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The Story of Mandheling Coffee: The Source of Courage from Sumatra Coffee Beans and the Correct Way to Drink Mandheling

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, Professional coffee knowledge exchange. For more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style). FrontStreet Coffee - The Story of Sumatra Mandheling. Did you know? Indonesia is a major coffee country in Asia, producing the renowned Mandheling coffee. Indonesia is a country composed of islands, with as many as 17,508 islands alone, truly a deserving country of a thousand islands.

FrontStreet Coffee - The Story of Sumatran Mandheling

Did you know? Indonesia is a major coffee-producing country in Asia, famous for its renowned Mandheling coffee. Indonesia is a country composed of islands, with a total of 17,508 islands, truly deserving the title of the "Thousand Island Nation"!

One of Indonesia's famous islands is Sumatra, which produces Mandheling coffee known for its rich body and intense aroma, sought after by numerous coffee enthusiasts worldwide. But Sumatra has a story that I'd like to share.

Sumatra was successively colonized by the British and Dutch, and the Japanese also left their footprints there, which is where our story begins.

On February 14th, 1942, 320 Japanese aircraft landed in Palembang, the oil field region of Sumatra. At that time, the Netherlands still occupied Sumatra, but within less than a month, the Dutch surrendered. Subsequently, the Japanese occupied Indonesia and took over colonization. However, Indonesia did not experience Japanese attacks, and their days were relatively peaceful. After all, they didn't dare to resist, and so they coexisted peacefully with the Japanese through courage.

One day, a Japanese soldier was drinking coffee at a café in Sumatra, where he tasted coffee with high body and intense flavor. He then asked the café owner: "What is this coffee?" The owner couldn't understand Japanese, thinking the soldier was asking where he was from. With an inward eye-roll, the owner replied: "Mandheling."

Until 1945, when the Japanese Emperor announced surrender, the Japanese soldier returned to Japan, but he never forgot that cup of Mandheling that left such a deep impression. He then called someone locally and asked them to purchase a batch of "Mandheling" coffee on his behalf. This person, named Pwani, transported coffee beans from the Lake Toba region of Sumatra to Japan, where they were greatly loved by the Japanese. And so, Mandheling coffee spread, creating the story of Sumatran Mandheling.

All for the sake of spreading and sharing.