Mandheling
Mandheling does not specifically refer to a bean variety, nor is it the name of the place of origin. It is actually a mispronunciation of the Mandheling tribe in Indonesia.Mandheling coffee is mainly produced in the northern part of Sumatra, Indonesia, where the high terrain and altitude, coupled with the climate characteristics, are very suitable for growing Arabica varieties. Among them, Aceh Province near Lake Tawa and North Sumatra Province near Lake Toba are the most representative. The Lindong production area is located in North Sumatra Province.
Mandheling coffee is grown on the Gayo highlands at an altitude of 750-1500 meters. It is located near the equator and has a typical tropical rainforest climate. It rains all year round and the temperature and humidity in the air are relatively high. It is very suitable for the cultivation of Arabica varieties. However, it only accounts for 25% of the total coffee production in Indonesia. In Indonesia, Robusta is mostly grown at low altitudes.
Treatment method
Regarding this classic coffee, Front Street has launched Golden Mandheling, Linton Mandheling, Tiger Mandheling, and Aged Mandheling. The processing method of these four Mandhelings is the common local wet planing method.
Wet Hulling, also known as Wet Hulling, also known as Giling Basah in the local language, is a traditional Indonesian coffee processing method. Judging from the names alone, wet planing and wet processing (washed processing) are very similar. However, the cupping flavors of these two processing methods are completely different. Coffee processed by the wet planing method is usually mellow and strong, with obvious herbal and wood flavors, and has a very distinctive personality.
The unique herbal flavor of Mandheling coffee beans is due to this unique processing method. In terms of green bean processing, Indonesia has a hot and humid climate, frequent typhoons, and limited freshwater resources, so it is not conducive to traditional washing and sun-drying methods. To shorten processing time, locals developed the wet planing method.
The coffee cherries are flotated to remove under-ripened beans. After the peel is removed by machine, the pectin layer still feels slippery to the touch. After a night of fermentation, the pectin layer falls off more easily under flowing water. At this time, the appearance of the shelled beans becomes rough. The coffee beans are then dried in the sun for two days. The moisture content of the shelled beans is 30 to 50%. At this time, the shelled beans are still semi-dry. The locals will use a special shelling machine to peel off the still harder parchment skin using friction, and finally dry the shelled beans for another two days until the moisture content reaches 12%. Due to the shortened fermentation and drying time, Mandheling coffee has a unique herbal aroma from Indonesia.
Introduction to beans
【Lin Dong Mandheling】
Mandheling is also known as "Sumatra coffee". Most of the coffee produced in North Sumatra is Gayo. The ateng variety is the main type. Tawar Lake in the north can be called Aceh coffee or Tawar lake coffee. South Sumatra Lintong and Toba Lake (Toba) Lake) area can be called Mandheling, and the Lindong area is the Mandheling production area. Mandheling is produced in the mountains around Lake Toba. This lake is located in the north of Medan, the capital of Sumatra Island, and is an alpine freshwater lake. The average height is about 900 meters above sea level.
Mandheling usually refers to Typica or its variants of coffee beans grown in the mountains around Lake Toba.
Mandhelings in the Lindong area have also begun to be subdivided. In recent years, some Mandhelings named after regions have begun to appear on the market (for example: Sidikalang, referred to as SDK Mandheling). The significance of Lintong has gradually narrowed to the production area near Lintongnihuta.
【Golden Mandheling】
Golden Mandheling was actually produced by a company called Pwani Coffee Company that purchased Mandheling locally in Indonesia and registered the name Golden Mandheling. Therefore, in fact, only the Mandheling produced by this company is the real Golden Mandheling in Hong Kong. Pwanee Coffee Company was founded in 1957. Golden Mandheling is his gold signature product. PWN Company underwrites the highest quality Mandheling coffee producing areas in Indonesia, including the two famous producing areas of Aceh and Lindong mentioned above on Front Street. Therefore, the coffee batches withdrawn are all high-quality.
After PWN Company acquires the better batches of Mandheling coffee green beans, it will use 1 machine selection + 3 manual hand selections to ensure that the green beans reach the highest grade of Indonesia, G1. The purpose of machine selection is to first screen out beans whose specifications must be above 18 mesh, and the subsequent multiple manual operations are to eliminate irregular and defective beans. The reduction in defect rates greatly improves the quality of Mandheling coffee and makes the coffee cleaner.
In order to make Golden Mandheling an exclusive product, PWN Company registered the trademark "Golden Mandheling" at an early stage and provided buyers with a certification certificate bearing the PWN company logo. The golden Mandheling coffee on the Front Street bean list comes from PWN. The green bean sacks and certificates can be seen in FrontStreet Coffee stores~
The Golden Mandheling labeled "PWN" is the abbreviation of the Indonesian company Pawani. The Golden Mandheling coffee produced by this company has been registered in Indonesia!
【Tiger Mandheling】
In Aceh, coffee is the region’s second most exported cash crop. It is estimated that there are about 60,000 small-scale coffee farmers in the local area, and each person owns about 1-2 hectares of coffee planting land. Indonesia's traditional coffee trading method is a multi-point supply system. Starting from farmers, through multiple layers of middlemen, a large number of export goods are slowly assembled. In the Indonesian coffee trading system, direct trade in which a single window collects goods from farmers and then arranges export is quite rare in Indonesia.
The requirements for Mandheling Tiger are that the taste will have the aroma of Chinese herbal medicine, and the Mandheling with a defect rate of more than 17 mesh and less than 4% can be called a tiger.
【Aged Mandheling】
Aged coffee beans do not mean that the green coffee beans have been stored for a long time. This is not allowed, because the green coffee beans will also rot if they are stored for a long time. They will turn from fresh cyan to white, then to yellow, become tasteless, and even grow insects. Just like aged wine, green beans must be properly processed and stored for a long time before they can be called true "aged coffee".
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
