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With the development of the specialty coffee market, many coffee enthusiasts have started to research how to brew pour-over coffee at home. However, pour-over coffee is not something that can be solved with just a recipe; it requires long-term brewing practice to develop a feel for it and brew delicious coffee. So in this article, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) will teach coffee enthusiasts how to brew pour-over coffee at home. Among these, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) believes thatFront Street Indonesia Mandheling Coffee Beansare relatively easy-to-handle pour-over coffee beans for practice, so let's start with an introduction to Front Street Indonesia Golden Mandheling.

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee):Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling Coffee Beans

Country: Indonesia
Region: Sumatra Aceh Gayo Mountain
Altitude: 1100-1600m
Variety: Ateng
Processing Method: Wet Hulling
Flavor: Baked toast, nuts, pine, caramel, herbal

Indonesian Mandheling Coffee Origin
 
Previous articles by Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) have often mentioned that there are three major factors that determine the flavor of coffee beans: the coffee bean's origin, variety, and processing method. So next, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) will discuss Front StreetMandheling Coffeearound these three points.Mandhelingis mainly produced on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia, which is Indonesia's largest island, located near the equator with a typical tropical rainforest climate, high temperatures and humidity, and abundant rainfall, making it very suitable for the growth of high-quality Arabica coffee beans.
 

However, the limited altitude of Indonesian growing regions also limits the space for cultivating high-quality Arabica coffee beans. Therefore, only 25% of the coffee beans produced in Indonesia belong to the Arabica species, because Arabica can only achieve its best flavor when grown at high altitudes. The remaining 75% are Robusta coffee trees that can be grown at lower altitudes. And the highest-altitude area in Indonesia is Sumatra.
 
Furthermore, among the traditional Arabica coffees produced in northern Sumatra, the best ones are sold on the market under the name Lintong Mandheling. More precisely, Lintong Mandheling coffee beans refer to coffee grown in a small area southwest of Tobahu in the Lintong administrative region.

Sumatra Coffee Bean Origins
 
Among these, Mandheling coffee beans are also known as "Sumatra coffee." Most of the North Sumatra origins are in the Gayo region, and the Tawar Lake area at the northern end, mainly with the Ateng variety, can be called Aceh coffee or Tawar Lake coffee. The Lintong and Toba Lake area in South Sumatra can be calledMandheling. The Lintong area is the true Mandheling producing region. The best Mandheling coffee varieties include four: Sidikalang, Bergendar, Siborong borong, and Telok Sanggul.
 

Lake Toba:Located in the central part of North Sumatra Province, Dutch colonists moved "Java Mandheling" north to the Lake Toba area in 1888, creating the modern Mandheling legend.
 
Lake Tawar:Located in the central part of the Aceh Special Administrative Region. At the northern tip of Sumatra island, its area is less than one-tenth of Lake Toba. However, in recent years, coffee quality and production have surpassed Lake Toba.
 
Gayo Mountains:Located in the Aceh producing region of North Sumatra Province, most coffee farmers working locally in Gayo are local farmers. The word "Gayo" originates from a tribe in the Aceh region of Indonesia. This area has ideal growing conditions, a long history and culture, and unique flavors. The region widely adopts organic methods for growing coffee, without using chemical fertilizers, and is considered a world green coffee production region. Therefore, Gayo coffee is also often called green coffee or Gayo organic coffee.

  
Indonesian Mandheling Coffee Processing Method

When talking about Indonesian coffee, Front Street must mention the processing method that made Mandheling famous around the world — wet hulling. Interestingly, although this green bean processing method was not a forced choice by locals due to weather conditions, it is precisely this method that gives Mandheling its unique earthy, herbal, and spicy notes.

 
When using the wet hulling method, because the semi-hard, semi-soft wet green beans are easily crushed when the mucilage and parchment layer are removed, the beans crack open like a goat's hoof, commonly known as goat hoof beans. Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) considers this a very prominent characteristic of Mandheling, not a defect bean.
 
The Origin of Indonesia's Wet Hulling Method
According to Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee), the reason Indonesia uses the wet hulling method to process coffee cherries is that the local weather is often rainy, with constant typhoons, making it impossible to achieve the good weather needed for natural sun-drying. Moreover, the local economy is not strong, so they also cannot afford the more expensive washed method. This gave rise to the highly distinctive local wet hulling method.
    

Of course, Indonesia's coffee development today is no longer the impoverished scene of the past. There are quite a few estates and companies that can use the washed method, but they still have not abandoned wet hulling. Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) believes that wet hulling is the factor that made Mandheling coffee known to the world. Whenever Mandheling coffee is mentioned, one thinks of wet hulling, and clearly they have become mutually complementary.
 
The specific steps of the wet hulling method can be divided into the following two stages:
 
First stage,Use a wooden pulping machine to remove the skin and pulp. After fermenting for 3 hours, spread out to dry until the moisture content drops to a semi-dry, semi-wet 30-50%.
Second stage,Remove the mucilage and parchment layer, then continue with the later drying. The drying process takes 2-4 days, and the moisture content drops to 12-13%.
 

What is "Golden Mandheling"?
 
Speaking of "Golden Mandheling," we must start with PWN. This abbreviation is often mixed together with the name Mandheling coffee. It is actually the abbreviation for a company, Pwani Coffee Company.
 
This company is a very famous coffee purchasing company in Indonesia, mainly purchasing Mandheling coffee. Almost all of Indonesia's best producing regions have been bought up by it, so most of the beans that come out of PWN are unique specialty products. Golden Mandheling is a product produced by this company. After the green beans are purchased, they undergo multiple rounds of manual hand-sorting to select plump, defect-free beans. Finally, these excellent beans, having gone through layer after layer of selection like a talent show, can be classified as Golden Mandheling.

However, PWN has registered Golden Mandheling as a trademark, which means that only Golden Mandheling produced by PWN can truly be considered Front Street "Golden Mandheling." Many beans on the market that are not from PWN but bear the Golden Mandheling label should actually be called specialty Mandheling.
 
So how do you brew this Front Street Golden Mandheling coffee bean as pour-over? Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) will now share with coffee enthusiast friends.
 
What equipment is needed for pour-over coffee?
 
Pour-over coffee inevitably requires the corresponding equipment. What exactly is needed? Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) will now list them one by one for coffee enthusiast friends.
 
1. Pour-over kettle:There are pour-over kettles of various sizes and materials on the market, which can be chosen according to needs. What affects the brewing result more is the size of the spout, because it relates to the flow rate. For beginners, a fine-spout kettle is generally recommended, as it is easier to control. In addition, each type of pour-over kettle is suitable for different heating methods (induction cooktop or gas stove), so pay special attention when purchasing.
 

2. Dripper:Drippers also come in different sizes and materials, mainly divided into three shapes: flat-bottom, cone-shaped, and wave drippers. The size of the dripper's bottom opening affects the flow rate of the extracted coffee, which in turn affects the coffee's flavor. Flat-bottom drippers have a small opening and slow flow rate, resulting in a fuller body; cone-shaped drippers have a large opening and fast flow rate, resulting in a lighter body; wave drippers have a flat bottom and are paired with special wave filters, producing the most even-tasting coffee. What is more special is the metal mesh dripper, which does not need to be used with filter paper and can retain more coffee oils, resulting in a richer taste, but some finer coffee grounds may not be filtered out.
 

3. Filter paper:Filter paper comes in bleached and unbleached types. Bleached filter paper looks whiter, while unbleached filter paper looks closer to light brown. The function of filter paper is to use its extremely dense fibers to retain the ground coffee and filter the extracted coffee into the cup. When purchasing filter paper, choose the corresponding filter paper according to your own dripper.
 

4. Grinder:Good pour-over coffee requires a good grinder. There are three types of grinders on the market.
1) Ghost tooth grinder
2) Flat burr grinder
3) Conical burr grinder
 

5. Thermometer:A thermometer is used to measure the water temperature for coffee. Thermometers on the market include Tiamo thermometer, Hero thermometer, and Cafede Kona thermometer.
 

6. Electronic scale:An electronic scale allows us to better control the coffee-to-water ratio when brewing coffee, reducing unstable factors and increasing sufficient tolerance for error. Electronic scales range from several hundred yuan each to as low as several tens of yuan each. There are Yami electronic scales, Hero smart scales, and Timemore electronic scales.

7. Coffee sieve:It is mainly used to judge the grind size. Each coffee bean has a different suitable grind size for pour-over. Through continuous experimentation, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) has determined that a grind size passing 80% through the Chinese standard No. 20 sieve is suitable for pour-over.
 

What are the detailed steps for pour-over coffee?
 
1. Water temperature
 
The higher the water temperature, the stronger the extraction ability, the more bitter the coffee, and the more intense the taste; the lower the water temperature, the weaker the extraction ability, the easier the coffee becomes sour, and the milder and lighter the taste. The pour-over temperature should be adjusted according to the coffee's roast level. Light-medium roasted beans are recommended at 90-91°C, and medium-dark roasted beans are recommended at 86-88°C. Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) basically adjusts within this range. A customer once questioned this brewing temperature, so Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) brewed Front Street Golden Mandheling coffee beans (dark roast) with 90°C water, and the result was a taste almost "comparable" to espresso.

  
2. Grind size
 
Refers to the size of the coffee particles. Grind size affects the contact time between coffee and water. If the coffee grounds are finer, water can extract more substances in the same amount of time, but with a fine grind, the coffee is prone to over-extraction during brewing; conversely, the coarser the coffee grind, the fewer substances are extracted by water in the same amount of time, but with a coarser grind, the coffee is prone to under-extraction. Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) recommends using a grind size with an 80% pass rate through the Chinese standard No. 20 sieve for pour-over. This was determined through multiple brewing taste tests. It should be noted that different coffee beans have different grind sizes, so when the pour-over flavor seems off, you can check whether there is a problem with the grind size.
 

3. Coffee-to-water ratio
 
The coffee-to-water ratio refers to the ratio of coffee grounds to brewing water. It affects the strength of the coffee and can be 1:10, 1:13, 1:15, or 1:16. Front Street Coffee (FrontStreetCoffee) recommends a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, which is relatively moderate in both strength and taste. Of course, everyone pursues a different coffee taste experience. When extracting coffee, everyone can adjust their own coffee-to-water ratio according to the strength and taste they want.

Next, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) will share the specific parameters for brewing Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling coffee beans as pour-over.
 
[Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) PWN Golden Mandheling Coffee Brewing Suggestions]
  

Dripper: KONO
Coffee dose: 15 grams
Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15
Water temperature: 86-87°C
Grind size: 70% pass rate through No. 20 sieve
　　

Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling Coffee brewing method: staged extraction.
 
For the first pour, use 30 grams of water for a 30-second bloom. For the second pour, pour in a small stream in a circular motion until reaching 125 grams, then pause. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring for the third stage until reaching 225 grams and stop. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, remove the dripper. (Timing starts from the beginning of the bloom.) The extraction time is 2'00".
 

Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling Flavor:Layered and complex, mellow and clean, highly balanced, with rich nut and caramel aromas, a chocolate note, and a long-lasting finish.

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