How Do the Two Golden Mandheling Coffees Differ?

Golden Mandheling coffee varies noticeably by production region and screening grade. In a blind tasting of seven Mandheling coffees, the barista identified Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling first. Both the PWN and Gayo lots come from around Mount Gayo in the Aceh region of northern Sumatra, grown at 1,100 to 1,600 meters by small estates under shade trees and processed by wet hulling.

Both beans pass multiple rounds of screening, and that grading work is what separates them in the cup. Aceh's Gayo area near Lake Tawar, in the Takengon district, generally reaches estate-level standards, which is why the two lots show different levels of richness and body. Comparing elevation, variety screening, processing, roast, and pour-over parameters is the practical way to pick the Sumatra coffee golden shell style that suits your taste.

Mandheling coffee is famous for its rich, full-bodied taste, but Mandheling from different production regions and screening grades varies noticeably in flavor. Front Street Coffee once conducted a blind tasting of seven Mandheling coffees, and the one the barista identified fastest was Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling. This article compares Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling and Front Street Gayo Golden Mandheling one by one, from production region elevation, variety screening, and processing method to roasting and brewing, and provides specific flavor descriptions and pour-over parameters to help coffee lovers find the Mandheling that suits their taste.

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Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) previously organized a Mandheling coffee blind tasting event. The baristas participating in the cupping did not know the specific identities of the seven beans in front of them in advance. As a result, in this round of blind tasting, the barista from Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) first recognized Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling. However, the seven beans also included another Front Street Golden Mandheling, so what exactly is the difference between Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling and Front Street Golden Mandheling? Why could the barista immediately distinguish Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling?

First, let us understand the coffee production regions of the two Golden Mandheling coffees. For ease of distinction, they will be referred to below as Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling and Front Street Gayo Golden Mandheling. Both Golden Mandheling coffees come from the area around Mount Gayo in the Aceh production region of northern Sumatra. The vast majority of those engaged in coffee cultivation around Mount Gayo are local farmers. The mountain is located near Lake Tawar in the Takengon area of Indonesia, in the Aceh Special Region at the northernmost tip of Sumatra Island.

The growing area ranges from 1,100 to 1,600 meters above sea level. The coffee is basically grown by small estates under shade trees. Beans from the Gayo production region usually reach estate-level standards and use wet-hulling processing. Because both beans selected by Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) have undergone multiple rounds of screening, compared with Mandheling from other Sumatran production regions, coffee from the Gayo production region has a cleaner mouthfeel and more prominent sweetness.

So what is the difference between Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling and Front Street Gayo Golden Mandheling? Although the two come from the same production region and both use the wet-hulling processing method, in the screening stage, the standards for Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling can be said to be extremely strict.

Only Golden Mandheling produced by PWN counts as true Front Street Golden Mandheling in the strict sense, and the packaging of Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling also bears the PWN logo. Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling must undergo three rounds of manual selection plus one round of machine screening, for a total of four screening processes. The variety it uses is Ateng, which was produced by crossing Timor with Arabica again, and its flavor is cleaner than the Timor variety. The specification of Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling coffee beans is 18 screen and above. In a 300g green bean sample, there are fewer than 3 defective beans. It belongs to the highest grade G1, is darker green in color, and has a neat flat-bean shape. After strict screening, Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling no longer carries the earthy, miscellaneous flavors of ordinary Mandheling. It is cleaner and more transparent on the palate, and its sweet aroma is also stronger.

Although everyone knows that only PWN's Golden Mandheling can be called Golden Mandheling, PWN's annual output is actually limited, and many large-bean selected Golden Mandheling coffees on the market are not from PWN. If you cannot confirm it, you can ask the seller to show the PWN green bean sack or the accompanying bean certificate to determine whether it is what Front Street calls Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling. Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee)'s Front Street Golden Mandheling coffee indeed comes from PWN, and the relevant certificate also arrived at Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) together with the Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling coffee beans that reached Hong Kong in November this year.

Then why is Front Street Gayo Golden Mandheling also called Golden Mandheling? The reason is that this bean has likewise undergone multiple rounds of screening. Front Street Gayo Golden Mandheling has undergone 3 rounds of manual screening, and its variety is timtim, commonly known as Timor. Timor is a hybrid descendant of Arabica and Robusta. Although its flavor is more refined than Robusta, it still retains quite a lot of Robusta's full-bodied characteristics. Therefore, even though it reaches G1 grade after 3 rounds of screening, Front Street Gayo Golden Mandheling still cannot match Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling in cleanliness and clear sweetness.

Wet-Hulling Processing Method

The wet-hulling method can be divided into two stages: in the first stage, a wooden pulper is used to remove the skin and pulp, followed by 3 hours of fermentation and drying, bringing the moisture content down to a semi-dry, semi-wet state of 30% to 50%; in the second stage, the mucilage and parchment layer are removed, and drying continues for 2 to 4 days, with the moisture content finally dropping to 12% to 13%. Today, Indonesia's coffee industry is no longer as backward as it once was, and many estates and companies have the conditions to use the washed method, but why has wet hulling not been abandoned? Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) believes that wet hulling is precisely the force that pushed Mandheling coffee onto the world stage. Mention Mandheling and one thinks of wet hulling; the two have long complemented each other.

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Roasting Record

Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling coffee roasting record: Yangjia 800N, bean charge 480g. Raise the drum temperature to 200°C and charge. Set the damper to 3. After 1 minute, adjust the heat to 160°C, keep the damper unchanged, and roast until 5 minutes 40 seconds, at 148°C, when the bean surface turns yellow, the grassy smell completely disappears, and dehydration is complete. Adjust the heat to 140°C and the damper to 4; at 9 minutes 40 seconds, wrinkles and dark patches appear on the bean surface, and the toast aroma clearly turns into coffee aroma, which can be regarded as the prelude to first crack. At this point, listen carefully for the sound of first crack. At 9 minutes 54 seconds, first crack begins. Reduce the heat to 60°C, set the damper to 5, and drop the beans at 204.5°C.

Front Street Gayo Golden Mandheling coffee roasting record: Yangjia 800N, bean charge 480g. Raise the drum temperature to 200°C and charge. Set the damper to 3. After 1 minute, adjust the heat to 160°C, keep the damper unchanged, and roast until 5 minutes 18 seconds, at 148°C, when the bean surface turns yellow, the grassy smell completely disappears, and dehydration is complete. Adjust the heat to 140°C and the damper to 4; at 8 minutes 00 seconds, wrinkles and dark patches appear on the bean surface, and the toast aroma clearly turns into coffee aroma, which can be regarded as the prelude to first crack. At this point, listen carefully for the sound of first crack. At 9 minutes 00 seconds, first crack begins. Reduce the heat to 80°C, set the damper to 5, and drop the beans at 202°C. Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Brewing Comparison

This brewing is intended to highlight the rich, clean, and aromatic characteristics of the two Golden Mandheling coffees. A KONO dripper was selected (this dripper mimics flannel brewing and can bring a full-bodied mouthfeel). For medium-dark roasted coffee, choose a medium-coarse grind for pour-over (70% passing rate with a No. 20 standard sieve). Use a coffee-to-water ratio of 1:13, with 20 grams of coffee. Lowering the coffee-to-water ratio can make the mouthfeel richer. Use a water temperature of 87°C.

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) brewing process: Slowly pour in the coffee grounds, keeping them as level as possible, and avoid shaking the dripper (shaking will reduce the spacing between grounds and hinder degassing during blooming). In the first stage, pour 40g of water in a small circle in the center and bloom for 30 seconds; the coffee bed slowly expands into a "hamburger" shape. In the second stage, pour 120g in circles from the center outward, keeping the pouring height as close to the coffee bed as possible, and move slowly to avoid excessive agitation. In the final stage, pour 100g, and end extraction once all the coffee liquid in the dripper has flowed into the server. Total extraction time is 2 minutes.

Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling flavor description: Sweet herbs, cinnamon-like spices, orange and pomelo citrus peel aromas, rich and full-bodied sweetness, creamy walnut chocolate. The fruit acidity is restrained and soft, and the aroma carries a strong melon sweetness. After the temperature drops, herbal aromas emerge, with light spices; the herbal note is full-bodied and accompanied by rich sweetness.

Front Street Gayo Golden Mandheling flavor description: Spicy herbal aromas, soft acidity, cocoa and nutty finish, obvious sweetness, and high body.

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