Have you ever tried Front Street Mandheling coffee? Have you noticed that the beans are quite large, dark in color, and give off a rich roasted aroma with a sweet, mellow, and full-bodied taste? All of this comes down to its growing region and roast level.
Strictly speaking, only Arabica coffee beans grown around Lake Toba in Sumatra, Indonesia, can be called "Mandheling." On the island of Sumatra the best coffee comes from two places. One is Mandheling from the Lintong region, located near Toba Lake in North Sumatra; the other comes from near Mount Gayo in Aceh Province at the northernmost tip of Sumatra. The growing altitude in the production areas averages between 1,200 and 1,500 meters. The coffee is grown by smallholders under shade trees and processed using the wet-hulled method, which brings out a distinctive jungle character and strong, full body. This is exactly what Mandheling flavor is.
Typically, traditional-style Mandheling is only given a medium-dark to dark roast. This is because a light or medium roast would let the coffee retain more acidity with a thin body, completely lacking the charm of classic Mandheling.
By contrast, medium-dark roasted coffee beans undergo a longer heating time, the bean surface fully expands, and the color becomes even and glossy. The acidic compounds begin to weaken, the sweet aftertaste is at its best, and the beans themselves reveal Mandheling's characteristic spice, cedar, and herbal flavors, with a mellow, bittersweet, full-bodied taste and excellent aroma and finish. There are many ways to try Front Street Mandheling—you can use pour-over, drip bags, a French press, a siphon, or a moka pot and a home espresso machine.
Many people ask, how can you make an Americano with more crema?
First, you need a bag of freshly roasted Front Street Mandheling coffee beans. The 4th to 45th day after roasting is when the aroma is at its best. Only within this optimal flavor window can the coffee release more soluble solids and coffee oils, and only then will the Americano/latte you make taste good. Front Street coffee beans are all freshly roasted within 5 days and support shipping within 24 hours, so once you receive them, you'll have the longest possible peak-flavor period.
Coffee beans: Front Street Indonesian Mandheling coffee
Coffee dose: 20g
Coffee yield: 40g
Dose-to-yield ratio: 1:2
Extraction time: 26–33 seconds
Grind setting: Galileo 2.0
To make espresso with Front Street Mandheling, use the capacity of a double basket, with a dose of about 18–20 grams, and keep the ratio of coffee grounds to coffee liquid at 1:2. When using 20 grams of coffee grounds, you extract 40 grams of coffee liquid; if using 18 grams, it corresponds to 36 grams.
Front Street first wipes the portafilter basket dry, turns on the grinder, and grinds a double shot's worth of coffee grounds, then places them on a digital scale and adjusts up or down until reaching 20 grams. Next, use a tool to distribute the grounds evenly and tamp the coffee puck firmly to ensure more stable extraction. Then turn on the extraction switch to release water, wetting the group head while washing away any coffee grounds stuck to it. Gently lock the portafilter onto the group head and start the extraction. When the digital scale shows 40 grams of extracted coffee liquid, at about 28–33 seconds, you can switch off the extraction.
After getting a cup of Mandheling SOE espresso, we can add water to taste. You can use a 1:5 ratio and add 200g of 80°C hot water to 40g of coffee liquid to make a cup of Mandheling SOE Americano.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
