Differences Between Mandheling and Blue Mountain: How to Brew These Full-Bodied Coffees

Introduction to Rich-Bodied Coffees

At FrontStreet Coffee, when it comes to rich-bodied coffees, our baristas always recommend two exceptional varieties: one is the Indonesian Gold Mandheling, known for its rich spice and herbal flavors with a full-bodied texture; the other is the washed Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee, which features a perfect balance of sweet, sour, and bitter notes with an equally rich mouthfeel. What are the differences between these two full-bodied coffees? Today, FrontStreet Coffee will explore the distinctions between Mandheling and Blue Mountain coffee.

Indonesian Gold Mandheling Coffee

Indonesia's main coffee-growing regions include the islands of Sumatra, Java, and Sulawesi, with Sumatra's "Mandheling" being the most renowned. Mandheling is also known as "Sumatra Coffee," with coffee from Lake Tawar in the north referred to as Aceh or Tawar Lake coffee, while coffee from the Lintong and Lake Toba areas is called Mandheling. Strictly speaking, traditionally, only coffee beans produced in the Lake Toba region (located in northwestern Sumatra, Indonesia) are called "Mandheling."

Gold Mandheling comes from PWN (Pwani Coffee Company), an Indonesian green coffee supplier that was the first company to partner with Japan to sell Gold Mandheling. After wet-hulling processing, PWN's Gold Mandheling undergoes three rounds of manual selection to pick out plump, flawless beans, resulting in Gold Mandheling with uniform color and consistent bean shape. Gold Mandheling beans are size 18 or larger, with fewer than 3 defective beans per 300g sample, making them Grade G1 - the highest grade. They are deep green in color and have a uniform flat shape. It's said that during processing, the Mandheling beans emit a golden luster under sunlight, which is how they got the name "Gold Mandheling." FrontStreet Coffee's Gold Mandheling coffee beans are all sourced from PWN Company.

Mandheling Coffee Bean Processing - Wet-Hulling Method

Wet-Hulling is the traditional processing method for Sumatran coffee in Indonesia. It involves removing the parchment when the beans are still moist, with a moisture content of 30-50%, before continuing the drying process to solve the problem of overly long drying times. Since the drying time is shortened to two to four days, the fermentation period of the coffee beans is reduced, significantly lowering acidity while increasing body. Caramel and fruit aromas become more pronounced, sometimes accompanied by herbal or grassy notes and woody aromas - these are the distinctive regional fragrances unique to Sumatra.

1. The coffee cherries are depulped, and the parchment beans are placed in large water tanks or troughs. Floating defective parchment beans are skimmed from the surface.
2. The dense parchment beans that sink to the bottom are briefly cleaned, removed, and placed in buckets or plastic bags for a brief dry fermentation. This allows the mucilage sugars on the parchment surface to ferment and develop flavors. Basically, the longer the fermentation time, the stronger the acidity. Fermentation times vary by producer - typically just a few hours, though some estates skip the dry fermentation stage entirely and directly sun-dry the parchment beans to maintain acidity and increase viscosity, allowing full mucilage fermentation to enhance flavors. Fermentation is usually between 12-36 hours, depending on specific conditions.

3. The parchment beans are sun-dried for one to two days until the moisture content reaches 30-50%. At this point, the beans are still semi-hard and semi-soft. The hulling machine is used to remove the parchment, then drying continues to accelerate the process. After about two days, when moisture content reaches 12-13%, the coffee beans are collected into woven bags, typically 40kg and 80kg bags, and sent to coffee processing facilities for hulling. The entire process takes about four days.
4. The hulling process involves using a hulling machine to remove the husk, followed by more drying until the moisture content reaches approximately 12-15%. Then, the coffee beans are sent for mechanical sorting to remove various impurities and classified by particle size.

Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee

The Blue Mountain range is located in the eastern part of Jamaica. When the weather is clear, the Caribbean Sea surrounds the mountains, and direct sunlight on the azure sea creates a brilliant blue reflection on the peaks, hence the name "Blue Mountains." The highest peak of Blue Mountain reaches 2,256 meters (coffee can only be grown below 1,700m, with areas above designated as protected forest), making it the highest peak in the Caribbean region and a famous tourist destination. This area lies within the coffee belt, featuring fertile volcanic soil, fresh air without pollution, humid climate with year-round fog and rain, and average rainfall of 1,980 millimeters. The temperature hovers around 27°C. Such climatic conditions have created the world-renowned Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee, as well as the world's most expensive coffee. Only Blue Mountain coffee grown at altitudes above 800 meters is considered authentic Blue Mountain coffee. The Blue Mountain coffee in FrontStreet Coffee's selection is grown at 1,310 meters and comes from the Clifton Estate.

What is Authentic Blue Mountain Coffee?

According to CIB regulations, only Blue Mountain coffee beans produced in regions above 2,200 feet in Jamaica can be called Jamaica Blue Mountain. Their grades are classified by bean size into NO.1, NO.2, NO.3, and hand-selected PB (Peaberry). The basic standards for NO.1 Blue Mountain green beans include beans size 17 or larger, defect rate below 3%, and moisture content around 13%.

Currently, the Jamaica Coffee Industry Board can issue certificates for all exported Blue Mountain coffee.

Certificates are divided into three types:

1. Quality Certificate issued by the Jamaica Coffee Industry Board
2. Authorization Sales Certificate issued by Blue Mountain coffee manufacturers. (Blue Mountain coffee is distributed by 4 government-licensed processors in Jamaica and exported by 16 licensed exporters)
3. Jamaica Blue Mountain Origin Certificate

FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain coffee is sourced through the national Coffee Board's designated export companies, with green beans packed in wooden barrels and carrying Rainforest Alliance certification.

Blue Mountain Coffee Bean Processing

Before 2019, Clifton Farm's Blue Mountain coffee was always processed using the washed method. During processing, the pulp and skin are first removed, followed by 12-18 hours of fermentation. The fermented beans are then placed in pools and moved back and forth, using the friction of the beans and the power of flowing water to wash the coffee beans until they are smooth and clean. After washing, the coffee beans are still encased in parchment with 50% moisture content and must be sun-dried to reduce moisture content to 12-14%, otherwise they would continue to ferment, becoming moldy and spoiled. Subsequently, the coffee beans are sorted and stored in specialized warehouses. The washed processing method ensures that Blue Mountain coffee has rich aroma, balanced flavor, and maintains its essential characteristic without any single taste being overly prominent or deficient. In 2019, Clifton Farm broke from its traditional model by using the natural processing method for the first time. For FrontStreet Coffee, this natural-processed Blue Mountain represents a change in flavor structure due to the different processing method. When FrontStreet Coffee introduces coffee beans from specific regions to customers, we typically recommend washed-processed beans first, as washing best represents the flavor profile of the region. Of course, Blue Mountain coffee's adoption of natural processing is largely following market developments.

How Does FrontStreet Coffee Roast Gold Mandheling and Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Beans?

To highlight Mandheling's herbal spice characteristics and rich mouthfeel, and to emphasize the washed Blue Mountain's balanced sweet, sour, and bitter flavors with full body, FrontStreet Coffee uses medium-dark roasting for both of these coffee beans.

FrontStreet Coffee Washed Blue Mountain Coffee Bean Roasting Curve

FrontStreet Coffee Gold Mandheling Roasting Curve

How Does FrontStreet Coffee Brew Gold Mandheling and Washed Blue Mountain Coffee?

FrontStreet Coffee uses the KONO dripper when brewing medium-dark roasted coffee beans. The KONO's ribs stop at less than half the height of the dripper. This design ensures that after wetting the filter paper, it adheres closely to the dripper wall, restricting airflow. This increases the water absorption time of the coffee grounds, resulting in more uniform extraction and enhanced body.

Brewing Parameters:

Recommended water temperature: 88-89°C

Grind size: Fuji Royal "鬼齿" (Oni-tooth) grinder setting 4.5 (coarse sugar size)

Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15

FrontStreet Coffee brewing method: Use 30g of water for a 30-second bloom. When the water reaches 125g, segment the pour. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 225g, then stop pouring. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed again, remove the dripper (timing starts from the bloom). Extraction time: 2'00" to 2'15".

Brewing Flavor Profiles:

Gold Mandheling Brewing Flavor: Nuts, spices, herbal notes, licorice, chocolate, caramel, with clean and gentle flavors.

Washed Blue Mountain Brewing Flavor: Exceptionally clean and complex, very mild, with chocolate sweetness and strong body. The flavor is rich and mellow, with perfect balance among coffee's sweet, acidic, and bitter notes. Completely without bitterness, with only moderate and perfect acidity, and a persistent fruity aftertaste.

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

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