Sumatra Mandheling by Coffee Bean Direct Coffee Roasters

This Sumatra Mandheling Coffee is another sample from Coffee Bean Direct Coffee Roasters. I've previously done an Italian Roast Espresso and an Earl Grey tea they have provided. Sumatra Mandheling is by far my favorite coffee and I am excited to get going on this one.

Once the bag was opened you could smell the deep earthy, chocolate aroma of the roasted beans, plus nearly every bean shows a rich layer of oily caramelization.

I used two brewing methods for this review, a pour-over and a french press, along with two grinding methods, my hand grinder and my new electric grinder (which I will review one of these days). The electric grinder, even on the coarsest setting, produced to many fines causing over extraction and a bitter pot of coffee (that's why I'm still hand grinding for reviews).

Once ground, the dry aroma had notes of cocoa, rich earth and bread. After hot water was introduced and the grounds were wet, there were nuances of sweet caramel, fresh baked bread, light hints of cocoa and an underlying earthiness.

From the cup, the coffee was rich, deep and complex with the syrupy mouthfeel I expect from a Sumatran coffee. On top there are flavors of earth, caramel, warm bread and a slight tartness. As the cup cools the caramel and earth become more predominant as the sweetness develops and the tartness fade.

Overall I found this Sumatra Mandheling to be a high quality coffee with both great aromas and flavors.

Rated 93

I would like to thank Coffee Bean Direct Coffee Roasters for providing this sample for review.