The Origins of Mandheling Coffee
We can see that many recognizable single-origin coffee names are generally taken from the coffee bean's producing region, place name, variety, or the name of the green bean processor. However, the naming of "Mandheling" is quite unique—it all starts with a story of misunderstanding.
During World War II in the last century, the Japanese army invaded Sumatra, Indonesia, and many Japanese soldiers could be seen in the area. One day, a Japanese soldier went to a local eatery for coffee and found it rich and full-bodied. He asked the shopkeeper for the name of the coffee, but the shopkeeper mistook the question as asking where he was from, so he answered "Mandailing people." After the war, that Japanese soldier recalled the coffee he had drunk in Indonesia was called "Mandheling," and he arranged for a batch of coffee beans to be shipped from Sumatra to Japan, where they unexpectedly became very popular.Mandheling CoffeeAnd the name spread from there.
What Are the Characteristics of Mandheling Coffee?
I believe friends who have come to the Front Street shop and triedMandheling coffeeall know that Mandheling coffee is roasted darker, with unique spice and herbal notes, and a strong bitter taste. Some customers find it hard to accept, while others absolutely love it. Below, Front Street will discuss what createsMandheling coffee'sdistinctive characteristics.
What we call Mandheling coffee refers to Arabica coffee beans produced in the mountainous area around Lake Toba in Sumatra. Sumatra is the largest island in Indonesia, with a tropical rainforest climate—hot and humid year-round—and coffee trees are generally planted in the forests and mountains. Among them, the coffee produced in the Gayo Mountain area of the Aceh region can be said to be the finest in all of Sumatra, and most are ancient tree varieties. Front Street'sPWN Golden Mandheling coffee beansare selected from the Gayo Mountains of Aceh.
Sumatra has the fertile volcanic soil found in many well-known coffee regions, and the soil contains abundant minerals that help coffee cherries develop more nutrients and aroma. Local farmers plant coffee trees at mid-altitude plots, generally between 600-1,200m. The low-altitude growing environment combined with the tropical rainforest climate means coffee cherries ripen in a shorter time, making it difficult to develop rich acidity. Therefore, the coffee flavor here is more of an herbal and spicy character.
In northern Sumatra, near Lake Toba, there is a mountainous area called the Lintong region. The Mandheling coffee beans produced here are larger in size with harder bean density, and because there are many defects, roasters need to carry out strict sorting during processing. Since Lintong Mandheling green beans are not sorted, you often see uneven sizes and a relatively intense flavor.
PWN Golden Mandheling Coffee Beans
Indonesia grades green beans by the number of defects and bean size, with the highest grade being G1, which means fewer than 3 defective beans in a 300g sample, and green bean screen size of 18 mesh or above.
From the Mandheling story mentioned above, we can see that the Japanese have a special fondness for Mandheling coffee and hope to drink high-quality batches. When cooperating with Indonesian green bean merchants, they established a strict screening system. After processing, the green beans need to go through density and color sorting as well as four rounds of manual sorting to ensure the Mandheling coffee beans are uniform in color, shape, and size. This kind of Mandheling tastes cleaner and more transparent, with more pronounced body and sweetness.
Indonesia's PWN company recognized this business opportunity early on and was the first to register the "Golden Mandheling" trademark. In other words, only Golden Mandheling produced by PWN is truly "Golden Mandheling." PWN also places great importance on the quality of Mandheling coffee and has essentially contracted the finest local Mandheling coffee batches in Sumatra. The Mandheling coffee they purchase is at Indonesia's highest green bean grade,G1, and then furtherundergoes strict manual sorting. In the end, the specialty Golden Mandheling produced is not plentiful. Imitation "Golden Mandheling" coffee easily appears on the market. The Golden Mandheling green beans Front Street sources come withthe certification certificate provided by PWN, and the PWN Golden Mandheling green bean sacks clearly bear the PWN company logo.
What Variety Is Mandheling Coffee?
Due to the localized naming used by Indonesians, the coffee varieties we often see for Mandheling seem unfamiliar, but in fact they are just different names.
Tim Tim
During the leaf rust crisis of 1877, Indonesia's coffee industry was also severely hit. The Indonesian government began introducing various disease-resistant varieties from different places, including Robusta, Timor, Catimor, and the Indian variety Jember.
The natural hybrid of the Arabica variety Typica and Robusta from Timor Island is actually Timor. It inherited Robusta's high yield and disease resistance, became popular for planting in the 1950s, and after being introduced to Indonesia, it was called Timor Timur, also known as Tim Tim.
AtengSeries
Besides Tim Tim, Sumatra also has a common local variety called Ateng, which is what we commonly call Catimor. It was discovered in Aceh Tengah in central Aceh and named after the place. Ateng is a hybrid descendant of the Arabica Bourbon variant Caturra and Timor, with several subtypes. Carrying one-quarter Robusta lineage, it has extremely high disease resistance and is widely planted in Sumatra and other small Indonesian islands. Front Street's Golden Mandheling coffee is the Ateng variety.
Wet-Hulled Mandheling Coffee
When it comes to Mandheling's low acidity and full body, we cannot ignore the region's most distinctive wet-hulling method.
Sumatra's weather is changeable and often hit by typhoons, so it does not have the conditions for sun-drying like African countries. In addition, local growers did not intend to invest too much cost in green bean processing, so washed processing is also difficult to maintain. Wanting high efficiency and low cost, locals adapted to local conditions and invented the wet-hulling method.
The harvested coffee cherries are machine-depulped to remove skin and mucilage, then placed in tanks to ferment for three hours. The parchment-covered green beans are sun-dried for 2-3 days until moisture content reaches 20-24%, then the parchment is removed. At this point the coffee beans are still somewhat soft and get slightly deformed under pressure, which is why we see Mandheling green beans shaped like goat hooves. Finally, they are dried indoors at constant temperature and humidity until moisture content is only 12-13%, then they can be bagged and sent to the warehouse.
Wet-hulling takes much less drying time than sun-drying and washing methods, and the cost invested is also lower than washed processing. In the wet-hullingprocess of treating coffee beans, the fermentation period is very short and the drying time is relatively long, which gives it a low-acidity taste.
How to Drink Mandheling Coffee
Currently, Front Street's two best-selling Mandheling coffees are one Lintong Mandheling daily beans and one specialty PWN Golden Mandheling coffee beans.
If you are a beginner coffee drinker who wants to understand classic coffee regions from the basics, Front Street believes you can start with our daily beans series. Front Street has selected the coffees that best represent the original flavor of major regions and listed them in 100g small packages. Front Street hopes coffee lovers can taste the basic flavor of each coffee region at high cost performance. One of the 7 daily beans, Lintong Mandheling coffee beans, is the face of Indonesian coffee, with its unique wet-hulling method bringing a full-bodied, intense spicy flavor.
FrontStreet Coffee: Indonesia Lintong Mandheling Coffee Beans
Region: Sumatra, Indonesia
Grade: G1
Altitude: 1,100m—1,600m
Variety: Ateng TimTim
Processing Method: Wet-hulled
Flavor: Nuts, spices, chocolate, caramel
And if you pursue a purer herbal and spicy flavor in Mandheling, hoping to drink a clean and rich Mandheling taste, Front Street believes PWN Golden Mandheling is most suitable.
FrontStreet Coffee: PWN Golden Mandheling Coffee Beans
Region: Sumatra, Indonesia
Grade: G1, triple hand-sorted
Altitude: 1,100m—1,600m
Variety: Ateng
Processing Method: Wet-hulled
Flavor: Nuts, spices, herbs, caramel
Mandheling coffee's flavor has a nutty, chocolate, and spicy profile. Front Street's roaster chose a dark roast to present this coffee's deep taste, and in terms of extraction, FrontStreet Coffee baristas have multiple brewing methods. Among them, the moka pot is loved by many home coffee enthusiasts for beingrich, solid, full-bodied, and convenient. Below, Front Street will use the store's regularly stockedPWN Golden Mandheling coffee beans to demonstrate how to make a delicious moka pot coffee.
FrontStreet Coffee Moka Pot Usage Suggestions:
1. First, grind 20g of coffee beans into powder.
2. Separate the upper and lower chambers of the moka pot, pour water into the lower chamber, and do not let the water level exceed the lower chamber's pressure release valve.
3. Put coffee powder into the metal filter basket (powder basket), and use a measuring spoon to lightly tap and compact the coffee powder a little (gently, do not press hard).
4. Attach the powder basket to the lower chamber, then screw the upper chamber on tightly. (Be sure to tighten it and confirm the upper and lower chambers are truly connected.)
5. With the lid open, heat over direct fire, controlling the flame so it does not exceed the bottom of the pot. (Because it may boil over, before you have mastered the technique, it is recommended to do this with the lid open. If the gaps in the gas stove grate are too large and the moka pot cannot sit stably on top, please add a wire mesh before heating over direct fire.)
6. When the hot water boils and coffee begins extracting, turn off the heat. Once extraction is complete, to avoid over-steeping, pour the coffee into a cup as soon as possible.
7. Finally, you can blend a delicious cup of moka pot coffee. If you usually prefer a lighter taste, you can add 150ml of warm water and stir before drinking; if you like the sweetness of milk, Front Street suggests adding 150ml of fresh milk and enjoying it together—the texture is very full-bodied.
For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style)
For more specialty coffee beans, please add the private WeChat of FrontStreet Coffee, WeChat ID:qjcoffeex
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
