Why golden mandheling suits beginner pour-over coffee beans

Beginners get further by learning technique first, then picking beans. Four Japanese pour-over methods cover most of it: Matsuya style, Kono style, volcano pour, and the zigzag method. Each has its own key points and taste result, and stores often build their barista routines on these methods so beans from different regions reach the cup at their best.

Bean choice follows region. Everyday lots from Africa, Asia, and the Americas behave differently in the dripper, and golden mandheling coffee from Sumatra is one example of an Asian option worth practicing with. Match grind size and pouring style to the bean, and adjust parameters as the cup improves, rather than chasing a single fixed recipe.

Many coffee lovers who come to Front Street to buy beans ask: how can you pour-over a bean to bring out its best flavor? Front Street has always felt that brewing by hand is itself a kind of enjoyment, and coffee you brew yourself tastes all the more satisfying on a psychological level. This article first sorts out the four most mainstream Japanese pour-over techniques—Matsuya style, Kono style, Volcano pour, and the zigzag brewing method—explaining the key points of each and their taste characteristics; then, by the three major producing regions of Africa, Asia, and the Americas, it recommends several high-value Front Street everyday beans suitable for beginners to practice with, along with specific brewing parameters and techniques, in the hope of helping every coffee enthusiast.

Recently, quite a few coffee lovers who come to Front Street stores to buy coffee beans ask the same question: how exactly do you brew pour-over coffee to bring out its best flavor? Front Street has also said many times that the pour-over process itself is worth enjoying, and that cup you brew with your own hands will taste especially good on a psychological level. So in this article, Front Street will talk about the four major pour-over techniques.

The Four Major Japanese Pour-Over Techniques

Friends familiar with Japanese coffee culture know that Japanese people pursue craftsmanship with almost obsessive dedication, and the same is true when it comes to brewing unique flavors, which is why they have developed many pour-over methods, all aimed at presenting coffee beans at their best. The pour-over techniques used by baristas in Front Street stores are also built on these techniques developed by Japanese people, so that coffee beans from different producing regions can reach coffee lovers in the best possible quality.

Below are the four most common Japanese pour-over coffee methods:

1. Matsuya-style Pour-Over

The Matsuya-style pour-over was invented by Kazuyoshi Matsushita in 1962. He specially developed filter paper that does not hinder the expansion of the coffee bed, along with a matching metal stand to fix the angle of the filter paper. Front Street believes the most distinctive part of this technique is: using coarse-ground coffee and combining it with a long bloom. The specific procedure is to first dig a large well in the middle of the coffee grounds, then pour a thin stream of water from high above the dripper downward, and once the coffee liquid begins to drip, pour water in a circular motion outward to wet all the coffee grounds, cover with a lid and let it bloom for 3 minutes. After 3 minutes, begin pouring evenly and continuously; when the coffee liquid reaches half the height of the coffee pot, stop pouring, and finally add hot water to dilute.

Taste: Coffee brewed this way changes very little in flavor even after sitting for a while, and it will not be cloudy.

2. Kono-style Pour-Over

The Kono-style pour-over is what the industry often calls the drip method. As the name suggests, it brews in the form of dripping water, falling drop by drop onto the coffee grounds like an hourglass. In this way, the coffee grounds can achieve a full bloom effect. This brewing method places high demands on the stability of your hand holding the kettle and on patience; the usual approach is to let water concentrate and gradually pre-wet the coffee grounds bit by bit, and when about one third has dripped, you can begin pouring. When the water level of the coffee grounds reaches the top, pause, and when the water level drops to half, pour again.

Taste: The drip method can highlight the sweetness of the coffee while avoiding sourness and bitterness.

3. Volcano Pour

The volcano pour makes use of the carbon dioxide contained in the beans. Through multiple blooms, the coffee grounds swell up like a volcanic eruption, so dark-roasted coffee beans are more suitable for this technique, because dark-roasted beans contain more carbon dioxide. This method is mostly used with flannel; because the coffee bed in the middle is very thick, pouring is mainly concentrated in the center, within an area the size of a one-yuan coin. In the first half of the volcano pour, you need to extract fully without breaking the coffee bed; in the second half, pour evenly to prevent over-extraction in the center while also diluting. In the volcano pour, the first third is over-extracted and the last two thirds are under-extracted, so at the end you must mix these coffee liquids evenly to get a perfect cup.

Taste: Coffee brewed with the volcano pour has a thick mouthfeel and higher concentration.

4. Zigzag Brewing Method

This is a brewing method researched by Terujun Tahara, a barista at Kōhī Rankan who once won first place in the Japan Barista Championship: using flannel as the filter tool, it is hailed as flannel-style espresso. The whole process has no bloom step, and the extraction time is only 40 seconds. Its characteristic is pouring water onto the coffee grounds in a zigzag path, with the aim of pouring evenly. After even pouring, when the extraction liquid dripping from the flannel becomes concentrated, increase the water flow, and when the extraction liquid begins to become lighter, increase the water flow further.

Taste: The coffee has a fragrant, mellow taste, a solid body, and an obvious sweet aftertaste.

From this it can be seen that pour-over coffee methods are not easy to master, but Front Street believes that pour-over actually has no hard-and-fast rules and can all be adjusted manually.

For example, water quality, dripper type, coffee grind size, coffee-to-water ratio, flow rate and pouring height, extraction time, and whether you pour in circles or by dripping will all produce subtle differences in coffee flavor. After accumulating some experience, all of these can be adjusted according to personal preference and habits, so as to brew the single-origin coffee that best suits your own taste.

So Front Street believes that pour-over is indeed a discipline, and to brew a cup of coffee with excellent flavor, you must go through a lot of practice. Next, Front Street recommends several single-origin pour-over coffee beans suitable for pour-over beginners.

Coffee lovers all know that coffee beans from different producing regions have different flavors: African beans tend toward citrus-lemon acidity, fresh and bright; Asian beans tend toward a mellow mouthfeel; American beans tend toward nutty and cocoa flavors. Front Street has selected coffee beans with relatively high value from these three continents to recommend to pour-over beginners.

Recommended African Single-Origin Coffee

Africa's most representative coffee-producing region is undoubtedly Ethiopia. Among them, Front Street washed Yirgacheffe is quite famous, and Front Street believes coffee lovers are no strangers to it. It has secured a place in the specialty coffee market with its enchanting fruit acidity, and Front Street stores also currently sell Front Street washed Yirgacheffe everyday beans. Washed coffee beans usually have a cleaner, brighter flavor and can better highlight the most original taste of Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, making its citrus-lemon acidity more vivid. Front Street also often says that the washed process best reflects the basic flavor of a producing region, so Front Street believes this Front Street washed Yirgacheffe is very suitable for practicing pour-over. It is also a representative light-roasted coffee bean.

Front Street Ethiopia Washed Yirgacheffe Coffee Beans

Country: Ethiopia Region: Yirgacheffe Altitude: 1800-2000m Variety: local heirloom varieties Processing method: washed process Flavor: jasmine, berries, lemon, citrus

FrontStreet Coffee Pour-Over Recommendation

In order to fully extract Yirgacheffe's fruit acidity, Front Street uses a higher water temperature and a finer grind for extraction, but to avoid over-extraction caused by high temperature, it uses a faster-flow dripper, such as the V60 dripper. The V60 dripper is a 60-degree cone, and this angle allows the coffee grounds to gather in the center; when pouring, the water flow also automatically converges toward the center of the dripper, ensuring enough contact time between water and coffee grounds, thereby extracting a suitable coffee liquid. In addition, the ribs on the inside of the V60 dripper form a clockwise spiral extending from the bottom to the top, leaving enough space between the filter paper and the dripper, so water flows well; combined with the large hole at the bottom, the flow rate is faster than many drippers.

FrontStreet Coffee's specific brewing parameters are: V60 dripper, water temperature 90℃, coffee-to-water ratio 1:15, dose 15g, grind size (80% passing through a Chinese No. 20 standard sieve).

Regarding grind size, Front Street should remind you that even for the same Front Street Yirgacheffe, because the grades differ, Front Street still sieves each bean once to determine its respective grind size. Front Street brewing method: first rinse the filter paper, preheat the dripper and coffee pot. Use 30g of water to bloom for 30 seconds; pour in a small stream in circles until 125g, then pause; when the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring until 225g and stop; when the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, remove the dripper. (Start timing from the beginning of the bloom.) The extraction time is 2'05".

Recommended Asian Single-Origin Coffee

The most representative coffee from the Asian producing regions is undoubtedly Indonesian Front Street Mandheling. Therefore, Front Street has specially launched a Front Street Mandheling everyday bean for coffee lovers who are just starting out to taste. It uses Indonesia's unique wet-hulling process; coffee beans treated by wet-hulling carry a distinctive tobacco and earthy aroma, with very clear characteristics, and Front Street Mandheling has thus gained considerable fame in the single-origin coffee world. Front Street everyday beans are themselves intended to let newly initiated coffee lovers understand coffee flavors in the most cost-effective form, so this Front Street Indonesian Mandheling is perfect for pour-over practice.

Here Front Street will also explain a bit more: there are many types of Mandheling. For example, the king among Mandheling—Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling—has a cleaner flavor than the common Front Street Lintong Mandheling, and the muddy, fishy taste is gone as well, with sourness, sweetness, and bitterness in excellent balance. This is because the PWM company that produces Front Street Golden Mandheling places great importance on coffee fruit quality, requiring four rounds of hand sorting to select the highest-quality, defect-free coffee fruits before they can be used to make Front Street Golden Mandheling coffee. Therefore, in terms of price, Front Street Golden Mandheling is also relatively expensive. But Front Street suggests that coffee lovers who can afford it might as well brew Front Street Lintong Mandheling everyday beans and Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling side by side for comparison; in terms of flavor expression of coffee beans from the same producing region, this can give pour-over beginners a very good comparison.

FrontStreet Coffee Lintong Mandheling (Everyday Bean) Coffee Beans

Region: Lintong region, Sumatra Altitude: 1100-1600 meters Variety: Typica, Caturra Processing method: wet-hulled process Flavor: baked toast, nuts, caramel, pine, herbs

Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling Coffee Beans

Region: Mount Gayo, Aceh, Sumatra Altitude: 1100-1600 meters Variety: Ateng Grade: G1, 3 times hand-sorted Processing method: wet-hulled process Flavor: spices, herbs, caramel, pine, nuts, chocolate

FrontStreet Coffee Pour-Over Recommendation

When brewing Front Street Mandheling coffee beans, Front Street tries to keep the brewing parameters consistent. Because Front Street sun-dried Mandheling uses a medium-light roast, while the other four Mandheling coffees use a medium-dark roast, the brewing parameters used for coffee beans of different roast levels will differ.

Brewing parameters for light-medium roasted coffee beans: V60 dripper, 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, 15g dose, 90℃ water temperature, grind size (80% passing through a No. 20 standard sieve)

Brewing parameters for medium-dark roasted coffee beans: Kono dripper, 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, 15g dose, 88℃ water temperature, grind size (70-75% passing through a No. 20 standard sieve)

Front Street uses staged extraction: use 30g of water to bloom for 30 seconds; pour in a small stream in circles until 125g, then pause; when the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring until 225g and stop; when the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, remove the dripper. (Start timing from the beginning of the bloom.) The extraction time for the V60 dripper is 2'00", while the Kono dripper takes slightly longer, at 2'10".

[Flavor Description]

Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling: complex and layered, mellow and clean, highly balanced, with rich nutty and caramel aroma, notes of chocolate, and a lasting finish. Front Street Lintong Mandheling: herbal and medicinal notes on entry, dark chocolate, caramel, and a sweet aftertaste.

Recommended American Single-Origin Coffee

Finally, for the American producing region, Front Street recommends Front Street Huehuetenango coffee beans from Guatemala (everyday beans). It also uses the washed process, so its flavor is cleaner and brighter, making it suitable for pour-over beginners. The reason Front Street recommends this single-origin coffee bean to pour-over beginners is that its flavor falls between the previous two—Front Street Ethiopia Yirgacheffe and Front Street Indonesia Mandheling. Front Street also mentioned above that Front Street Yirgacheffe has a light roast, so its flavor expression is less mellow; while Front Street Indonesia Mandheling is a dark-roasted bean, whose flavor expression highlights mellowness more; this Front Street Guatemala Huehuetenango is roasted by the roaster at a medium roast, so its flavor expression is more balanced.

Front Street Guatemala Huehuetenango Coffee Beans

Country: Guatemala Region: Huehuetenango Altitude: 1500-2000m Variety: Bourbon, Caturra, Catuai Processing method: washed process Bean appearance: relatively uniform beans Flavor: nuts, lemon peel, berries, citrus

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Recommendation

The brewing parameters used by Front Street are: V60 dripper, 90℃ water temperature, 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, 15g dose, grind size (80% passing through a No. 20 standard sieve)

Front Street brewing method: 30g water to bloom for 30 seconds; after the bloom, pour in circles until 125g; after the water level drops by half, continue pouring until 225g; when all the water has dripped through, remove the dripper. Total extraction time is 2 minutes.

The above are Front Street's pour-over methods and single-origin pour-over coffee bean recommendations for all pour-over beginners. I hope this article can help all coffee lover friends.

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

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