Customers come to Front Street and ask questions out of curiosity after ordering a cup of Golden Mandheling coffee. Why do most Indonesian coffee beans use wet planing instead of washing or sun-drying? At the beginning of this article, let’s talk about what wet planing is.Wet planing method, also known as wet shelling method（Wet Hulling）, also known as Giling Basah in the local language, is a processing method unique to Indonesian origin, and is also known as the semi-washed processing method.The water-washing method is to retain the pectin for fermentation, use clean water to freshen the remaining pectin, and then directly dry it in the sun. The coffee beans will be stored with the parchment paper. AndDifferent from the water washing method,The wet planing method uses a water-washing method for fermentation, then semi-drying and then removing the parchment paper through a machine before final drying. The coffee beans will enter the storage process "barely".Why does Indonesia choose to use wet planing to process green coffee beans?The choice of green bean processing method is generally based on factors such as the natural climate and resources of the area. Just like the solar treatment method is generally common in dry, high-temperature, and water-scarce areas, while the water-washing method is generally common in areas with easy access to water resources. The humid and rainy climate in Indonesia makes it difficult to carry out solarization treatments that require long periods of sun drying. Front Street believes that the wet planing method produces a more mellow flavor for Indonesian coffee beans, making the herbal spices of Indonesian coffee beans more obvious.Detailed explanation of wet planing processLike the washing process, coffee berries need to be processed as soon as possible after picking. In Indonesia, coffee berries are usually peeled and pulped independently at small farmers' homes. This step will remove the skin and part of the pulp of the coffee berries.The peeled coffee beans are soaked in water for 1 to 2 hours and the beans are rubbed together to remove some of the pectin.After soaking, the coffee beans are dried for the first time independently at the farmer's home. At this time, the moisture content of the coffee beans will drop to between 20% and 35%.After the first drying, the coffee beans are sent to the market for sale. At this time, the pectin layer of the coffee beans has not yet solidified and is in a sticky state. The coffee beans will be purchased, collected and sent to a processing plant for further processing.The coffee beans collected and sent to the processing plant will be dried for a second time. This step will reduce the moisture content of the coffee beans to about 18%.After the second drying, the coffee beans are put into a coffee shelling machine for wet planing. This process removes the pectin and parchment of the coffee. The difference from other processing methods is that the wet planing method will remove the parchment skin before the coffee beans are finally dried, while the washing process will retain the parchment skin for drying until the parchment skin is removed before export transportation.Finally, the coffee beans will be sent to the drying field again for final drying. This step will reduce the moisture content of the coffee beans to 11%. The dried coffee beans are bagged and stored in warehouses waiting for export.Appearance characteristics of green beans processed by wet planing methodAfter Front Street received several green Mandheling coffee beans processed by wet planing, he noticed that they had a unique bean appearance characteristic of "sheep's hoof shape".This is because the semi-hard and semi-soft wet green beans are easily crushed when using a machine to remove the pectin parchment layer. The beans are injured and cracked like sheep's hooves, commonly known as sheep's hooves."Sheep's hoof shape" is a very obvious feature of Mandheling, and it is not considered a defective bean.(On the left are Lintong Mandheling green beans, and on the right are Golden Mandheling green beans)Flavor characteristics of wet planed coffee beansMr. Han Huaizong once described the flavor characteristics of wet-planed coffee beans in a book: "This is also a rare processing method in the world. It creates Mandheling's special low-acid, thick and stuffy flavor by accident."Front Street has cupped different wet-planed Indonesian coffee beans over the years and found that their characteristics are indeed relatively uniform. The coffee has relatively low acidity, a thick taste, and unique flavors such as herbs and spices.Having said all that, how are wet planed coffee beans roasted and brewed? Next, Front Street conducted a roasting and brewing demonstration using PWN Gold Mandheling coffee beans.Front Street Coffee: PWN Gold Mandheling Coffee BeansProduction area: Mount Aceh, SumatraAltitude: 1100-1600 metersGrade: G1, 3 hand selectionsTreatment method: wet planingHow does Front Street roast and wet-plan golden Mandheling coffee beans?Golden Mandheling is a green bean with a relatively high moisture content, and has a higher moisture deviation value than sun-dried beans, so special attention should be paid when dehydrating. For green beans with high moisture content, you can try to close the damper immediately after putting in the green beans, steam for 30 seconds, and then open it to 3 until the color of the green beans turns light green or white. Open the damper to 4, and after the first explosion, open the damper to 5 (maximum).Front Street Coffee recommends recording data before roasting, such as: moisture content, density, origin, processing method of coffee beans, roasting environment temperature in the roasting room, humidity, etc., and plan your roasting curve. Recording relevant chemical and physical changes during the baking process will help you better understand the final baking results and help improve the baking curve.
When the oven temperature reaches 200 degrees Celsius, put the pot into the pot. Open the damper to 3. After 1 minute, adjust the heat to 160 degrees. Leave the damper unchanged. Bake until 5 minutes and 40 seconds. The oven temperature is 148 degrees. The surface of the beans turns yellow. The grassy smell disappears completely. Dehydration is completed. Adjust the heat to 140 degrees and open the damper to 4. At 9 minutes and 40 seconds, ugly beards appear on the surface of the beans. Wrinkles and dark spots, the smell of toast obviously changes to the aroma of coffee, which can be defined as the prelude to the first crack. At this time, you should listen clearly to the sound of the first crack. The first crack will start at 9 minutes and 54 seconds. Turn down the heat to 60 degrees, fully open the damper (be very careful when adjusting the heat, not so low that there is no popping sound), and cook at 204.5 degrees.How does Front Street brew medium-dark roasted Golden Mandheling coffee beans?When brewing medium-dark roasted coffee beans, Front Street usually uses a KONO filter cup, because the only venting part of this filter cup is the quarter of the rib. When the water level passes through the rib part, the water volume in the filter cup continues to rise, increasing the pressure through the weight of the water. Since the outlet is relatively small, the coffee particles can be kept in contact with the water for a longer time. With the flow of water, soluble substances can be brought out more effectively, and generally the high-mellow thickness effect expected by the customer can be achieved.Water temperature: 88 degreesGrinding degree: 0.85mm aperture screen, 75% screening rateFront Street Coffee first uses twice the amount of steaming water as the amount of coffee powder, that is, 30g of water for steaming, and the steaming time is 30 seconds. When the water level drops and the powder bed is about to be exposed, continue to pour water to 225 g and stop injecting water. When the water level drops and the powder bed is about to be exposed, remove the filter cup. (Start steaming and start timing) The extraction time is 2'00".
You can now buy the above coffee beans online at the Taobao store “FrontStreet Coffee” (前街咖啡). FrontStreet Coffee is a long-established specialty coffee roaster in Guangzhou, China, and its Guangzhou retail shop sells coffee beans only. The shop carries dozens of coffee beans from different origins around the world, including carefully selected single-origin beans for V60 pour-over and espresso. Guangzhou’s FrontStreet Coffee shop is recommended by many coffee lovers.
The FrontStreet 2013 Yunnan coffee beans sold in the store come from the Typica variety grown at FrontStreet Coffee’s own plantation in Yunnan. The name comes from the year the brand and the plantation were founded. You can buy these beans from China’s Yunnan origin at the Guangzhou shop and at FrontStreet’s Taobao store.
FrontStreet coffee beans are freshly roasted within 5 days and deliver consistently excellent quality and great value. Orders placed before 17:00 are shipped the same day, and most areas within Guangdong Province receive them the next day.
FrontStreet Coffee Taobao store: https://qianjiecoffee.taobao.com
Or search for “前街咖啡” (FrontStreet Coffee) on Taobao
Important Notice: FrontStreet Coffee has moved to a new address: 315, Donghua East Road, Guangzhou (coffee beans only)
Tel: 020 38364473
