What Are Aged Coffee Beans? What is Aged Mandheling? How is Coffee Aging Processed?

In the article the day before yesterday, FrontStreet Coffee mentioned "aged beans" as a special presence! Although they have been stored for a long time, they still possess fascinating coffee flavors! So today, let's explore in detail what exactly these aged beans are!

What Are Aged Beans?

Aged coffee beans refer to raw coffee beans that, through special management methods, acquire unique coffee flavors after being stored for a long period of time! Soft acidity, rich mouthfeel, and the high sweetness of honey are the special flavors that aged beans can exhibit. The birth of this "aging process" did not originate from people's deliberate intentions—everything came from a serendipitous discovery!

The story begins during the Dutch colonial era in Indonesia! Because the Dutch at that time sensed the huge business opportunity in coffee, they began forcing the local Indonesian people to grow coffee. As expected, this move quickly achieved success, and the enormous demand for coffee from European consuming countries made the Dutch earn substantial profits. Almost all coffee beans produced in Indonesia were shipped to Europe! Therefore, to ensure continuous supply, the Dutch would also store coffee beans appropriately.

The Accidental Discovery

But we must understand that Indonesia is an Asian country, and the sea shipping distance between it and Europe spans almost half the globe, making transportation time extremely long. Consequently, prolonged storage combined with lengthy transportation meant that by the time coffee beans arrived in Europe, a long time had passed since their harvesting.

In the article the day before yesterday, FrontStreet Coffee mentioned that overly long storage would cause raw coffee beans to lose moisture along with their flavors. However! The coffee beans, which were thought to be bland, evolved into a unique special flavor under the baptism of sea winds! Acidity significantly diminished, mouthfeel became rich, and the after-sweetness was long-lasting, as clean and comfortable as Pu-erh tea, which greatly surprised people. Various circles in Europe became addicted to it. From then on, people began to research aging processes,毕竟 relying on such unstable factors to create deliciousness was too risky from every perspective. Thus, aging processes emerged in response to the demand.

But not all beans have the conditions for aging. Only full, large-sized, flawless beans can become targets for aging processing! Moreover, all aging processing must be concentrated in the origin regions.

The Aging Process

Take the aged Mandheling that FrontStreet Coffee previously stocked! Before aging, all Mandheling beans first undergo wet hulling processing, then undergo a round of careful selection to filter out beans that better meet the criteria, before being stored in warehouses for aging! The storage environment is somewhat different from conventional raw bean storage—it must have ventilated and cool conditions to be used for aging!

During the aging period, workers will regularly turn the beans. This action not only allows coffee beans to have uniform contact with air and ventilation but also enables them to check for the growth of any bad beans (moldy beans, insect-damaged beans). Once discovered, they are immediately "nipped in the bud" to prevent them from infecting other coffee beans!

Transformation During Aging

The aging time will be around three years. During this period, the acidic substances in coffee beans will gradually convert to sugars, the color will gradually brown, and the size will gradually shrink. Compared to other vibrant, full beans, aged beans are highly recognizable!

Flavor Profile

Friends who have purchased aged Mandheling before know that its flavor profile differs from traditional Mandheling—it no longer has such prominent wild flavors! Instead, it features more composed flavors like pine, malt, chocolate, and Pu-erh tea. It's as if it transformed from a young, vigorous youth into a mature, steady scholar—very serene and content.

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FrontStreet Coffee
10 Bao'an Qianjie, Yandun Road, Dongshankou, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province

Important Notice :

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Tel:020 38364473