What Does Arabica Coffee Mean for Sumatra Mandheling Beans?

Arabica coffee refers to the species that most specialty coffee comes from, prized for aroma and lower caffeine than Robusta. Sumatra Mandheling is an Arabica coffee from Indonesia, known for a rich, mellow body, low acidity, and herbal, nutty tones. Its distinctive character comes largely from the wet-hulling process used in the region.

Wet-hulling removes the skin and pulp, ferments and sun-dries briefly, then strips the mucilage and parchment before drying continues to about 12 percent moisture. The result is beans with a dark bluish-green color and visible surface cracks. Sumatra has two well-known Mandheling areas: Aceh in the north and Lintong near Lake Toba in the south.

Sumatra coffee is the representative of Indonesian coffee, among which Mandheling is famous for its rich and mellow flavor and low acidity. Its unique wet-hulling process gives it herbal and nutty tones, making it deeply loved by coffee enthusiasts worldwide. The story of this land is also hidden behind the Starbucks Sumatra coffee design. This article will guide you through the regional characteristics of Sumatra coffee beans, the mysteries of the wet-hulling process, and the differences between Golden Mandheling and Lintong Mandheling, as well as sharing Front Street Coffee's brewing insights and brand recommendations for PWN Golden Mandheling.

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Mandheling has an irresistible appeal. It is different from the fruity sweetness of Ethiopian beans, and it lacks the floral and fruity fragrance of Geisha, yet it has won the favor of many coffee lovers with its own unique flavor. Mandheling coffee has an extremely rich and mellow taste, once regarded as the coffee with the highest body in the world. It has a rich, mellow flavor with a hint of syrupy texture and low acidity. Its main overseas markets are Germany and Japan, which to some extent confirms the outstanding quality and taste of Mandheling coffee.

Wet-hulling is a quick method of processing coffee beans. First, the skin and pulp of the coffee beans are removed, followed by a short fermentation and sun-drying. Then the mucilage and parchment layer are removed, and drying continues until the moisture content drops to 12%. Mandheling coffee beans processed by the wet-hulling method often show varying degrees of squeezing cracks on the surface, and the beans have a dark bluish-green color.

There are 2 Mandheling coffees on the Front Street bean list, and they happen to come from the two most famous coffee-producing regions in Sumatra: one is the "Golden Mandheling" from the Aceh region near Lake Tawar in northern Sumatra, and the other is the "Lintong Mandheling" grown and harvested around Lake Toba in the south, locally known as the "Two Lakes Double Mandheling." Due to many smallholder producers, their unique semi-washed processing method, and iron deficiency in the soil, coffee beans from this region have a special blue color at the fresh green bean stage.

Lintong Mandheling refers to Arabica coffee from the mountainous area around Lake Toba in North Sumatra Province. This lake is located north of Medan, the provincial capital of Sumatra, and is a high-altitude freshwater lake. The average elevation is about 900 meters above sea level. Lintong Mandheling is the traditional Mandheling, belonging to the regular version of Mandheling coffee, processed by the wet-hulling method and presenting the unique herbal, stuffy aroma of Mandheling. Therefore, Front Street has added Lintong Mandheling to its daily ration bean series, so that curious customers can also taste the unique aroma of Indonesian coffee.

Golden Mandheling coffee is PWN Company's exclusive signature product. Since the trademark "Golden Mandheling" was registered early on, only Mandheling produced by PWN Company can be called "Golden Mandheling." The characteristic of Golden Mandheling coffee is that the green beans have undergone multiple rounds of screening, resulting in very high overall quality. PWN purchases Mandheling green beans of 18 screen size and above, G1 grade with fewer than 3 defective beans in a 300g sample, which is the highest grade of Indonesian green beans. Subsequently, strict standards are followed with 1 machine sorting plus 3 manual sorting rounds to remove defective beans, ensuring the color, shape, and size of the Mandheling coffee beans are uniform. Therefore, Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling tastes cleaner and more transparent, with more pronounced body and sweetness.

Front Street has tested countless Mandheling coffees behind the scenes, including Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling, Lintong Mandheling, Tiger Mandheling, Aged Mandheling, and even natural process Mandheling. Among these Mandheling coffees, FrontStreet Coffee pays the most attention to Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling.

FrontStreet Coffee: Indonesia PWN Golden Mandheling Coffee Beans

Region: Sumatra, Indonesia

Grade: G1, triple hand-sorted

Altitude: 1100m—1600m

Variety: Ateng

Processing Method: Wet-hulling

It should be noted that "Golden Mandheling" has long been registered as a trademark by Indonesia's PWN Company. In other words, only Golden Mandheling coffee beans produced by PWN Company are truly Golden Mandheling in the real sense. Front Street has noticed that many sellers of Golden Mandheling coffee beans on the market, in order to sell coffee beans at a higher price, select green beans of 18 screen size and above from Mandheling coffee beans of the same G1 grade and subject them to three rounds of manual hand sorting, in order to make their appearance as close as possible to Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling.

Front Street has also purchased several "Golden Mandheling" coffees and conducted cupping evaluations. Front Street's baristas clearly identified Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling among them, because beyond the herbal and nutty notes that Mandheling should have, the genuine Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling has a clean taste and more pronounced caramel sweetness that other "Golden Mandheling" coffees cannot match.

The Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling that Front Street purchases is harvested exclusively by hand-picking individual fully ripe cherries to ensure initial bean selection quality. The coffee cherries undergo SEMI-WASHED processing, natural sun-drying, and after hulling, another drying and refining process, two rounds of green bean cleaning, and three rounds of manual sorting. First, it meets G1 grade, then 18 screen size and above, and finally three rounds of manual hand sorting to ensure all defective beans are removed, thereby guaranteeing a clean taste. Therefore, it can be said to be a strictly selected top-grade Golden Mandheling coffee bean.

When FrontStreet Coffee's baristas conducted cupping evaluations of Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling coffee beans, they tasted its premium herbal notes, caramel aftertaste, and rich, mellow chocolate flavor, making it the ultimate choice for coffee connoisseurs.

As shown in the image above, the Golden Mandheling marked "PWN" is the abbreviation of Indonesia's Pawani Company, and the Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling coffee beans produced by this company are all registered in Indonesia. Some friends worry that the Golden Mandheling they carefully selected is not the one they wanted. Actually, you can verify with the seller by asking them to show the Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling green coffee bean jute bag and relevant certificates for confirmation. On the wall of FrontStreet Coffee's store, the Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling green bean jute bag and related certificates are displayed.

Many friends' impression of Mandheling is "bitter," so people often ask Front Street's baristas how to brew Golden Mandheling to make it taste good. Actually, bitterness can be good or bad. Good bitterness dissipates shortly after entering the mouth, leaving a lingering aroma. Plus, Mandheling coffee is synonymous with full body, so it is roasted to a darker degree.

In order to highlight the high body characteristic of Golden Mandheling, FrontStreet Coffee uses the KONO dripper for brewing. The reason for choosing KONO is its unique cone design that ensures even water distribution and a stable drip rate throughout the filter. The grooves in the lower half of the cone fit tightly against the filter, reducing sediment and improving airflow, ultimately resulting in a cup with concentrated flavor and fuller body.

As for water temperature, Front Street chooses to use 88°C hot water to brew Mandheling coffee. If you brew coffee at home, you will surely notice that under the same conditions, the higher the water temperature, the more bitter the coffee tastes. Water temperature is crucial to coffee extraction because it affects the extraction speed. "Extraction" refers to the process by which flavor compounds in coffee beans are dissolved into your cup. The higher the water temperature, the faster the oils, acids, and caffeine are extracted from the coffee. This may lead to over-extraction, making the coffee bitter and astringent. After Front Street's testing, 88°C water temperature is best for brewing Golden Mandheling.

Medium-dark roasted coffee is not suitable for a large water-to-coffee ratio, as it will make the overall taste thinner. Front Street recommends starting with 1:15, then adjusting according to your own taste.

Filter: KONO dripper

Water temperature: 88°C

Coffee dose: 15g

Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15

Grind size: 70% passing rate on China standard No. 20 sieve

Brewing method:

Split extraction: Use 30g of water for a 30-second bloom, then pour in a slow circular motion until reaching 125g for the first split. When the water level is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring until reaching 225g and stop. When the water level is about to expose the coffee bed again, remove the dripper. (Timing starts from the beginning of the bloom.) V60 dripper extraction time is 2'00", while Kono dripper extraction time is slightly longer at 2'10".

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

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.