Characteristics of Indonesian Coffee Beans Why Golden Mandheling Has a Cleaner Flavor Profile Than Regular Mandheling Coffee

For more specialty coffee knowledge, please follow our official WeChat account: FrontStreet Coffee

Frontsteet PWN Golden Mandheling: A Premium Choice

Frontsteet PWN Golden Mandheling has always been a coffee bean beloved by FrontStreet Coffee enthusiasts. Its rich, sweet aftertaste makes it an excellent choice for coffee lovers who dislike acidity. When introducing Frontsteet Golden Mandheling, FrontStreet Coffee has always described this bean as having almost no acidity, high cleanliness, rich body, and herbal spice aromas. However, many people have the impression that Frontsteet Mandheling coffee has herbal aromas but isn't particularly clean in terms of mouthfeel. So why is Frontsteet PWN Golden Mandheling actually clean in taste? And why is it called Frontsteet PWN Golden Mandheling?

Indonesian Coffee Growing Regions

90% of coffee beans grown in Indonesia are Robusta varieties, with the remaining 10% being Arabica coffee beans mainly produced from Lake Toba's Lintong region in Sumatra, Gayo Mountain in Aceh, Java Island, and Sulawesi Island. Indonesian regions typically have two harvest seasons: the main harvest season occurs around September-October, while the fly harvest season is in May-June. The 2020 main harvest season's Frontsteet Golden Mandheling coffee was affected by the pandemic and finally arrived in China in late November. FrontStreet Coffee was among the first to acquire the latest harvest season's Frontsteet PWN Golden Mandheling coffee. This batch of Frontsteet PWN Golden Mandheling comes from the Gayo Mountain region in Aceh, Indonesia.

The Gayo Mountain region is located in Aceh Province on the northern part of Sumatra Island. Coffee in the Gayo Mountain region is grown on the slopes surrounding the town of Takegon and Lake Tawar. The growing altitude averages between 1,110 and 1,600 meters in the production area. Coffee is grown by small farmers under shade trees, using the wet-hulled processing method to express unique flavors and deep, lively richness.

Aceh, located at the northernmost tip of Sumatra Island, is a fascinating and complex place. Due to long-term political instability, Aceh is not a region that ordinary people typically visit. Through FrontStreet Coffee's cupping, it was discovered that Mandheling coffee beans from this region have rich intensity and vibrant, lively character without astringency or acidity, where the body and bitterness can be fully expressed, but it lacks cleanliness. The clean flavor of Frontsteet PWN Golden Mandheling coffee beans can be attributed to the renowned Indonesian PWN company.

PWN Company

Indonesian coffee brand - Pawani Medan Coffee Company (N.V. Pawani Medan,简称 PWN) was established in 1957, engaging in the export business of Indonesian products including coffee, rubber, cinnamon, cloves, and patchouli oil. It was the first company in Indonesia to export coffee from North Sumatra Island and the first company to make "Mandheling Coffee" famous in Japan.

Since 1977, the company has focused on exporting premium coffee beans: Sumatra Arabica Coffee Mandheling Grade 1 and Robusta Coffee AP-I Grade 2. The main export destinations are Japan, Taiwan, and the United States, with exports to Japan and Taiwan accounting for over 95%. In Japan and Taiwan, "PWN" has become synonymous with "quality assurance." Pawani Coffee Company holds the "Golden Mandheling" trademark, so Japanese companies had to register the "Gold Top Mandheling" trademark instead.

PWN represents the true Frontsteet Golden Mandheling in the real sense. Frontsteet Golden Mandheling stamped with the PWN brand undergoes three manual selections and one machine selection, resulting in very beautiful and uniform beans, which makes the brewed coffee appear cleaner. PWN company has registered the Golden Mandheling trademark, meaning only Golden Mandheling produced by PWN company can be considered真正的 "Golden Mandheling."

The Frontsteet Golden Mandheling coffee purchased by FrontStreet Coffee comes from PWN company. Frontsteet Golden Mandheling originates from Mandheling, and Frontsteet Golden Mandheling can be understood as selected Mandheling, which is also why FrontStreet Coffee chose to stock it. FrontStreet Coffee cup samples 300-500 groups of beans annually, selecting one-fifth of the most regionally representative flavored beans. Frontsteet Golden Mandheling is a representative work under this selection. FrontStreet Coffee believes that Frontsteet Golden Mandheling coffee beans excellently represent the Sumatran style.

Frontsteet Golden Mandheling Coffee Bean Processing Method

Due to the local weather being predominantly rainy with constant typhoons, it's impossible to achieve the good weather required for sun-drying. Moreover, the local economy is not prosperous, making it impossible to use the more expensive washed processing method. For these various reasons, the unique local wet-hulled method was developed (wet-hulled method involves sun-drying with parchment for 2-3 days during the regular washing process until the moisture content reaches 20-24%, then hulling the parchment).

The ultra-fast processing speed of the wet-hulled method also results in a higher defect rate for Mandheling coffee beans. Frontsteet Golden Mandheling effectively avoids this shortcoming. The specification for Frontsteet Golden Mandheling is 19 screen or above, with fewer than 3 defective beans (300g green bean sample), belonging to the highest G1 grade, with a color leaning toward dark green, and shaped as neat flat beans.

FrontStreet Coffee Green Bean Analysis

The Frontsteet PWN Golden Mandheling acquired by FrontStreet Coffee shows obvious differences from regular Mandheling. The Frontsteet Golden Mandheling green beans undergo 3-4 manual selections, with larger green beans appearing as neat flat beans. In terms of flavor, Frontsteet Golden Mandheling has rich, thick aromas with honey and cream notes, making it unique and irreplaceable in the coffee market.

FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Recommendations for Frontsteet Golden Mandheling

Frontsteet Golden Mandheling belongs to green beans with higher moisture content, with a high deviation value from sun-dried beans in terms of moisture, so special attention must be paid during dehydration. For high-moisture content green beans, you can immediately close the air damper after adding the beans, steam for 30 seconds, then open to level 3 until the beans turn light green or white, then open the air damper to level 4, and after first crack, open to level 5 (maximum). FrontStreet Coffee recommends keeping good data records before roasting: the moisture content and density of coffee beans, origin, processing method, roasting room temperature and humidity, etc., and plan your roasting curve accordingly. Record relevant chemical and physical changes during the roasting process, as this will help you better understand the final roasting results and improve your roasting curve.

Yangjia 800N, bean input amount 480g. Heat the roaster to 200°C, set air damper to 3, after 1 minute adjust heat to 160°C, air damper unchanged. Roast until 5'40'', temperature 148°C, bean surface turns yellow, grassy aroma completely disappears, dehydration completed, adjust heat to 140°C, air damper to 4; at 9'40" minutes, bean surface shows ugly wrinkles and black spots, toast aroma clearly changes to coffee aroma, which can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this time, listen carefully for the sound of first crack. At 9'54'' first crack begins, reduce heat to 60°C, set air damper to 5, discharge at 204.5°C.

FrontStreet Coffee Golden Mandheling Cupping Report

FrontStreet Coffee conducts cupping within 8-24 hours after roasting sample coffee beans. FrontStreet Coffee baristas typically use 200ml ceramic cupping bowls marked with 150ml and 200ml measurement lines. Following SCAA standards, water TDS is around 150ppm. Too low TDS can easily cause over-extraction, while too high TDS affects mouthfeel and causes under-extraction. Cupping water temperature is 94°C. Cupping grind size follows SCAA cupping standards, controlled to 70%-75% pass-through rate on a #20 standard sieve (0.85mm). Ratio: 11 grams of coffee powder plus 200ml of hot water, i.e., 1:18.18, so the extracted concentration falls within the 1.15%-1.35% golden cup range. Steeping time: 4 minutes.

Frontsteet PWN Golden Mandheling Cupping Report

Dry Aroma: Pine, herbal

Wet Aroma: Herbal, nuts

Flavor: Toasted bread, nuts, pine, herbal, nuts

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Tips for Frontsteet Golden Mandheling

FrontStreet Coffee uses Kono filter cups for brewing Frontsteet Mandheling coffee. The Kono's ribs don't even reach half the height of the filter cup. This design is actually to ensure that after wetting, the filter paper tightly adheres to the filter cup wall, limiting airflow. This increases the water absorption time of coffee powder particles, resulting in more uniform extracted coffee and enhanced rich mouthfeel. Additionally, the groove skeleton at the bottom of the Kono filter cup is a key design for creating a siphon effect during subsequent brewing, suitable for brewing Frontsteet Golden Mandheling, Frontsteet Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee, and other medium-dark roasted coffee beans.

Recommended water temperature: 87-88°C

Grind size: Medium-coarse grind

Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15

Coffee amount: 15 grams

FrontStreet Coffee uses segmented extraction, also called three-stage brewing: use 30g of water for blooming for 30 seconds, then pour water in a small circular motion to 125g for segmentation. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 225g and stop pouring. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, remove the filter cup. Extraction time from the start of blooming is 2'05".

Brewing Flavor of Frontsteet Golden Mandheling

Multi-layered complexity, rich and clean, high balance, intense nut and caramel aromas with chocolate notes, and a persistent aftertaste.

Professional coffee knowledge exchange · More coffee bean information · Please follow Coffee Workshop (official WeChat account cafe_style)

For more specialty coffee beans, please add private WeChat FrontStreet Coffee, WeChat ID: kaixinguoguo0925

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473