How Is Golden Mandheling Different From Espresso?

Mandheling and espresso are not competing styles. Mandheling is arabica coffee grown on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, while espresso is a brewing method that forces water through coffee under pressure. Golden Mandheling is a sorted, more uniform lot that roasts and extracts more evenly than standard Mandheling.

Sumatra's warm climate, lower growing altitudes and local processing give Mandheling deep herbal, spice and pine notes. Careful sorting and a medium-dark roast keep the rich base while adding a cleaner mouthfeel and a clear sweet aftertaste. Espresso, by contrast, relies on grind size, dose and pressure, and medium-dark espresso blends are built for that method.

Although Mandheling and espresso are both known for their rich, full-bodied character, they belong to two entirely different categories: the former is synonymous with Arabica coffee beans from the Sumatra region of Indonesia, while the latter represents a brewing system that extracts espresso by means of pressurized steam. This article will sort out the flavor sources and brewing key points of Mandheling coffee, explain the roasting approach and pour-over parameters of Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling, and at the same time analyze the extraction principles of espresso, the logic of bean selection, and introduce the various medium-dark roasted espresso blend coffee beans that Front Street Coffee has launched for different taste preferences, helping coffee lovers more clearly understand the differences between the two and the drinking scenarios suited to each.

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Mandheling coffee and espresso are both widely known among coffee lovers worldwide for their intense, full-bodied taste, but they actually belong to two completely different concepts. Mandheling refers to Arabica coffee beans produced on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, while espresso refers to a brewing method that uses steam pressure for extraction.

What is Mandheling coffee?

Mandheling coffee specifically refers to Arabica coffee beans grown on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The local climate is warm, the growing altitude is relatively low, and combined with Indonesia's unique coffee processing methods, Mandheling coffee tends to present a relatively deep-toned profile, with herbal, spice, and pine-like flavors.

However, if strict sorting makes the bean size more uniform, the beans are heated more evenly during roasting, and a reasonable extraction plan is used in combination, Mandheling can also display a rich taste, a clean mouthfeel, and a clear sweet aftertaste. A representative product is "Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) — Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling Coffee."

In order to allow Golden Mandheling to retain its rich base while still clearly presenting its distinctive herbal aroma, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) chooses to drop the beans near the point just before second crack when roasting this Mandheling, so it is a medium-dark roast level. Good coffee is inseparable from fresh roasting. The coffee beans sent out by Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) are all shipped within 5 days after roasting is completed~

Using a medium-coarse grind (the size of coarse granulated sugar, with a 70% passing rate through a Chinese No. 20 standard sieve), a water temperature of 88°C, a coffee-to-water ratio of 1:15, and a KONO dripper for pour-over, Golden Mandheling will show a rich yet clean taste, with a high overall balance. The aroma is dominated by rich nuts and caramel, accompanied by chocolate notes, with a lasting finish.

What is espresso?

Espresso means that through an espresso machine using steam power, hot water is passed under 9-10 bar of pressure through extremely finely ground coffee powder to extract an extremely concentrated coffee liquid.

By extracting the essence of coffee through high pressure, a steam coffee machine will magnify the flavors of coffee beans to the extreme. Different coffee beans have different flavors, some sour and some bitter, so using a single-origin coffee bean to make espresso easily produces extremely intense sourness and bitterness. Although in principle all coffee beans can be used for extraction in an espresso machine, not all coffee beans can make a delicious espresso.

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) believes that a delicious espresso is one that can maintain stable flavor and quality over a long period, with a balanced taste expression, rich and full-bodied, bitter without being burnt, with an obvious sweet aftertaste, and some even with a slight fruity acidity.

Therefore, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) does not recommend using light-roasted coffee beans to make espresso. This is because light-roasted coffee beans extract more acidity and less crema, and espresso is prone to a sharp, thin taste and mouthfeel.

Therefore, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) recommends using specially formulated espresso blend coffee beans for extracting espresso. Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) has also launched four medium-dark roasted espresso blend coffee beans based on the taste needs of general consumers, and everyone can choose different flavors of blend coffee beans according to personal preference. For all coffee beans ordered online, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) will ship them within five days after roasting is completed, ensuring that everyone can experience the best aroma of freshly roasted coffee.

"Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) - Warm Sun Blend Coffee Beans," a coffee bean primarily featuring wine aroma. Made from Ethiopian natural Red Cherry coffee beans (30%) + Honduran Sherry Barrel coffee beans (70%), it has rich wine aroma, vanilla cream, the sweet-and-sourness of berries, and roasted nut flavor performance.

"Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) - Specialty Blend Coffee Beans": an espresso coffee bean primarily featuring nut aroma. Made from Colombian washed coffee beans (30%) + Brazilian semi-washed coffee beans (70%), it has nut, dark chocolate, and caramel flavor performance.

"Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) - Commercial Blend Coffee Beans," an espresso coffee bean primarily featuring body. Made from Robusta washed coffee beans (10%) + Colombian washed coffee beans (30%) + Brazilian semi-washed coffee (60%), it has nut, cocoa, and caramel flavor performance, with high body.

"Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) - The espresso moka pot coffee beans recommended by many baristas - Front Street Dark Cocoa Blend Coffee Beans," a slightly acidic and full-bodied espresso coffee bean. Made from Yunnan washed small-bean coffee (30%) + Brazilian semi-washed coffee beans (70%), it has soft fruity acidity, caramel, and nut flavor performance.

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