What's the Difference Between Lindong Mandheling and Golden Mandheling? Introduction to Indonesian Wet-Hulled Mandheling Coffee

In Indonesia, the most renowned coffee comes from the Mandheling coffee of Sumatra Island, known for its rich, mellow, and full-bodied flavor. At FrontStreet Coffee, we offer two Mandheling coffees: one is the Lintong Mandheling from our entry-level selection series, and the other is the Golden Mandheling from the PWN company. Consequently, many customers wonder what the differences are between these two Mandheling coffees.

What is Mandheling Coffee?

"Mandheling" is not the name of a production region, a geographical location, or a coffee variety. In fact, Mandheling is the name of an ethnic minority in Indonesia. Through a historical mistake, it was incorrectly thought to be the name of coffee beans. Today, however, Mandheling has become synonymous with coffee from Sumatra Island.

In Sumatra, Mandheling coffee is mainly cultivated in the northwestern part of the island, concentrated in the Aceh Special Autonomous Region (Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam) and North Sumatra Province. The primary growing areas include the Gayo Mountain area around Lake Tawar in Aceh and the Lake Toba region in North Sumatra. These areas feature high-altitude mountains, fertile volcanic soil, and abundant water resources—ideal conditions for growing Arabica coffee.

Lintong Mandheling

Lintong Mandheling comes from the Lintong coffee production area around Lake Toba, located south of Medan, the capital of Sumatra Island. It is a traditional region known for producing Mandheling coffee beans. Coffee is primarily cultivated in the mountainous areas surrounding Lake Toba at elevations between 1,100-1,600 meters.

FrontStreet Coffee's Lintong Mandheling is sourced from this region, using the Ateng variety (the local name for Catimor). It employs the distinctive Wet Hulling processing method, which was developed as an adaptation to the local climate characterized by frequent typhoons, humidity, and rainfall. This processing method gives our Lintong Mandheling notes of herbal and dark chocolate flavors, a caramel-like full-bodied texture, and a high sweet aftertaste.

Golden Mandheling

Golden Mandheling represents the premium quality among Mandheling coffees. FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling is produced by the famous Indonesian export trading company PWN (N.V. Pawani Medan Company). This company primarily sources high-quality Mandheling coffee locally and has secured contracts for the finest Mandheling varieties in the region.

Furthermore, due to the numerous types of Mandheling products on the market, PWN Company registered "Golden Mandheling" as their trademark to distinguish their product and prevent unauthorized use of the name. Therefore, only Golden Mandheling coffee produced by PWN Company can be considered authentic Golden Mandheling.

The company originally used Mandheling coffee from the Lintong region but later switched to using Mandheling from the Gayo Mountain region. The Gayo production area derives its name from the local Gayo ethnic group and is located in the Aceh province at elevations of 1,300-1,600 meters. The most famous coffee from this region grows around Lake Tawar. Although Lake Tawar is smaller than Lake Toba, it has surpassed Lake Toba in recent years in terms of coffee variety and production volume.

Additionally, according to Indonesian national standards, green coffee bean grading is primarily based on defect scores, with the highest grade being G1. Both Lintong Mandheling and Golden Mandheling are G1 grade. However, after acquiring G1 coffee beans, PWN Company conducts three additional manual selections to remove defective, small, and unattractive beans, leaving only large, full beans with minimal defects. This process enhances both the quality and cleanliness of the coffee, which also makes PWN's Golden Mandheling significantly more expensive than other Mandheling varieties.

Comparison

FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling and Lintong Mandheling both use the Ateng variety and wet hulling processing method, but they differ in their growing regions and selection standards, with corresponding price differences. Golden Mandheling offers flavors of toasted bread, pine, caramel, and cocoa when tasted. It has a cleaner mouthfeel than Lintong Mandheling, with an overall rich and full-bodied character, more complex layers, and a richer caramel sweetness in the finish.

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