonesian place name, producing region name, port name, nor coffee variety name, but rather a mispronunciation of the Mandailing people who originally inhabited Sumatra.

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