How Does Blending Coffee Differ From Single-Origin Beans?

Espresso and Indonesian Mandheling are not really in competition, because they answer different questions. Espresso is an extraction method and a style of drink built on espresso beans, while Mandheling is a single-origin coffee known for heavy body, smooth texture and herbal, spicy notes. A blend is assembled for balance and stable flavor; a single origin shows the character of one region.

In practice, espresso is pulled at roughly a 1:2 to 1:3 coffee-to-water ratio: about 20 grams of finely ground coffee, around 9 bar of pressure, water at 90.5 to 96 degrees Celsius, 20 to 30 seconds, yielding about 40 grams of liquid. Blending coffee is the common route to that cup, though Mandheling can also be pulled as a single-origin espresso.

Espresso versus Indonesian Mandheling—one is renowned for its rich, silky smoothness, the other for its herbal and spicy flavor. Which one actually tastes better? This question cannot be answered simply. From the perspective of Front Street Coffee, this article first clarifies the basic concepts of Italian coffee, espresso, and single-origin coffee, then analyzes why espresso blends have become the mainstream choice, as well as the pros and cons of SOE and Mandheling espresso. At the end, it also includes recommendations for several popular espresso blends and Mandheling beans available at Front Street stores, helping you find the cup that suits your personal taste.

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When it comes to Italian coffee, the first thing people think of is often that rich, smooth texture. After repeated testing among nearly fifty single-origin beans at Front Street, we found that Indonesian Mandheling also possesses high body and a smooth mouthfeel, but with an extra layer of herbal and spicy notes unique to the Indonesian region. So, which is more worth drinking—Mandheling coffee or Italian coffee? Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) would like to use this article to clarify this question.

What is Italian coffee?

First, we need to clarify the concept of Italian coffee. Literally, Italian coffee refers to coffee in the Italian style, which must be extracted using an espresso machine, and the liquid produced by the machine is actually espresso. Drinking espresso directly is not impossible, but the taste is too intense for most people to accept, so milk is usually added, turning it into the common Italian coffee found on the market. The mochas, cappuccinos, lattes, and others served at Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) stores all fall into this category.

So what is espresso?

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) likes to use data to explain espresso: the coffee-to-water ratio roughly falls between 1:2 and 1:3. For example, 20 grams of extremely finely ground coffee powder, under about 9 bar of pressure, is extracted with hot water at 90.5 to 96 degrees Celsius for 20 to 30 seconds, ultimately yielding 40 grams of coffee liquid (the amount for a double shot). These 40 grams are Espresso. On the palate, the bitterness is strong, but upon closer tasting, you can capture the unique aroma of coffee, and the sweet aftertaste is also prominent. That unique rich crema aroma is difficult for single-origin coffee to replicate.

As for lattes, cappuccinos, mochas, caramel macchiatos, and other fancy coffees, they are all variations built on espresso by adjusting the ratio of milk to milk foam, and incorporating elements such as caramel, chocolate sauce, and vanilla syrup.

What is Mandheling coffee?

Indonesian Mandheling is a single-origin coffee bean, meaning beans from a single region. Its flavor profile is rich, aromatic, bitter, full-bodied, with a touch of sweetness. The mouthfeel is solid and full, the acidity is pleasant, the aroma is pure, the acidity is moderate, and the sweetness is rich and thought-provoking. It is suitable for dark roasting and can release a heavy fragrance. The characteristic taste of Mandheling coffee always expresses its most unique sweetness through its most unique bitterness.

So what are single-origin coffee beans?

According to Front Street's understanding, traditionally single-origin coffee has two interpretations. The most common one refers to coffee from a single variety or a single region, which benefits growers because regional flavors can be distinguished from the source. Therefore, the more common definition now is: coffee made using beans from only one country or one region, combined with different brewing equipment, appropriate grind size, coffee-to-water ratio, water temperature, and extraction time, is called single-origin coffee. Tasting single-origin coffee is like tasting red wine—each one has its own unique appeal, such as bitterness, acidity, sweetness, body, plus the special flavors of a particular origin.

Front Street's bean list has nearly fifty single-origin coffee beans to choose from, and the store's small blackboard can only display a portion of them. These beans' origins cover almost the entire "coffee golden growing belt," and the varieties are quite diverse. For some classic origins, Front Street has also launched an everyday beans series, allowing friends new to specialty coffee to explore regional terroir at low cost. Mandheling coffee beans come from the Sumatra region. According to Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee), Mandheling is a single-origin coffee bean from Indonesia. So what beans are used to make Italian coffee?

What coffee beans are used for Italian coffee?

Anyone who regularly drinks Italian coffee knows that most cafes mainly use espresso blends to make Italian coffee. So can single-origin beans be used? The answer is yes. Currently, Italian coffee made with single-origin beans is defined as "Single Origin Espresso," commonly known as SOE.

But why are single-origin beans from a single region generally not used for Italian coffee? Because the espresso machine amplifies the most prominent flavors of the coffee beans. For example, Ethiopian Yirgacheffe's main note is citrus-lemon acidity, and the machine amplifies the sourness; Indonesian Mandheling's main note is herbal, earthy, and somewhat bitter, and the machine amplifies the bitterness. Therefore, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) does not use single-variety beans to make Italian coffee, otherwise the final product would be very unbalanced and affect the taste. This is also the reason why Italian coffee mainly uses blends.

The main purpose of blending coffee is to maintain flavor stability and balance. Coffee fruit is, after all, an agricultural product, and its flavor fluctuates each year due to climate and environmental changes—it might be sweeter this year and less sweet next year. Mixing several coffee beans together can solve this problem well, at least keeping the flavor consistent from year to year.

What is the essential difference between espresso and single-origin coffee?

After comparing the above three aspects, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) has reached a conclusion: espresso can be single-origin coffee or not, and the difference lies in the coffee beans used.

Therefore, single-origin coffee can be made into espresso. The distinction between espresso and single-origin coffee is based on the difference in concentration between coffee liquid extracted with an espresso machine and coffee liquid obtained through other brewing methods. For example, Mandheling made with a siphon or pour-over cannot be called espresso, while Mandheling made with a fully automatic or semi-automatic coffee machine can be called espresso.

So now Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) can answer: Mandheling and Italian coffee cannot be simply compared as to which tastes better. If Mandheling beans are used to make espresso, it is likely to be more bitter than coffee liquid extracted from ordinary blends, because Mandheling itself has a strong herbal flavor and high body. But if comparing Mandheling as single-origin coffee with espresso, then espresso is definitely more bitter.

Of course, with the development of the coffee market, the choices of espresso blends and Mandheling beans are becoming increasingly abundant, and different choices will result in different brewed flavors. Next, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) will recommend several currently popular espresso coffee beans and single-origin Indonesian Mandheling beans available in the store.

Espresso coffee bean recommendations

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Sunflower Warm Sun Blend Flavor: Noticeable fruit acidity, faint berry aroma, wine aroma, rich chocolate flavor, with a prominent sweet aftertaste. Recipe: Honduras Sherry : Yirga Red Cherry = 7:3

For this blend, Front Street uses Yirgacheffe sun-dried Red Cherry and Honduras Sherry. Front Street's design concept for this bean is that it can be used for both espresso and pour-over. When used to make espresso, the flavor given off has a noticeable fermented wine aroma; on the palate, the acidity of citrus and berries immediately emerges, with whiskey-like aroma, and the finish is dark chocolate.

When brewing this Warm Sun Blend as pour-over, the flavor is not as rich as when making espresso. The brewed cup has a fermented wine aroma and a little citrus aroma. When hot, the palate shows only a noticeable wine aroma and a dark chocolate finish. As the temperature drops, the acidity of citrus and berries is slightly revealed. Overall it is clean and refreshing, without the vanilla cream mouthfeel.

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Specialty Blend Flavor: Soft, slight acidity, clean sweetness, nutty sweet aftertaste. The overall impression is not too pungent, mild, and the body is medium. Recipe: Colombia : Brazil = 3:7

For this blend, Front Street uses Brazil and Colombia. It tastes of a light roasted grassy aroma, mildly fragrant with a slight bitterness, smooth and pleasing, with a comfortable finish. This is because coffee beans from Colombia's Huila region have pleasant acidity, a fragrant aroma, moderate acidity, and a rich, thought-provoking sweetness; coffee beans from Brazil's Cerrado region have a comfortable bittersweet taste and an extremely smooth entry. The combination of the two is simply wonderful.

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Commercial Blend Flavor: Caramel sweetness, nutty and cocoa-like, dark chocolate flavors, balanced acidity and sweetness, slightly bittersweet, with a lasting finish. Recipe: Colombia : Brazil : Robusta = 3:6:1

For this blend, Front Street uses coffee beans from Brazil and Colombia plus 10% Robusta coffee beans. The taste is classic. Front Street believes this blend tastes of rich crema and mouthfeel, caramel sweetness, and also carries nutty, cocoa-like, and dark chocolate flavors, with balanced acidity and sweetness, slightly bittersweet, and a lasting finish. This commercial blend, like Front Street's Specialty Blend, uses a ratio of Colombia and Brazil, with the difference being the addition of Robusta, which provides rich crema and makes the coffee fuller-bodied.

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee)'s espresso coffee bean recommended by many baristas—Front Street Black Cocoa Blend Flavor: With soft fruit acidity, caramel sweetness, nutty and dark chocolate flavors, smooth and viscous, but the taste is on the lighter side. Recipe: Yunnan : Brazil = 3:7

For this blend, Front Street uses Brazil and Yunnan. Front Street believes it tastes of soft fruit acidity and caramel sweetness, as well as nutty and dark chocolate flavors, smooth and viscous, but the taste is on the lighter side. This is because Yunnan's natural conditions are very similar to Colombia's—high altitude, large temperature difference between day and night—and its flavor is of the mellow aromatic type, with moderate acidity, rich and full-bodied taste, uniform beans, high oil content, and fruity notes. Its quality and taste are similar to Colombian coffee, though slightly lighter than Colombia; while coffee beans from Brazil's Cerrado region have a comfortable bittersweet taste and an extremely smooth entry. Therefore, mixing these two beans also produces a good flavor, and this espresso coffee bean recommended by many baristas—Front Street Black Cocoa Blend—is very cost-effective, suitable for espresso beginners and small coffee shops.

Indonesian Mandheling coffee recommendations

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee): Indonesian Golden Mandheling Coffee Beans Country: Indonesia

Region: Sumatra, Aceh, Gayo Mountain

Altitude: 1100-1600m

Variety: Ateng

Processing Method: Wet-hulled

Flavor: Baked toast, nuts, pine, caramel, herbs

This Golden Mandheling from Front Street comes from Indonesia's PWN company and is produced in the Gayo Mountain of Aceh, Sumatra. According to Front Street's cupping and brewing of this latest Golden Mandheling, we found that this Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling has a more pronounced baked toast flavor and a slightly fuller body.

When producing Golden Mandheling, PWN has very strict specification standards: above 18 screen size, fewer than 3 defective beans (in a 300g green bean sample), belonging to the highest grade G1, with a darker green color and a neat flat bean shape; PWN's standards for Golden Mandheling are even stricter, with 3 rounds of manual hand sorting on top of that to ensure defective beans are completely removed, thereby ensuring the extremely clean taste and noticeable sweetness of Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling. After strict screening, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) found that Golden Mandheling not only lacks the earthy off-flavors unique to ordinary Mandheling, but also tastes cleaner and clearer.

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee): Indonesian Lintong Mandheling Coffee Beans

Country: Indonesia

Region: Sumatra (Lintong)

Altitude: 1100-1600m

Variety: Typica, Caturra

Processing Method: Wet-hulled

Flavor: Baked toast, nuts, caramel, pine, herbs

Lintong Mandheling is produced in the Lintong mountain area of north-central Sumatra, near Lake Toba. Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee)'s entry-level everyday bean from the Indonesian Mandheling region comes from here. Lintong Mandheling also uses the unique wet-hulled method, creating its characteristics of low acidity and high body.

The above is Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee)'s compilation of the content comparing the taste characteristics and differences between Mandheling coffee and Italian coffee. At the same time, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) also hopes this article can help coffee lovers who want to learn related knowledge, so they can choose coffee beans that suit their taste in the future. Front Street has noticed that when buying coffee beans, some friends generally ask Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) baristas about brewing parameters, and Front Street also sets brewing parameters for each bean.

Generally speaking, coffee beans with a full-bodied taste are roasted darker. When Front Street brews this type of coffee bean as pour-over, the grind size chosen is a 70% to 75% passing rate on the Chinese standard No. 20 sieve. For making espresso, a flour-like grind is used, and the specific grind size still needs to be adjusted according to different machines and other factors.

In this era that emphasizes fresh roasting, many friends most enjoy seeing the bulging "blooming hamburger" when brewing coffee, and the coffee beans Front Street sends to friends are also freshly roasted within 5 days. By the time they receive them, they have just passed the 4-to-7-day resting period, and the flavor has become more stable. Some friends who do not have grinding equipment at home will note a grinding service in their order, and Front Street also provides this service. However, friends should note that after coffee beans are ground into powder, the degassing activity becomes more active, and flavor compounds dissipate more quickly, greatly shortening the optimal tasting period. Therefore, Front Street recommends buying whole beans and grinding fresh before brewing to taste the best flavor.

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