Mandheling Coffee isn't for Everyone

When it comes to coffee, people often rave about single origin varieties  in the same way with single malt whiskey, the blended ones just won't do but that doesn't mean there isn't a market for it.

So when I chance across a premium Mandheling coffee from Chek Hup, I thought maybe it's time I venture into the coffee wilderness and try a new variety single origin. For me, I am a through and through Colombian fan. I love the deep acidity and rich aromas. Now Chek Hup has been around for half a century, and they are famous for their white instant coffees. So when they got into the premium coffee business, I was wondering how it was going to fare. Malaysia is not famous for coffee. It taps the growers in the nearby regions for much of its beans.

Mandheling coffee hails from Sumatra, and is of the Arabica variety...meaning this is premium stuff when handled well. Now this is the first Mandheling I am tasting so it goes to show that it pretty much sums up what people were expecting from the coffee, low acidity, not very fragrant and has hints of mocha as an aftertaste. It feels like when you have a pet cat walk all over you while you sleep. You notice it is there but it doesn't quite leave an impression strong enough to wake you up.

I could not believe it at first. It's too light for my taste buds so I took out a pod (they come as 6 in a box) emptied it into a French Press and gave it a good 7 minutes of soaking. During this time, I noticed that the beans were course grind, and would require maybe a little more time to soak but it doesn't much make a difference as it tasted the same. The bean is also lightly roasted and I wondered if a darker roast would bring more fragrance to the cup...that unfortunately can only be answered by Roasters at Chek Hup.

I must say that Chek Hup has done a damn good job in packaging. Included in the box are six sugar stirrers, so you don't have to bring your own sugar if you ever took it on trips. The coffee isn't cheap, at about US$3 for a box with 6 coffee pods and sugar stirrers, so this is as premium as it gets. Good as a gift pack or a souvenir but discerning coffee drinkers would be so kind to take note that the lighter taste of this coffee is not an anomaly. It is processed that way. Arabica coffee beans have much lower caffeine than the Robusta or Liberica variety when processed in a similar manner. So you are not going to get a wake up call when you down a cuppa.

If you are looking for a light coffee, this would suit you just fine. It might not have the full body flavor of your typical Starbucks but that doesn't mean it sucks. It's not for everyone at least not for me.

Coffee is my drug of choice for an early wake up call. It has to be full bodied and has solid acidity. Taking a whiff must remind you that you are alive. That said, I am a difficult person to please.

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Big Bean Coffee: Dagan Rengit Coffee Cafe

When it come to coffee, the Arabica bean is highly prized in the gourmet world and nothing really comes close...not even Catimor, a bean that has been cross between Robusta and Arabica.

In southeast Asia, the bean of choice is Liberica, and since it grows well in mid to low lands, you get a feeling that it would make it a preferred choice for coffee plantations but in reality, it is very difficult to justify. I remember Todd Carmichael of La Calombe who traversed Sarawak in search of the mystical Liberica bean and wasn't fully convinced he found the legendary bean even after taking it home—not even available for sale on his online site.

So here we have another Liberica bean to test your tastebuds, this time it is the Excelsa type of bean. Now Rengit Coffee in Batu Pahat, Malaysia has been a coffee trader for some time and they import and roast gourmet coffees from all over the world.

Rengit Coffee has spruced up its coffee image by going into the Cafe business. They have several branches in Batu Pahat and one in Kluang located in the shopping arcade of AEON Big supermarket.

Robusta cherry on the right, middle cherry is the Liberica, left is the Arabica

The Dagan brand has an elephant on it, and it would appear that they might be using Elephants to do the processing as Civet Cats can be hard to come by, however if you study their literature, they call their Elephant bean coffee not because it was processed by Elephants but because of its sheer SIZE. The Excelsa bean (known to the French as Chari) is suppose to be big, but if you judge the size of the coffee cherrie, then it is probably bigger than the Arabica variety but it is not in any way larger than the pure Liberica beans drifting around most of the local coffee shops. Robusta is the bane of the coffee world. Low quality, high caffeine and bitter, the Robusta is prized in the medical world for the caffeine it produces which is distilled and added back in to soft drinks and in medicine. 

Taste Test

Excelsa coffee isn't going to be much better than the Libericas found locally but I must say that after having the taste test, it was in fact, a tad better than you realize.

First, the aroma is very similar to what you find with Arabica roast. The first whiff gives the impression that you are drinking premium beans but when the firs sip hits your mouth, you then realize that it is no Arabica. It is not even comparable to a full bodied Arabica and will never be in the gourmet circles.

Don't get me wrong, it has good acidity and there is a very distinct bitterness that s not overpowering nor near the likes of the Robusta variety but you need a creamer to cut down on this bitterness. Besides this, it has a nice fruity note. I detected a hint of Banana as an end note. Which was kinda weird as even Gourmet coffees grown alongside Banana trees don't give off this aroma or taste.

However if you judge the Excelsa bean against the normal Liberica coffee offered locally in Malaysia, you will see how Excelsa shines. Comparatively speaking, the Excelsa beans are better than the usual Liberica coffees found in South East Asia, in particular, in Vietnam and Cambodia.

It has a good body going in and has none of the bitter kick one finds in a Robusta. Since it is priced much lower than Arabica, and higher than the usual Liberica, it is a good bean for use in coffee blends. Blended coffee is a fusion of all three beans and often used in cafe house blends. Blended coffee is found everywhere from Supermarket house blends to coffee shop blends. Single origin coffees are the most prized, which is similar to single malt whiskey if you want to get an idea of the comparison.

A 250 gram bag of roasted Excelsa from Dagan Rengit Cafe sells for about US$3.

footnote: Excelsa Beans have a reputation for having lower caffeine so if you are looking for something that won't keep you up all night, you can try having this type of coffee.