Is Indonesian Mandheling Coffee Bitter? Why Love Mandheling Because It's Charming in Its Ugliness

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FrontStreet Coffee - Introduction to Mandheling Coffee

Mandheling coffee is produced in Sumatra, an Asian island belonging to Indonesia, also known as "Sumatran coffee." The main production areas include Java Island, Sulawesi Island, and Sumatra Island, with 90% being Robusta varieties.

Among these, the "Mandheling" produced on Sumatra Island is the most famous. The finest among the traditionally processed Arabica coffees grown in northern Sumatra are marketed under the names Lintong and Mandheling.

Strictly speaking, Lintong refers to coffee grown in a small area located in the Lintong administrative district southwest of Lake Toba. The coffee smallholdings are scattered across a high, undulating clay plateau covered with ferns. Lintong coffee is grown without shade, without chemicals, and is almost entirely owned by small private farmers.

Mandheling is a broader term that includes Lintong coffee and growing areas in similar conditions such as Diari (capital Sidikalang) and the northern part of Lake Toba.

Mandheling coffee has a very rich flavor - fragrant, bitter, and mellow with a touch of sweetness. Most coffee enthusiasts enjoy it as a single-origin coffee, but it's also an indispensable variety in coffee blends.

Mandheling has a heavy taste with rich body and vibrant, lively dynamics - neither astringent nor acidic, fully displaying its body and bitterness. Mandheling coffee beans might be considered the ugliest in appearance, but fans of Mandheling coffee would say that the uglier Sumatran coffee beans look, the better, richer, and smoother their flavor and texture will be.

Mandheling coffee is considered one of the world's most full-bodied coffees. When tasting Mandheling, you can feel a distinct smoothness on your tongue. It also has lower acidity, but this acidity is still clearly perceptible. The jumping micro-acidity combines with the richest aroma, allowing you to easily experience the lively factors within its gentle richness. Additionally, this coffee has a faint earthy aroma, which some describe as the fragrance of herbal plants.

Since Mandheling coffee beans themselves lack acidic characteristics, special brewing methods typically use Mandheling as the base. During long heat preservation or when making iced coffee, no unpleasant acidic or astringent taste appears. After roasting, the beans are quite large, with raw beans appearing brown or dark green, possessing a caramel-like special aroma, and delivering a fragrant, rich, and mellow taste.

Knowledge Point: Mandheling is not a production area name, place name, port name, nor a coffee variety name. It is the phonetic translation of the Indonesian Mandheling ethnic group.

In Summary

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