What are the Characteristics of Arabica Coffee Beans? What's the Secret Between Mandheling Coffee and Arabica?

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FrontStreet Coffee - Introduction to Mandheling Coffee Beans

Arabica coffee beans are the most common variety in hand-ground coffee. They are slender and flat in shape, originally from East Africa, and belong to the traditional Arabian coffee variety. Europeans also call them "Arabian coffee."

On a global scale, Arabica coffee beans account for about 75% of all coffee bean production. They are cultivated worldwide but mainly concentrated in high-altitude regions of South America, Central America, East Africa, and Southeast Asia.

This type of coffee is not resistant to pests and is difficult to cultivate, but it has excellent flavor and high coffee content. With a caffeine content of around 1.5%, it is considered a premium coffee bean.

Indonesia is the world's largest archipelagic country. As early as the 18th century during the Dutch colonial period, Arabica coffee was already being cultivated. In modern times, it has become one of the top five coffee-producing countries globally.

In the mid-17th century, the Dutch brought coffee trees to Indonesia. In 1712, the first batch of coffee from Java Island was sold to Amsterdam. In Indonesia, coffee is mainly grown on three islands: Sumatra, Java, and Sulawesi, with Sumatra being the most important local coffee-growing region. The commonly seen Mandheling coffee comes from this area. 90% of Indonesia's coffee is grown by small farmers on plots of one hectare or even smaller.

Mandheling coffee has a rich flavor with intense body and vibrant, lively dynamics. It has slight bitterness and acidity, allowing its richness and bitterness to be fully expressed. It is considered one of the world's mellowest coffees. When tasting Mandheling, you can clearly feel its smoothness on your tongue. It also has lower acidity, but this acidity is still distinctly noticeable. The jumping slight acidity mixes with the most intense aroma, allowing you to easily experience the lively factors within the gentle richness. Additionally, this coffee has a subtle herbal plant aroma.

Mandheling is an Arabica variety that the Dutch introduced to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and Indonesia in the 17th century. In 1711, Indonesian coffee began supplying the European market. At that time, Indonesia was the first country to cultivate coffee on a large scale outside of Africa and Arabia. In the 1780s, it became the world's largest coffee export destination, and Java coffee began to gain widespread fame during this period.

In 1877, coffee leaf rust disease destroyed Arabica trees. Afterward, Indonesia largely switched to cultivating Robusta coffee trees (Robusta Linden, a variant of the Congo species). Robusta coffee beans are typically grown at altitudes between 200-600 meters.

Indonesian coffee bean production declined due to rust disease, ranking third in production after Brazil and Africa.

Knowledge Point: Most coffee grows in the equatorial zone between 25° north and south of the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. The coffee growing belt and country of origin have a huge impact on its flavor.

In brief: FrontStreet Coffee is a coffee research hall that enjoys sharing coffee knowledge with everyone. We share without reservation just to help more friends fall in love with coffee. Additionally, we hold three low-discount coffee activities every month because FrontStreet Coffee wants to let more friends enjoy the best coffee at the lowest price. This has been our mission for the past 6 years!

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