Since the Dutch started coffee cultivation in Indonesia in the 17th century, to this day, Indonesian coffee plays an important role in the world. But if you want to say which specialty coffee is the most famous in Indonesia, I believe many people will think of Sumatra Mandheling. So what is Mandheling? Does it taste good? How to choose cost-effective Mandheling?
What is Mandheling? Is Mandheling good to drink?
The most famous origins of coffee in Asia are the various islands in the Malay Archipelago: Sumatra, Java, and Kaliman Island. Among them, Mandheling coffee produced in Sumatra is the most famous, so Mandheling is also called "Sumatra coffee".
The Sumatra production area has fertile volcanic soil, which contains a large amount of minerals, which helps the coffee fruits produce more nutrients and aroma. Local farmers will plant coffee trees at medium altitudes, generally between 600-1200m. The low-altitude planting environment and the climate characteristics of tropical rainforests mean that the coffee fruits take a short time to mature and are difficult to form rich acidity. Therefore, the coffee flavor here is more herbal and spice.
The unique flavor of Mandheling coffee is not only related to the local climate, but also has an inseparable relationship with its processing method. Indonesia is located in a typical tropical rain forest climate area, where rainfall is frequent and the duration of sunshine is short, which is not suitable for solar treatment. In addition, the local economic conditions are average and there is not enough money to invest in water washing treatment. Therefore, the local area has derived this semi-water washing treatment method, which is also the wet soaking method. This is a rare processing method in the world, which accidentally created Mandheling's special low-acid, thick and fragrant flavor.
How to choose cost-effective Mandheling coffee?
If you are trying Indonesian coffee for the first time, it is recommended to buy Front Street Lindong Mandheling. This is a very cost-effective coffee. It uses wet planing and dark roasting. After brewing, you can drink Mandheling's unique herbal spice flavor and obvious sweetness, and it has given many coffee novices a new understanding of mellowness.
Indonesia’s complex green bean grading standards
Such a complex system of green bean varieties has also created a complex set of coffee grade standards in Indonesia. It is roughly a grading standard based on the number of defects and the size of the coffee particles.
According to the defect rate, it is divided into 6 levels from G1 to G6.
Coffee particle size identification
Some higher-quality Indonesian coffee will also be marked with the coffee mesh number, for example, Front Street Golden Mandheling will be marked with 17 mesh/18 mesh.
Filter times
In addition to the above grading standards, some premium-grade coffee in Indonesia will also be hand-selected, which is reflected on the label as Double Picked or Triple Picked. The reason is that Indonesia mostly uses the wet planing method for processing, and bad beans are prone to appear during the process. The more times you hand select, the better the quality of the coffee.
If you are more looking for premium Mandheling coffee, it is recommended to buy freshly roasted Front Street Golden Mandheling. Golden Mandheling coffee comes from the famous Pawani Coffee Company (Pawani Coffee Company) in the Indonesian coffee industry, referred to as PWN, which is the trademark registration company of Golden Mandheling. PWN Company's Golden Mandheling is purchased from nearby Mandheling coffee beans and subjected to three manual screenings and one machine selection. The golden Mandheling beans selected in this way are very beautiful as a whole. On the other hand, they are also very uniform, so the coffee roasted in this way will appear cleaner.
High-grade Front Street Golden Mandheling has obvious flavors of spices, herbs, and caramel after brewing. It has multiple layers, is mellow and clean, has a high sense of balance, has a rich aroma of nuts and brown sugar, has a chocolate flavor, and has a long-lasting finish.
FrontStreet Coffee brewing sharing
This brewing highlights the mellow, clean and fragrant characteristics of Golden Mandheling, using a KONO filter cup (this filter cup was invented to imitate flannel to brew thick coffee). For medium-dark roasted coffee, choose medium-coarse grinding (57% passes No. 20 standard sieve). The powder-to-water ratio is 1:13, and the amount of powder is 20 grams of coffee powder. Lowering the powder-to-water ratio can make the coffee taste richer. The water temperature used is 87℃.
Brewing process: Pour the coffee powder slowly, try to make it as flat as possible during the pouring process, and avoid shaking the filter cup (because shaking will make the distance between the coffee powder smaller, which is not conducive to steaming and exhausting). Pour 40g of water in a small circle in the middle of the first section and steam for 30 seconds. The coffee powder layer will slowly expand and form a "burger".
Inject 120g of water in a circle from the center of the second section to the outside. The water injection height should be as close to the powder layer as possible. Move slowly to avoid over-stirring. Inject 100g in the last stage, and wait until all the coffee liquid in the filter cup flows into the lower pot to complete the extraction. Extraction time is 2 minutes.
Flavor description of Golden Mandheling: Nuts, chocolate, spices, herbs, caramel. Golden Mandheling tastes cleaner than Linden Mandheling. Mandheling’s original herbal, earthy and woody flavors are almost gone, but the sweetness of caramel is stronger and the fruity sourness is brighter and more elegant.
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
