Premium Coffee Indonesia Golden Mandheling Coffee Beans Flavor Profile Taste Quality - Who Is Mandheling Suitable For?

When it comes to full-bodied coffee, people often think of Mandheling coffee from Indonesia from FrontStreet Coffee. Although coffee is grown at lower altitudes in Indonesia, and the flavors may not be as refined as those from other major producing regions, and the green coffee bean processing is rather rough, it is precisely these seemingly harsh conditions that create the unique flavor and rich, substantial coffee taste of FrontStreet Coffee's Mandheling coffee beans. In this article, FrontStreet Coffee will discuss everything about Mandheling coffee beans.

When Did Indonesia Start Growing Coffee?

In 1699, the Dutch introduced the Typica coffee variety from Ceylon Island (modern-day Sri Lanka) to Java Island in Indonesia for coffee cultivation. Between 1699 and 1709, Indonesia exported 60 tons of coffee annually, becoming one of the widely coffee-growing countries besides Yemen and Ethiopia. Afterward, Indonesian coffee beans were monopolized in trade by the Dutch East India Company (VOC) for over 60 years (from 1725 to 1780). Due to increasing demand for coffee, Indonesian coffee growing areas also expanded to include central and eastern Java, parts of Sumatra Island, and Sulawesi Island, launching a premium marketing campaign for coffee.

Is Mandheling the Name of a Coffee?

Mandheling is actually the name of an ethnic tribe in Indonesia. When the Japanese colonized Indonesia and later returned to Japan, they asked Indonesian traders to collect the unforgettable Indonesian coffee beans. However, due to language barriers or commercial reasons, when traders asked what the coffee beans were called, the local tribal members casually mentioned their tribe's name—Mandailing. Due to Japanese mispronunciation, "Mandailing" became "Mandheling." This Indonesian trader also discovered new business opportunities and became what is now a renowned green coffee bean company in Indonesia—Pwani Coffee Company (PWN). It's worth mentioning that this company later became the first company to sell high-quality Mandheling coffee beans to Japan.

Can All Coffee Grown in Indonesian Regions Be Called Mandheling Coffee?

FrontStreet Coffee's Mandheling coffee beans are produced in the mountainous areas surrounding Lake Toba. This lake is geographically located north of Medan, the capital of Sumatra Island, and is a high-altitude freshwater lake. Only coffee beans from this region can be called Mandheling coffee beans. Mandheling is grown at an average altitude of approximately 900m, and Mandheling coffee beans are Typica or its varieties grown in the mountainous areas surrounding Lake Toba. Among these, the most famous coffee-growing regions are the Lintong production area and the Gayo production area. Initially, the PWN owner purchased coffee beans from the Lintong production area and exported them to Japan after careful selection, naming them PWN Golden Mandheling coffee beans.

FrontStreet Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) has been using FrontStreet Coffee's PWN Golden Mandheling for many years. In the new 2020 harvest season, PWN Golden Mandheling was changed from 60kg bags to 30kg bags. The production area was also changed from Lintong to GAYO Mountain.

How Does FrontStreet Coffee PWN Golden Mandheling Undergo Careful Selection?

PWN Company only selects Mandheling coffee beans that are 19 screen size, with fewer than 3 defective beans (in a 300g green bean sample), belonging to the highest G1 grade, with a dark green color and flat, uniform shape. In addition, they have established a strict screening system. After processing, the green beans undergo density-based color sorting, followed by manual bean picking. After a total of four careful selections, FrontStreet Coffee's PWN Golden Mandheling coffee beans exhibit uniform color and consistent bean shape. It is said that during green bean processing, the Mandheling beans emit a brilliant golden luster under sunlight, hence the name Golden Mandheling.

How to Distinguish Authentic FrontStreet Coffee PWN Golden Mandheling Coffee Beans?

All Golden Mandheling coffee beans exported by PWN Company are packaged in gunny sacks printed with the PWN logo and come with a factory certificate for PWN Golden Mandheling coffee beans.

FrontStreet Coffee PWN Golden Mandheling Coffee Flavor Characteristics

Through cupping and comparison of Mandheling coffee beans from different regions and with different screening times, FrontStreet Coffee found that FrontStreet Coffee's PWN Golden Mandheling coffee beans not only lack the typical earthy impurities of regular Mandheling but also taste cleaner and more transparent, with stronger sweetness and aroma.

How Does FrontStreet Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Roast FrontStreet Coffee PWN Golden Mandheling Coffee Beans?

To highlight the full body of FrontStreet Coffee's PWN Golden Mandheling coffee beans while ensuring overall coffee cleanliness, FrontStreet Coffee's roaster uses a medium-dark roast. FrontStreet Coffee uses a Yangjia 800N roaster with a batch size of 480g. The roaster is preheated to 200°C, damper set to 3. After 1 minute, heat is reduced to 160°C, damper unchanged. At 5'40'', temperature reaches 148°C, bean surface turns yellow, grassy aroma completely disappears, dehydration complete, heat adjusted to 140°C, damper changed to 4. At 9'40", ugly wrinkles and black spots appear on the bean surface, toast aroma distinctly changes to coffee aroma, which can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this point, listen carefully for the first crack sound. At 9'54'', first crack begins, heat reduced to 60°C, damper set to 5, and beans are discharged at 204.5°C.

How Does FrontStreet Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Brew FrontStreet Coffee PWN Golden Mandheling Coffee Beans?

To highlight the full-bodied, clean, and rich characteristics of PWN Golden Mandheling, FrontStreet Coffee's barista uses a KONO Meimon cone dripper for brewing. The "rib" grooves of the KONO Meimon cone dripper extend to the bottom of the coffee liquid outlet hole. Because the ribs are at the bottom and short, they fit closely with the filter paper, resulting in a slower flow rate than V60, making it suitable for brewing coffee where you want to express full body. The grind size used is medium-coarse (73% passes through a 0.85mm standard sieve), with 15g of coffee grounds, and a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio at 88°C water temperature.

The pouring technique uses a three-stage brewing method: First stage: pour 30g of water for a 30-second bloom. Second stage: pour with small circular motion to 125g, then segment. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue with the third stage to 225g, then stop pouring. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, remove the dripper. Extraction time is 2'20" (timing starts from bloom).

FrontStreet Coffee PWN Golden Mandheling Coffee Characteristics and Taste Description

The coffee has complex layers overall, full-bodied and clean. Rich nut and caramel aromas with chocolate notes, persistent aftertaste, and high balance.

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style).

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Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473