Introduction to Indonesian Coffee Regions: A Beginner's Guide to Sumatra's Mandheling Coffee Beans

Asia is home to numerous coffee-producing countries, including Papua New Guinea, China's Yunnan province, Indonesia, Vietnam, and more. Among these, Indonesia is renowned for its Mandheling coffee.

Indonesian Coffee

Indonesia is a Southeast Asian nation that shares borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Malaysia. This country boasts abundant natural resources and is the world's largest archipelagic state, comprising 17,508 islands of varying sizes between the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It is also a country with numerous volcanoes.

Straddling the equator and situated in the tropics, Indonesia enjoys a warm and humid climate year-round with average temperatures ranging from 25-27°C. The country typically experiences two seasons: the dry season from April to October and the rainy season from November to March. Additionally, with its numerous rivers, abundant water resources, and volcanic soil, these conditions provide ideal circumstances for coffee cultivation.

Sumatra Island

Since Indonesia consists of 17,508 islands, coffee is currently grown on several of them, with the most famous being Sumatra, Java, Bali, and Sulawesi. Among these, Sumatra is particularly renowned for its Mandheling coffee.

Sumatra Island is a large island located in western Indonesia and is the country's largest island. Positioned above the equator, it features a tropical rainforest climate and is primarily composed of the Barisan Mountains in the west and lowland plains in the east, with over 90 volcanoes. Influenced by volcanic ash, some regions have fertile soil, combined with numerous lakes, making this area exceptionally suitable for agricultural cultivation, including coffee.

Currently in Sumatra, coffee is mainly cultivated in the Gayo Mountains of Aceh Province in the north and the Lake Toba region slightly to the south. These areas grow coffee at altitudes between 1,100-1,600 meters. FrontStreet Coffee currently offers two Mandheling varieties: one is the PWN Gold Mandheling from Gayo Mountain in Aceh, featuring roasted toast, pine, cocoa, and subtle herbal flavors with a clean, balanced taste. The other is Mandheling from the Lintong region of Lake Toba.

Lintong Mandheling

Commonly sold under the name "Sumatra Mandheling," this coffee is not named after a coffee variety or geographical location, but rather after an ethnic group on the island. During World War II, a Japanese officer tasted delicious coffee at an Indonesian café and asked the owner for its name. However, the owner misunderstood and thought he was being asked where the officer was from, so he replied "Mandheling." The officer later brought this coffee back to Japan, and the name Mandheling has been used ever since.

Lake Toba is currently the world's largest and deepest volcanic lake, surrounded by mineral-rich soil left by volcanic eruptions, and boasts a unique geographical environment at altitudes above 900 meters. The nearby Lintong growing region sits at elevations of 1,200-1,500 meters, giving the Mandheling grown here rich flavors and exceptionally full body.

Ateng Coffee Variety

The coffee variety for both of these coffee beans is Ateng. Many people might assume this is a new variety, but it is actually the Catimor variety. "Ateng" is simply the local Indonesian name for it. Similarly, Indonesia's TimTim is the local name for Timor Hybrid.

FrontStreet Coffee Indonesian Selected Lintong Mandheling Coffee Beans

Region: Sumatra
Altitude: 1,100-1,600 meters
Variety: Ateng
Processing: Wet-hulled
Flavor: Dark chocolate, herbal, caramel, sweet aftertaste

FrontStreet Coffee's selected Lintong Mandheling uses the wet-hulled processing method and is dark roasted. FrontStreet Coffee uses a KONO dripper with a 1:15 ratio and 92°C water temperature for brewing. The resulting cup presents herbal and dark chocolate flavors with a caramel-like rich body and a high sweet aftertaste.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473