What are the coffee regions? Introduction to Indonesian coffee brands and characteristics of Mandheling coffee beans.

Currently, the world's coffee growing regions are mainly distributed between 25° south latitude and 25° north latitude of the equator. The region introduced today is Indonesia, located within this zone.

The Republic of Indonesia, abbreviated as Indonesia, is a Southeast Asian country with Jakarta as its capital. It borders countries such as Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Malaysia. Indonesia covers an area of 1,913,578.68 square kilometers and consists of approximately 17,508 islands, making it the world's largest archipelagic country. Its territory spans across Asia and Oceania, and it is also a country with numerous volcanoes and earthquakes. The larger islands include Kalimantan, Sumatra, Irian Jaya, Sulawesi, and Java.

Indonesia has a population of 262 million, making it the fourth most populous country in the world. It has hundreds of ethnic groups, with the Javanese accounting for 45% of the population, Sundanese 14%, and Madurese and Malay each accounting for 7.5%. There are more than 200 ethnic languages, with Indonesian as the official language. About 87% of the population practices Islam, making it the country with the largest Muslim population in the world.

From the 13th to 14th centuries, a powerful empire formed in Java. In the late 16th century, it became a Dutch colony. In 1942, it was occupied by Japan. It gained independence in 1945, and the Republic was established in August 1950.

Indonesian coffee is famous for its mellow and rich flavor and texture, with extremely low acidity. It has caramel and dark chocolate-like sweetness and aftertaste, which has led Japanese people to have an almost obsessive dedication to this coffee. Indonesia is a major coffee producing country in Asia and ranks among the top coffee producing countries globally.

Coffee Cultivation Origins

In 1696, Hendrik Zwaardecroon, then the Dutch governor of Malabar in India, gave Arabica coffee seedlings as a gift to the Dutch governor of Batavia (now Jakarta in Java). This was the first time coffee was planted in Indonesia. However, this batch of seedlings failed due to flooding.

In 1699, the governor of Malabar in India sent a second batch of seedlings, which were harvested for the first time in 1701, ushering in a new era of Indonesian coffee. These coffee trees propagated and acclimatized to become the JAVA variety.

In 1706, the first local coffee samples were exported to Amsterdam along with coffee trees. The seedlings grew and propagated in the Amsterdam Botanical Garden (Hortus). Indeed, these seedlings became the origin of Arabica coffee in Brazil and the Caribbean.

In 1711, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) first transported Indonesian coffee from Java to Europe.

In 1718, the Dutch transplanted coffee to the Mandailing Highlands in western Sumatra near the Indian Ocean, later discovering that the Lake Toba region in northern Sumatra was more suitable for Arabica coffee cultivation.

In 1876, due to pest infestations, all Arabica coffee trees below 1,000 meters altitude died. To solve this problem, the Dutch introduced Liberica coffee (Coffea Liberica), which has stronger resistance to leaf rust disease.

From 1880-1884, Java coffee production reached its peak at 94,400 tons. At that time, coffee played a more important role than sugarcane.

In the late 1880s, most coffee plantations were destroyed by pests and diseases. This plague spread to parts of central and eastern Java. The severe damage from leaf rust destroyed most of the Dutch coffee variety system.

In 1888, Arabica coffee was planted again near Lake Toba in the north.

In 1900, Robusta was introduced as an alternative to Arabica coffee in East Java.

In 1911, the Indonesian Coffee and Cocoa Research Institute (ICCRI) was established.

Around 1915, Robusta coffee was introduced to small farmers near Mount Kerinci.

In 1920, Robusta spread rapidly throughout southern Sumatra.

In 1924, Arabica coffee was moved north again to the GAYO mountains in the Lake Tawar region of Aceh province, where it was cultivated by the local GAYO people.

In the 1950s, shortly after independence, the Dutch-owned Java plantations were nationalized and managed by the Malayan Archipelago Plantation Company Limited (Perusahaan Terbatas Perkebunan Nusantara, abbreviated as PTPN).

Today, Indonesian Robusta coffee accounts for approximately 85% of total production, with Arabica at 15%. Robusta is concentrated in southern Sumatra, while Arabica is grown in northern Sumatra. Currently, Indonesia's coffee cultivation area exceeds 1 million hectares, with 90% operated by small farmers.

There are three main types of Indonesian coffee beans: Arabica coffee beans, Robusta coffee beans, and Liberica coffee beans. Among these, there are more than 20 main varieties, with common ones being Catuai, Catimor, Timor, Typica, S288, S795, and Sidikalong.

Wet Hulling Process

The coffee processing method in Indonesia is called "giling basah," which is known elsewhere in the world as the semi-washed/hulled process. Once the coffee is harvested, it is then pulped and briefly dried. Unlike most other processes that dry coffee to 11% or 12% moisture content, the semi-washed process dries coffee to 30-35% moisture. The coffee is then hulled to remove the parchment and expose the green coffee beans underneath. These naked beans are then dried again until they are dry enough to be stored without spoiling. Semi-washed coffees tend to have much lower acidity and more body than most coffees.

Indonesian coffees tend to have dark and bold flavors with prominent earthiness. The semi-washed process produces flavors including earthy, musty, spicy, woody, tobacco, and leather notes. They typically have a long-lasting finish with unsweetened or dark chocolate sensations. The Sumatra region is the most popular Indonesian region today because it is known for dark roasting. Sumatra produces Mandheling and Ankola, two of the world's most famous and high-quality coffees. They often have smoky or roasted flavors with complexity. FrontStreet Coffee has found that people are often polarized about Indonesian coffee - those who like it cannot get enough of it, while those who don't tend to avoid it. When customers come to FrontStreet Coffee asking for a non-acidic pour-over coffee, FrontStreet Coffee always recommends Indonesian beans first.

Sumatra Mandheling Coffee Beans

When it comes to Sumatra coffee beans, Mandheling coffee beans are undoubtedly the most well-known. The main production area of Mandheling coffee beans is located around Lake Toba in northern Sumatra, Indonesia. Common Mandheling coffee beans include Golden Mandheling, Lintong Mandheling, and Aged Mandheling.

The difference between these three Mandheling varieties is that Lintong Mandheling represents the most authentic Mandheling flavor with strong herbal notes. Golden Mandheling is a selected grade of Mandheling with uniform bean size of 18 mesh or larger, hand-selected more than 4 times. It has a clean and bright taste but also excellent body. Aged Mandheling, as mentioned earlier, uses different wet hulling methods that bring out richer flavors, which are not generally accepted by everyone. Therefore, when customers ask for a coffee that is both non-acidic and full-bodied, FrontStreet Coffee always recommends Golden Mandheling first.

FrontStreet Coffee PWN Golden Mandheling Example

Flavor description: Nuts, chocolate, spices, herbs, caramel. Golden Mandheling tastes cleaner than Lintong Mandheling. The original herbal, earthy, and woody flavors of Mandheling are almost gone, but the caramel sweetness is more intense, and the fruit acidity is also brighter and more elegant.

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