Mandheling Coffee Flavor Profile and Characteristics

FrontStreet Coffee's Mandheling coffee beans may have the ugliest appearance, but coffee enthusiasts believe that the less attractive Sumatran coffee beans look, the better, richer, and smoother they taste. FrontStreet Coffee's Mandheling was once considered the world's most full-bodied coffee. When tasting FrontStreet Coffee's Mandheling, you can feel a distinct smoothness on your tongue, combined with the most viscous spice and woody flavors, allowing you to easily appreciate the rich, full-bodied texture. Additionally, this coffee has a subtle plant aroma.

Next, FrontStreet Coffee will share some information about Mandheling coffee with fellow coffee enthusiasts.

Indonesian Mandheling Coffee Growing Regions

Mandheling is primarily produced on Sumatra Island in Indonesia, the country's largest island located near the equator. It has a typical tropical rainforest climate with high temperatures, humidity, and abundant rainfall, making it ideal for growing high-quality Arabica coffee beans.

However, Indonesia's growing regions have limited altitude, restricting space for cultivating high-quality Arabica coffee beans. Therefore, only 25% of coffee beans produced in Indonesia are Arabica, as Arabica can only be grown at high altitudes to achieve optimal flavor. The remaining 75% consists of Robusta coffee trees, which can be grown at lower altitudes, and Sumatra has the highest altitude in Indonesia.

Origin of Indonesian Mandheling Coffee Bean Name

Seasoned coffee enthusiasts know that most coffee beans are named after their growing estates or regions. For example, the Costa Rica Monster Estate coffee beans recently stocked at FrontStreet Coffee, or Ethiopian Yirgacheffe coffee beans. However, the origin of the Mandheling name involves an interesting story.

According to FrontStreet Coffee's understanding, this story began when Japanese soldiers, after colonizing Indonesia, returned to Japan but couldn't forget the delicious local coffee. Through trading connections, they asked locals to help collect high-quality coffee beans, including this Mandheling variety. The Japanese loved these coffee beans and asked for their name. The locals misunderstood and thought they were being asked about their ethnicity, responding with "Mandailing." The Japanese mispronounced "Mandailing" as "Mandehling." Due to this double misunderstanding, Mandheling accidentally became the name of this coffee variety.

Indonesian Mandheling Coffee Processing Method

As FrontStreet Coffee mentioned above, Indonesian Mandheling coffee is beloved by coffee enthusiasts for its unique flavors, thanks to Indonesia's distinctive coffee processing method—the Wet Hulling method. It is precisely this processing method that gives Mandheling coffee its characteristic earthy, herbal, and spicy notes.

It's worth noting that during wet hulling, when semi-hard, semi-soft moist green beans are hulled to remove the mucilage and parchment, they are easily crushed and split open like goat hooves, commonly known as "goat hoof beans." FrontStreet Coffee considers this a distinctive characteristic of Mandheling, not defective beans.

Origin of Indonesian Wet Hulling Method

According to FrontStreet Coffee's research, Indonesia uses wet hulling to process coffee cherries because the local weather is predominantly rainy with frequent typhoons, making it impossible to achieve the good weather required for sun drying. Additionally, the local economy wasn't prosperous enough to afford the more expensive washed processing method. This led to the development of the uniquely local wet hulling method.

Of course, Indonesian coffee development has now moved beyond its former poverty, and many estates and companies can use washed processing methods. However, wet hulling hasn't been abandoned. FrontStreet Coffee believes wet hulling was a key factor in Mandheling coffee's global recognition—when Mandheling coffee is mentioned, wet hulling comes to mind, clearly showing they complement each other.

The specific steps of wet hulling can be divided into two stages:

Stage 1: Use a wooden peeler to remove the skin and pulp, ferment for 3 hours, then dry until moisture content reaches 30-50% (semi-dry, semi-wet).

Stage 2: Remove the mucilage and parchment, continue with the final drying stage. The drying process takes 2-4 days until moisture content reaches 12-13%.

In addition to regular wet hulling, there's also aged wet hulling. Coffee beans are first processed using regular wet hulling, then stored in warehouses for 2-3 years. The warehouse environment must be cool and ventilated, with regular turning of beans to prevent mold and spoilage. During this time, the coffee's acidity gradually diminishes and converts to sugars, and the color deepens to yellowish-brown or dark brown. FrontStreet Coffee's Mandheling coffee beans using this processing method are called Aged Mandheling coffee beans.

Indonesian Mandheling Coffee Bean Grading

Coffee enthusiasts who have visited FrontStreet Coffee know that Indonesian Mandheling coffee beans are particularly large and full, so Indonesian Mandheling coffee grading is primarily based on defect count, supplemented by size grading. According to FrontStreet Coffee's understanding, Indonesia's requirements for general quality coffee beans are: no live insects, no moldy or rotten beans, maximum moisture content of 12.5%, and impurity rate less than 0.5%.

The following are Indonesian Mandheling coffee bean grading standards based on defects (based on 300g):

G1 Grade 1: Total defects less than 11
G2 Grade 2: Total defects greater than 12, less than 25
G3 Grade 3: Total defects greater than 26, less than 44
G4a Grade 4a: Total defects greater than 45, less than 60
G4b Grade 4b: Total defects greater than 61, less than 80
G5 Grade 5: Total defects greater than 81, less than 150
G6 Grade 6: Total defects greater than 151, less than 225

FrontStreet Coffee's Indonesian Gold Mandheling is Grade G1, which is extremely rare—originally custom-made for Japanese trading companies. G1 allows a maximum of 3 defects in 300 grams.

The above covers some information about Indonesian Mandheling coffee bean growing regions. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will share information about all Indonesian Mandheling varieties currently available at FrontStreet Coffee and their flavor characteristics.

FrontStreet Coffee PWN Gold Mandheling Coffee Beans

Country: Indonesia
Region: Sumatra, Aceh, Gayo Mountain
Altitude: 1100-1600m
Variety: Ateng
Processing: Wet Hulling
Flavor: Toast, nuts, pine, caramel, herbal

FrontStreet Coffee's Gold Mandheling is the latest release from PWN company in recent months. Unlike previous PWN Gold Mandheling, this batch comes from Gayo Mountain in Sumatra's Aceh region, whereas the previous one was from Lake Toba in Sumatra. According to FrontStreet Coffee's cupping and brewing tests of this latest Gold Mandheling coffee, it has more toast flavor compared to the previous Gold Mandheling, making it taste fuller-bodied.

Additionally, PWN Gold Mandheling coffee beans meet specifications of 18 screen size or larger, with fewer than 3 defective beans (300g green bean sample), belonging to the highest Grade G1. They have a dark green color and uniform flat bean shape. After strict selection, FrontStreet Coffee found that the Gold Mandheling not only lacks the characteristic earthy impurities of regular Mandheling but also tastes cleaner and brighter.

FrontStreet Coffee Indonesian Lintong Mandheling Coffee Beans

Country: Indonesia
Region: Sumatra (Lintong)
Altitude: 1100-1600m
Variety: Typica, Caturra
Processing: Wet Hulling
Flavor: Toast, nuts, caramel, pine, herbs

Lintong Mandheling comes from the Lintong mountainous area in north-central Sumatra, near Lake Toba. FrontStreet Coffee's entry-level Indonesian Mandheling comes from this region. Lintong Mandheling also uses the unique wet hulling method, which creates its characteristic low acidity and high body.

FrontStreet Coffee Indonesian Tiger Mandheling Coffee Beans

Country: Indonesia
Region: Sumatra
Altitude: 1500m
Variety: Caturra, Typica, Sidikalong
Processing: Wet Hulling
Flavor: Cream, dark chocolate, nuts, balanced flavor

Only Mandheling beans of 17 screen size or larger with a defect rate below 4% can be called Tiger Mandheling. Since Tiger Mandheling's main varieties are Caturra and Typica, Caturra brings citrus and lemon acidity, while Typica provides a persistent sweet aftertaste, making Tiger Mandheling taste more balanced and clean.

FrontStreet Coffee's selected Tiger Mandheling comes from the Tiger Estate in Sumatra, Indonesia, hence also known as "Mandheling Tiger" or "Sumatran Tiger Mandheling." The northern part of Sumatra Island has relatively high altitude, with Aceh Province where Lake Tawa is located and North Sumatra where Lake Toba is situated being the main Arabica coffee growing regions. Tiger Mandheling requirements include traditional Chinese medicinal herb aroma, and only Mandheling beans of 17 screen size or larger with a defect rate below 4% can be called Tiger Mandheling.

FrontStreet Coffee Indonesian Aged Mandheling Coffee Beans

Country: Indonesia
Region: Sumatra
Altitude: 1500m
Variety: Caturra, Catuai
Processing: Wet Hulling
Flavor: Ripe pu-erh tea, caramel, herbs, chocolate, low acidity

Aged Mandheling refers to Mandheling coffee beans that have undergone aging treatment, where green beans are naturally aged through extended storage time (typically 2-3 years). This process leads to reduced acidity and changes in green bean color.

Additionally, aged Mandheling coffee beans must be stored in cool, ventilated conditions to prevent mold and moisture. Because of the dim storage environment and extended time, improperly processed aged coffee often can't escape complex flavors similar to mold or commonly known as burlap bags or leather.

The above are representative Mandheling coffee beans from FrontStreet Coffee that use wet hulling processing. Additionally, FrontStreet Coffee also offers an Indonesian natural process Mandheling, which won't be detailed here. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will share cupping flavor comparisons of these four Indonesian Mandheling varieties.

Since FrontStreet Coffee's Mandheling coffee beans lack acidity characteristics, they are typically brewed directly. Taking FrontStreet Coffee's Mandheling coffee beans as an example, pour-over brewing is used to extract black coffee of moderate concentration.

Kono dripper, 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, 15g coffee grounds, 88°C water temperature, grind size (70-75% pass-through rate with 20 standard sieve)

Brewing Method

Segmented extraction: Use 30g of water for 30-second bloom, then pour in small circular motions to 125g for segmentation. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 225g and stop. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed again, remove the dripper. (Timing starts from bloom) V60 dripper extraction time is 2'00", while Kono dripper extraction time is slightly longer at 2'10".

Gold Mandheling: Multi-layered, full-bodied and clean, high balance, rich nut and caramel aroma with chocolate notes, persistent aftertaste.

Lintong Mandheling: Herbal and medicinal notes on entry, dark chocolate, caramel, sweet aftertaste.

Tiger Mandheling: Pine and spice aroma, relatively balanced flavor with distinct cream, dark chocolate, and nut notes.

Aged Mandheling: Woody, malt, and caramel aromas greet you immediately. The mouthfeel is less wild than traditional Mandheling, with more fullness and delicacy, giving a mature and steady feeling. Low acidity, with flavors of ripe pu-erh tea, caramel, herbs, and chocolate on entry, with exceptional sweetness.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473