What is Fresh Roasted Coffee Sumatra Mandheling?
A classic heavy Indonesian coffee at an everyday price, with the roast date printed.
Mandheling is a trade name for Sumatran Arabica, taken from the Mandailing people of North Sumatra, and it has long been shorthand for the full, earthy style of Indonesian coffee. Fresh Roasted Coffee roasts theirs to a medium, and the bag label reads medium roast and bold bodied, with notes of dark chocolate, cedar and heavy. The product page adds a smooth chocolate flavour with earthy undertones, low acidity and a full mouthfeel.
It is sold whole bean, or ground for drip, coarse for French press, or fine for espresso, in 12 oz, 2 lb and 5 lb bags. It is one of the single origins on the Fresh Roasted Coffee roaster page.
Why Sumatra tastes like Sumatra
The processing, more than the soil, gives it the body and the earth.
Fresh Roasted say this coffee is wet hulled and fermented overnight, which swells the beans with water before the parchment comes off.
Wet hulling, called giling basah in Indonesia, is the reason Indonesian coffees taste the way they do. The coffee is pulped and briefly fermented, then the parchment is stripped off while the beans are still wet, instead of after drying as in most of the world. The beans dry fast and exposed, turn a dark green, and roast into a cup with heavy body, low acidity and the earthy, cedar and spice notes that people either love or avoid. It is a practical answer to a humid climate and small farms, and it is the single biggest thing to know about a coffee from Sumatra or Bali.
If you have found other coffees too sour, this is the style to try. If you love a bright Kenyan or Ethiopian, it will probably taste muddy to you.
Roasted to order, and dated on the bag
The strongest thing Fresh Roasted publishes is not a tasting note. It is when the coffee was roasted.
Fresh Roasted Coffee roasts each order after it is placed, on Loring Smart Roasters at its base in central Pennsylvania, then packs and nitrogen flushes the bag straight away. Its shipping policy says coffee leaves one to two days after roasting, and orders placed after noon on a Thursday are roasted on Sunday night and shipped on Monday.
The roast date is printed on a white sticker on the bottom of every bag. It is written as a Julian day, the number of the day in the year, so day 272 is the 29th of September. It takes a second to decode, and the roaster's FAQ has the chart, but it means you can see exactly how old the coffee is, which most supermarket bags will not tell you. A best before date on a supermarket bag says when the seller stops standing behind it, not when it was roasted.
Price, and what a cup costs
Everyday money, and very cheap in the 5 lb bag.
| Bag | Price | Per kilo | Per cup (15 g) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 340 g (12 oz) | $15.99 | $47.00 | $0.71 |
| 907 g (2 lb) | $34.99 | $38.57 | $0.58 |
| 2.27 kg (5 lb) | $64.99 | $28.66 | $0.43 |
Shipping is a flat $7.95 on orders under $50 and free above $50 once discounts are taken off, so two 2 lb bags or three 12 oz bags usually clear the threshold.
New to Fresh Roasted Coffee? Our link applies the code COFFEEGURU, which takes 20% off a first order of coffee or tea. It is for new customers only and does not apply to subscriptions.
Fresh Roasted sell the same origin roasted dark, as single-serve pods for K-Cup brewers (medium or dark), as Nespresso Original compatible espresso capsules, and green for home roasting. All of them are on this page's buying options.
Sumatra Mandheling vs Cooper's Cask Sumatra Dark Roast
Two Sumatras from US roasters, at different roasts and prices.
The Cooper's Cask Sumatra Dark Roast is roasted darker, certified organic, and costs $18.95 for 12 oz or $35.25 a kilo in its 5 lb bag, described as earthy and bold with a full body. Fresh Roasted's is a medium roast, not organic, and cheaper at every size, down to $28.66 a kilo, and it prints a roast date, which Cooper's Cask does not. If you want organic, or a darker roast for espresso, Cooper's Cask. If you want the date and the price, Fresh Roasted. Fresh Roasted also sell an Organic Sumatra Water-Processed Decaf for the evenings.
How to brew it
It shines with body: French press, moka pot and milk.
Low acidity and heavy body are what a French press rewards, since the metal filter keeps the oils in the cup. Try 1:15, 30 g of coarsely ground coffee to 450 g of water, steeped for four minutes; our French press guide has the full method. It also makes a strong moka pot coffee and holds up well under milk. As pour over it is smoother than most but loses some of the weight that makes it worth buying.
Is it worth it?
Yes, if you like a heavy, low-acid cup.
At well under a dollar a cup, roasted to order and dated on the bag, it is an easy recommendation for anybody who likes the Sumatran style. What it does not do is tell you whose farm it came from, or at what altitude, which a specialty roaster might.
Who should buy it (and who should not)
Buy it if
- You like a full, earthy, chocolatey coffee with low acidity.
- You brew in a French press or drink it with milk.
- You want a roast date and a low price per kilo.
Skip it if
- You like bright, fruity coffee; try the Fresh Roasted Kenya AA.
- You want organic; see the Organic Bali Blue Moon, also wet hulled but sweeter.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Sumatra Mandheling taste like?
Fresh Roasted's label lists dark chocolate, cedar and heavy; the page describes a smooth chocolate flavour with earthy undertones and low acidity.
Is it a dark roast?
No, it is a medium roast. Fresh Roasted sell a separate Dark Sumatra Mandheling.
What is wet hulling?
An Indonesian method that strips the parchment off while the beans are still wet, which gives the heavy body and earthy flavour.
How do I find the roast date?
On a white sticker on the bottom of the bag, as a Julian day, the number of the day in the year.
Is it kosher?
Yes. Fresh Roasted list it as OU Kosher certified.
