Mandheling Coffee Beans Rich Flavor Brewing Parameters and Methods How to Brew Dark Roast Coffee Without Bitterness

Understanding Coffee Body: What Makes Coffee Feel Rich and Smooth

Coffee beans possess regional flavor characteristics, which is one of the reasons why "single-origin coffee" is so highly valued today. Indonesian coffee beans are particularly renowned for their rich, thick, and bitter profiles, with examples like Mandheling coffee and Kopi Luwak.

However, rich, full-bodied coffee isn't limited to Indonesian beans like Mandheling—there are many other coffee varieties to choose from. What's important is understanding what coffee body actually is and what factors affect it. Knowing the answers to these questions can enhance your ability to evaluate coffee bean flavors.

When we talk about coffee body, we're actually referring to the "body" you experience when drinking coffee—simply put, the mouthfeel. Typically, we consider good coffee mouthfeel to be characterized by high body and substantial texture. Poor mouthfeel might present as astringency or watery sensations. From variety and growing environment to processing methods, roasting, and brewing—all these factors can influence coffee body.

Some coffee varieties naturally have higher body, such as Robusta, which despite having less desirable flavor characteristics, offers good mouthfeel. Hybrid varieties of Robusta and Arabica also inherit these body characteristics from Robusta.

Factors Affecting Coffee Body

The higher the altitude where coffee is grown, the higher the density and quality of the coffee beans. In Arabica coffee cultivation, it's generally understood that coffee beans grown at altitudes above 1,200 meters develop better flavor quality, which is why we often see single-origin coffees labeled with their growing altitude of 1,200 meters or higher.

In coffee processing, the more substances involved in fermentation, the more pronounced the coffee's body will be. Naturally processed coffee beans, which undergo fermentation as whole coffee cherries, typically exhibit fuller and smoother mouthfeel overall. Honey processing, which retains the mucilage layer for fermentation, results in thicker body—the more mucilage retained, the richer the mouthfeel. Washed processing, where only the coffee beans undergo fermentation, typically produces cleaner, clearer mouthfeel.

The Impact of Roasting on Coffee Body

While the three factors mentioned above do affect coffee mouthfeel, they are not the most significant or direct influences. For the same coffee bean, the most obvious factor affecting body is roasting. Generally, the longer the development period after the first crack, the more prolonged the caramelization reaction, resulting in fuller-bodied coffee.

For example, if you compare a light-roasted Kenya AA with Mandheling, undoubtedly, Mandheling will have better body. However, when Kenya is roasted darker, its body increases significantly, becoming comparable to Mandheling.

However, this doesn't mean that simply roasting beans darker will always result in high body. Over-roasting can easily produce a consistent burnt bitterness throughout, which is completely counterproductive.

At this point, we can pretty much identify which coffees tend to be fuller-bodied: First, dark-roasted coffee beans will have more body than light-roasted ones; Second, at similar roast levels, naturally processed coffees will have more body than washed ones.

For reference, in FrontStreet Coffee's bean selection, medium-dark roasted coffees with rich body include Mandheling coffee, Blue Mountain No. 1, Brazil Queen Estate Yellow Bourbon, and FrontStreet Coffee 2013 (Yunnan coffee); medium-light roasted coffees with rich body include Natural Red Cherry, Kenya AA, Sherry coffee, and Natural Geisha.

Brewing Methods for Fuller Body

After selecting suitable coffee beans, the final step—brewing—is particularly important. We know that part of coffee's rich mouthfeel comes from oils. Therefore, being able to dissolve more oils in the coffee will result in better mouthfeel. Using flannel as a filtering medium will provide better body expression compared to paper filters.

Brewing methods also affect the final coffee expression. For example, Japan has developed many techniques for brewing full-bodied coffee, such as the Kawano method and Matsuya method...

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