Indonesia Sumatra Aceh Region Special Coffee Bean Variety Longan Dragon Fruit - Longan Dragon Fruit Coffee Flavor

When people think of Indonesian coffee, Mandheling is usually the first name that comes up. Mandheling is loved for its mellow, steady, low-acidity cup, and FrontStreet Coffee is a fan too. When a customer asks FrontStreet Coffee for a coffee without acidity, our baristas will always point them to the Golden Mandheling from Indonesia's PWN company. This time, FrontStreet Coffee wants to introduce another special variety from the Golden Mandheling region in the Gayo Highlands of Aceh, Sumatra — Longberry.

FrontStreet Coffee: Sumatra · Lake Tawar Wet-Hulled Longberry Coffee Beans

Sumatra Lake Tawar Longberry Mandheling G1

Country of cultivation: Indonesia

Coffee region: Lake Tawar area, Aceh Province

Altitude: 1200 to 1600 meters

Coffee variety: Longberry

Processing method: Wet-hulled

Coffee Region

Aceh sits at the northwesternmost tip of the Indonesian archipelago. Straddling the equator, it has a classic tropical equatorial maritime climate. It is hot as summer all year round, with an average annual temperature of about 27 degrees Celsius, and it is hot and rainy with abundant precipitation. From October to March each year, influenced by Asian and Pacific air currents, it is Indonesia's rainy season, with plentiful rainfall and a cool climate. From April to October, influenced by dry continental air currents from Australia, the climate turns dry and hot — this is the dry season.

Lake Tawar lies in the Gayo Highlands north of Aceh Province, Sumatra. It is a crater lake left behind by a volcanic eruption millions of years ago, with a lake surface altitude of 1,100m. Because transport was poor in the early years, coffee cultivation only began in the 1930s. Coffee is grown at 1,200-1,600m, mostly under traditional shade. Mornings bring cool clouds and mist, noon brings bright sunshine, and afternoons often bring showers. This natural microclimate and the volcanic soil suit coffee beans well. The beans grown here are large and emerald green, which is why Taiwanese coffee connoisseurs call them "emerald Mandheling," and why the international trade usually calls them Lake Tawar Mandheling.

Coffee Variety

Among Sumatra's coffee varieties there is a rather special one called "Longberry Mandheling." Longberry trees grow very slowly, taking 7 years to mature and bear fruit, while most coffee species take only 3 to 4 years. Because its yield is also low, it is relatively rare on the market.

Longberry originally comes from the Harrar region of Ethiopia, and it has been cultivated in Aceh Province for three centuries. Unlike other varieties, this lot takes its name from the elongated shape of its beans; some people call it "long strip Mandheling." It is a natural mutation of Typica.

Coffee Bean Processing Method

Wet-hulling is a fast way to process coffee. It involves removing the skin and pulp, a brief fermentation, drying, removing the mucilage and parchment layer, and a final drying until the moisture content drops to 12%. Wet-hulled Mandheling beans clearly show varying degrees of compression cracks, and the beans look dark bluish-green. Because this method shortens drying to just two to four days, the fermentation period is shorter and the acidity is greatly reduced. In exchange, the body thickens, with prominent caramel and fruit aromas — even herbal, grassy, or woody notes — forming the unique regional flavor of Sumatra. FrontStreet Coffee stocks this bean partly because the variety is so special, and partly because, on the cupping table, it expresses the flavor characteristics of the Sumatra region.

FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Suggestions

FrontStreet Coffee Cupping Report

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Suggestions

FrontStreet Coffee uses the Kono filter cup when brewing beans from the Indonesian region. The ribs of the Kono cup are less than half the height of the cup, a design meant to make the wet filter paper cling tightly to the wall and limit airflow. That increases the time the coffee grounds stay in contact with water, giving a more even extraction and a mellower cup. The groove skeleton at the bottom of the Kono cup is a key design that lets the later stages of brewing produce a siphon effect.

Recommended water temperature: 87-88°C

Grind size: coarse sugar size (70% pass-through rate with China No. 20 standard sieve)

Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15

Coffee amount: 15 grams

FrontStreet Coffee brewing method: Bloom with 30g of water for 30 seconds, pour with a small stream in circles to 125g. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 225g and stop. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, remove the filter cup (timing starts from the beginning of the bloom). Extraction time is 2'00''.

Brewing flavor: The spicy fruit flavor is remarkably similar to the unique green apple acidity of Panama coffee, with herbal and spice notes, distinct acidity, and a clean taste.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If this wet-hulled, low-acidity style is what you love, FrontStreet's PWN Golden Mandheling is the highest grade to try. Sourced through Indonesia's PWN company, it is built on beans of 18 screen size or larger, with fewer than 3 defect beans per 300-gram green sample, meeting the top G1 standard, then hand-sorted three times to strip out any remaining defects and lift both cleanliness and sweetness. Medium-dark roasted, it carries rich roasted aromas and cups clean and full-bodied — a natural fit for anyone who dislikes acidic coffee.

For a more everyday cup, FrontStreet's Lindong Mandheling from the Lindong region of North Sumatra is a great value single origin. Also medium-dark roasted, it aims for dark chocolate and caramel with Mandheling's wild herbal edge, showing clove and woody aromas, low acidity, and a thick, lasting bittersweetness. Hand-brewed, FrontStreet recommends 87-88°C water, 15 grams of coffee, a 1:15 ratio, and a coarse-sugar grind poured in three stages — a 30ml bloom, then 100ml, then a gentle 95ml centered pour — to bring out the body, caramel sweetness, and chocolate-nut notes.