Sumatra Mandheling

[Steve Freides]

A tale of our household saga for the Holy Grail of espresso - full-bodied, rich, just the right amount of acid bite, and affordable.

We love Barrington Gold Espresso

http://www.barringtoncoffee.com/store/espresso/barrington-gold-espresso-blend.html 

but alas, it's $17 per pound plus shipping, and they won't sell us a larger size unless we have a food industry business tax ID, which we don't.

So we asked our favorite source, Coffee Bean Direct, if they'd try to match it for us.  Interestingly, they refused although they have matched coffees for us in the past.  They gave two reasons - South Asia beans are included in Barrington Gold, which they don't do, and aged beans are used, which they also don't do.

After pestering them a bit through the course of several emails, they finally suggested that we try mixing some of their Six Bean Espresso, which we like, with a coffee we hadn't tried, Sumatra Mandheling - here's a link to the latter:

http://www.coffeebeandirect.com/roasted-coffee/regular-coffee/dark-sumatra-mandheling.html

In the past, we've mixed Six Bean Espresso with a light or medium roast Columbian to give it a bit more body but were never completely satisfied with the results.

Well, Sumatra Mandheling was a revelation to us - huge body, low acid, and frankly delicious by itself but, after a bit, we found ourselves wanting a bit more bite to our cup, so we mixed it, 50/50, with Six Bean Espresso which is already a blend, and behold, we have a pretty decent match and at $8.20 per pound, less than half what we're paying for our absolute favorite coffee.

As the years have gone by, we've found that we don't like most dark roasted coffees.  We certainly don't like what passes for espresso at Starbucks, a sentiment shared by most here, I suspect.

There you have it - if you want to taste very full-bodied, very low acid coffee, give Sumatra Mandheling a try by itself and then try a bit of it mixed with other things.

-S-

[Dee Dovey]

Your post did hit a nerve because Sumatra 'was' the bean at the end of the rainbow.

 

Interesting remarks that I might have made in the 1970's and 1980's when we loved Sumatra Mandheling.  Always as a rememberance of things past for Sumatra, we have tried it many times since from different roasters, particularly also when someone would say, "Oh, you've not found the right roaster yet, try mine before you write it off."

 

But after trials of many years to find a roaster and a bean equal to our love for Sumatra, we have now been using one bean for maybe five years now.  Our only problem with coffee is when we say that we are in a rut and then buy a bag of another something-or-other at $18 a bag, which sits in the freezer for several months (after the initial brew) and then finally gets tossed.

 

Thanks for your 'saga.' Enjoyed it.

 

 

 

 

 

----- Original Message -----

[scott stap]

Ok, now this surprises me that you had never had Sumatra Mandheling previously. I have been drinking Sumatra coffees for quite a few years now and find it hard to go back to other more subtle coffees after that. Which is another thing, I find surprising that you say Sumatra does not have enough bite. In head to head cuppings I found Sumatra significantly sharper than any Columbian or Brazilian type coffees BUT there again, the wonderful changing nature of coffee tastes strikes. Differences of region in countries and differences in growing years changes the taste of coffees. Once you think you KNOW what a coffee is like, something happens. That being said, there are more than one variety of Sumatra coffees and the term "Sumatra Mandheling" is very broad and more well known then the "Lintong" varietal. http://www.sweetmarias.com/coffee.indonesia.sumatra.php 

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-the-different-types-of-coffee-beans.htm  

 I roast my own and it sounds like that is something you should give a try. (Popcorn popper $20, own roasted coffee priceless...) Roasting tied together with cuppings of different single beans gives you a great library of tastes in your mind (not my terminology but appropriate).

p.s. I get a lot of my beans from  http://www.ccmcoffee.com/  

p.p.s. Have you tried Tanzanian Peaberry for a fruitier note? 

--
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[scott stap]

Oh... P.P.P.S. Before I spent $17 a pound for preroasted coffee I would buy a bag of green Kona from Cea. WAaaayyyyy before.... 

[Steve Freides]

I have had Kona, and I completely do _not_ get what some people like about it - just takes like weak coffee to me, no matter how strongly I make it.

-S-

[Steve Freides]

I am, in the grand scheme of things, still a new coffee drinker.  I started at age 49, which is now 8 years ago - there's a lot I haven't tried.

Is Lintong significantly like or not like the Mandheling?  (I will later try to read the Sweet Maria's link you gave below.)

We do plan to roast ourselves but life is just a little too busy, and our kitchen a bit too small, right now.  It's definitely in our plans, as is a manual espresso machine - we currently use a fully automated Gaggia Syncrony, again because it's quick and easy but makes great, IMHO, coffee.

I will put Tanzanian Peaberry on my short list of coffees to try - I think my ideal would be to find something to blend with the Sumatra other than someone else's blend - rather one or more other single-source coffees.  That will probably be what we try next here.

My wife will merrily drink too-strong, over-roasted, lousy coffee - anything as long as it's not too weak - and I like what I consider to be more subtle things in coffee.  When we find something we both really like, we're happy.  The Sumatra experience was interesting because my wife actually liked it by itself better than I did, something the opposite of what I expected based on what I'd read.

-S-

On Wed, May 16, 2012 at 9:06 AM, scott stap <xr3...@gmail.com> wrote:

[scott stap]

Ok, Number one, did you buy your Kona from the island? If not, then you probably got %10 Kona at best no matter what it says on the bag (maybe 1% with the rest being filler beans). Only way to be sure is to buy from the island. I would buy from Cea  http://www.smithfarms.com/  or from Lions Gate  http://www.coffeeofkona.com/  but any farmer on the island would be a good buy. 

Number two, I roast it myself. There is no substitute to fresh roasted coffee. If there is no date on the package saying when it was roasted and if that date is not within 14 days of roasting to brewing, then in MY mind it is NOT fresh. The beans I brew are usually within 3 days of roasting to a max of 7 days just because I roast all my own. PLUS if I roast my own I can pick my own roast level to match the beans.

[Steve Freides]

I have had the "real deal" Kona - a friend buys it occasionally and has brought it here for us.  I cannot vouch for the roasting date, however.

I do think, however, that Kona isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea, if you'll excuse the pun.  It's a "mild" coffee compared to many.

The nice thing about Coffee Bean Direct is that they roast your order the day they ship it.  We get it a day after that because we're not far from them.  While it's not roasted at home, it's pretty close at only 1 day after roasting.  (They remind us never to order on Thursday so that our coffee doesn't sit at UPS over the weekend - they roast and ship the day after receiving an order.)

[Tami Pacumio]

I bought the Kenyan PB that Burman has on offer and it is very very
good as espresso, nice and strong but we roast it so I can't guarantee
what it would be like pre roasted. I like Scott, don't ever have
anything over 7 days roasted, it's long gone by then. Also another one
you might like to try is the Ethiopian Illubabor at SM.

On May 16, 8:22 am, scott stap <xr3...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Ok, Number one, did you buy your Kona from the island? If not, then you
> probably got %10 Kona at best no matter what it says on the bag (maybe 1%
> with the rest being filler beans). Only way to be sure is to buy from the
> island. I would buy from Cea  http://www.smithfarms.com/ or from Lions
> Gate  http://www.coffeeofkona.com/ but any farmer on the island would be a
> good buy.
> Number two, I roast it myself. There is no substitute to fresh roasted
> coffee. If there is no date on the package saying when it was roasted and
> if that date is not within 14 days of roasting to brewing, then in MY mind
> it is NOT fresh. The beans I brew are usually within 3 days of roasting to
> a max of 7 days just because I roast all my own. PLUS if I roast my own I
> can pick my own roast level to match the beans.
>

> On Wed, May 16, 2012 at 9:13 AM, Steve Freides <steve.frei...@gmail.com>wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > I have had Kona, and I completely do _not_ get what some people like about
> > it - just takes like weak coffee to me, no matter how strongly I make it.
>
> > -S-
>
> > On Wed, May 16, 2012 at 9:06 AM, scott stap <xr3...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> >> Oh... P.P.P.S. Before I spent $17 a pound for preroasted coffee I would
> >> buy a bag of green Kona from Cea. WAaaayyyyy before....
>
> >> On Wed, May 16, 2012 at 9:06 AM, scott stap <xr3...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> >>> Ok, now this surprises me that you had never had Sumatra Mandheling
> >>> previously. I have been drinking Sumatra coffees for quite a few years now
> >>> and find it hard to go back to other more subtle coffees after that. Which
> >>> is another thing, I find surprising that you say Sumatra does not have
> >>> enough bite. In head to head cuppings I found Sumatra significantly sharper
> >>> than any Columbian or Brazilian type coffees BUT there again, the wonderful
> >>> changing nature of coffee tastes strikes. Differences of region in
> >>> countries and differences in growing years changes the taste of coffees.
> >>> Once you think you KNOW what a coffee is like, something happens. That
> >>> being said, there are more than one variety of Sumatra coffees and the term
> >>> "Sumatra Mandheling" is very broad and more well known then the "Lintong"

> >>> varietal.http://www.sweetmarias.com/coffee.indonesia.sumatra.php

> >>>http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-the-different-types-of-coffee-beans.htm
>
> >>>  I roast my own and it sounds like that is something you should give a
> >>> try. (Popcorn popper $20, own roasted coffee priceless...) Roasting tied
> >>> together with cuppings of different single beans gives you a great library
> >>> of tastes in your mind (not my terminology but appropriate).
> >>> p.s. I get a lot of my beans from  http://www.ccmcoffee.com/
>
> >>> p.p.s. Have you tried Tanzanian Peaberry for a fruitier note?
>

> >>> On Wed, May 16, 2012 at 7:58 AM, Steve Freides <steve.frei...@gmail.com>wrote:
>
> >>>> A tale of our household saga for the Holy Grail of espresso -
> >>>> full-bodied, rich, just the right amount of acid bite, and affordable.
>
> >>>> We love Barrington Gold Espresso
>

> >>>>http://www.barringtoncoffee.com/store/espresso/barrington-gold-espres...

>
> >>>> but alas, it's $17 per pound plus shipping, and they won't sell us a
> >>>> larger size unless we have a food industry business tax ID, which we don't.
>
> >>>> So we asked our favorite source, Coffee Bean Direct, if they'd try to
> >>>> match it for us.  Interestingly, they refused although they have matched
> >>>> coffees for us in the past.  They gave two reasons - South Asia beans are
> >>>> included in Barrington Gold, which they don't do, and aged beans are used,
> >>>> which they also don't do.
>
> >>>> After pestering them a bit through the course of several emails, they
> >>>> finally suggested that we try mixing some of their Six Bean Espresso, which
> >>>> we like, with a coffee we hadn't tried, Sumatra Mandheling - here's a link
> >>>> to the latter:
>

> >>>>http://www.coffeebeandirect.com/roasted-coffee/regular-coffee/dark-su...

>
> >>>> In the past, we've mixed Six Bean Espresso with a light or medium roast
> >>>> Columbian to give it a bit more body but were never completely satisfied
> >>>> with the results.
>
> >>>> Well, Sumatra Mandheling was a revelation to us - huge body, low acid,
> >>>> and frankly delicious by itself but, after a bit, we found ourselves
> >>>> wanting a bit more bite to our cup, so we mixed it, 50/50, with Six Bean
> >>>> Espresso which is already a blend, and behold, we have a pretty decent
> >>>> match and at $8.20 per pound, less than half what we're paying for our
> >>>> absolute favorite coffee.
>
> >>>> As the years have gone by, we've found that we don't like most dark
> >>>> roasted coffees.  We certainly don't like what passes for espresso at
> >>>> Starbucks, a sentiment shared by most here, I suspect.
>
> >>>> There you have it - if you want to taste very full-bodied, very low
> >>>> acid coffee, give Sumatra Mandheling a try by itself and then try a bit of
> >>>> it mixed with other things.
>
> >>>> -S-
>
> >>> --
> >>> "Today is a GREAT day outside"

> >>> Save Money. Swap DVDs. - SwapaDVD.com<http://www.swapadvd.com/index.php?n=2&r_by=stappy>
> >>> Swap Books for Free - PaperBackSwap.com<http://www.paperbackswap.com/index.php?n=2&r_by=stappy>
> >>> ATV motorcycle sale MI<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ATVmotorcyclesaleMI/join>

>
> >> --
> >> "Today is a GREAT day outside"

> >> Save Money. Swap DVDs. - SwapaDVD.com<http://www.swapadvd.com/index.php?n=2&r_by=stappy>
> >> Swap Books for Free - PaperBackSwap.com<http://www.paperbackswap.com/index.php?n=2&r_by=stappy>
> >> ATV motorcycle sale MI<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ATVmotorcyclesaleMI/join>

>
> --
> "Today is a GREAT day outside"
> Save Money. Swap DVDs. -

> SwapaDVD.com<http://www.swapadvd.com/index.php?n=2&r_by=stappy>

> Swap Books for Free -

> PaperBackSwap.com<http://www.paperbackswap.com/index.php?n=2&r_by=stappy>
> ATV motorcycle sale MI<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ATVmotorcyclesaleMI/join>

[scott stap]

I too started late, I started drinking coffee at 33 and ONLY because there was an opportunity to take over a coffee shop with a captured audience (in office coffee stand) that no one else was going to run. I would say 6 years ago a friend introduced me to fresh roast and then I got him into popcorn popper roasting (and then he got a built for roasting home roaster and then I got a professional Swadlo roaster...a bit of one uppance there...)

NOW both of my sons know how to roast coffee (10 minutes 2 times a week) AND my oldest (14) knows how to pull shots better than ANY barista at Starbucks.

From a "life is too busy, kitchen too small" perspective, it only takes about 10 minutes twice a week to roast coffee in a popper. You can buy green beans for about 2/3 of roasted so this saves you money OR allows you to buy 1/3 more beans at a time. PLUS green beans last longer with no freezing. So now you are taking up less room in your freezer (more kitchen space) and saves money. Green beans are just stored like a grain and do not start "degassing" until roasted.
I am right now setting up my next order of beans and I plan on spending $100 and getting around 15 lbs of coffee! As compared to cheep roasted coffee where $100 gets you around 11 lbs.

p.s. My wife was not a coffee drinking but now if she does not get her fresh roasted espresso in the morning,,, I hear about it...

[Steve Freides]

On Wed, May 16, 2012 at 9:37 AM, Tami Pacumio <tpac...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I bought the Kenyan PB that Burman has on offer and it is very very
> good as espresso, nice and strong but we roast it so I can't guarantee
> what it would be like pre roasted. I like Scott, don't ever have
> anything over 7 days roasted, it's long gone by then. Also another one
> you might like to try is the Ethiopian Illubabor at SM.

The guideline I've always heard is:

Green beans are good on the shelf for 1 year.

Roasted beans are good for 1 month.

Ground beans are good for 1 week.

-S-

[scott stap]

Hehehe, The guidelines I live by is green beans do not make it past 6 months (cause they are GONE!), 

Roasted beans are "bad" after 14 days (this is MY personal experience) but your tolerance level is the only true guide.

Ground coffee is bad after 30 minutes (the finer the grind the faster it degasses and I only grind for espresso anymore = fine) once again, tolerance level.

Technically Folgers breaks every one of these rules and makes more money then everyone on this list combined ;-) 

--
"Today is a GREAT day outside"
Save Money. Swap DVDs. - SwapaDVD.com

Swap Books for Free - PaperBackSwap.com

[shane]

I have been keeping my green coffee in the freezer, seems to keep longer.

Shane

[bwilson4web]

Hi,

On May 16, 6:58 am, Steve Freides <steve.frei...@gmail.com> wrote:
. . .

>
> Well, Sumatra Mandheling was a revelation to us - huge body, low acid, and
> frankly delicious by itself but, after a bit, we found ourselves wanting a
> bit more bite to our cup, so we mixed it, 50/50, with Six Bean Espresso
> which is already a blend, and behold, we have a pretty decent match and at
> $8.20 per pound, less than half what we're paying for our absolute favorite
> coffee.

We too found Sumatran mixed with another roasted bean, "French
Roast" (a style), worked OK from grocery store bins. It still remains
my 'fall back' when we've failed to order the green beans we now use.

Now we order green kona and roast at home. This means we order 10 lbs
two or three times per year after the last batch of green is roasted.
The next order usually arrives 'just in time' but now we're handling
the coffee differently.

We have the current beans in the semi-automatic espresso maker; a full
batch in the roaster 'resting', and; the bag of green waiting. When
the espresso maker bin is empty, I dump the roaster beans into the
machine. Then within a day or so, at my convenience, roast another
batch and store it in the roaster. When the last of the green is gone,
I order the next batch. This gives us some 'pad' if Cea and Bob are on
vacation when we put in our order.

Still, Sumatran remains our 'fall back' if we run out of kona. It is
easy enough to blend with a darker roast to make a taste cup ... with
a touch of milk.

Bob Wilson

[Steve Freides]

On Wed, May 16, 2012 at 9:06 AM, scott stap <xr3...@gmail.com> wrote:

> http://www.sweetmarias.com/coffee.indonesia.sumatra.php

Why don't other places put their beans through the same sort of
"semi-washed process" that Sumatra coffees seem to go through? Just
curious because one always wonders about the effect of each step of
the process - how much of what I like about my Sumatra is the bean and
how much is this "process," I wonder.

-S-

[scott stap]

Bob

You store your roasted beans inside your roaster?