The Coffee Culture Diversity in Indonesia

It is well known that there are different coffee cultures in different nations. But do you actually know that there are even varieties of coffee cultures in different town on one country?

Indonesia for example. It is well known that this country had a long history of coffee brewing. It is also long known for its coffee beans. But not many people knew the uniqueness of its coffee culture, not even the majority of Indonesian fully aware of it.

On the far west side of this country, there is Aceh. It is well known in Indonesia that the Aceh coffee is very strong. The caffeine is very high. Just one cup can make your heart beat go nuts and make you stay up all night long. For marijuana is known as traditional medicine, vegetable, and seasoning, it’s seeds are sometimes uses as an additional ingredients in coffee roasting to enriched it’s flavor.

Still in the same island, there is Lampung. The coffee is just as strong as one in Aceh. But there is a new breed of coffee here. An aromatic coffee uses oranges and strawberry. Lampung is also one of the producing city of civet coffee or luwak coffee. Maybe not as good as the one in Java, but there are more civet farm here in Lampung, compare to those in Java. In Lampung, the civets are kept in smaller cages with less variety of foods (besides coffee beans), while in Java the civets are kept in bigger cages, and in a semi wild environment with wider variety of foods.

Move to east, to Java Island, the coffees are already had an international name. Almost every person in every corner of the universe who drinks coffee knew Javanese coffee. But still fewer knew the uniqueness of coffee culture in Java Island even the Indonesian it self.

There are so many coffee brands produces by hundreds of big industries, and even thousands that produce by small industries. Thus, people in coffee shops had very wide options of coffee to drink. But different town had its own people with a differently unique behavior. In the islands of Java alone, in city like Jakarta, Bandung, and some others, the people are preferring coffee from big brands industries. But in Bandung, there are many different communities who preferred coffee that traditionally brewed from coffee beans by the local baristas of each coffee houses.

Still in Java, in a small town call Tulungagung, the people are fanatically choosing a certain brand. It is Brontoseno coffee. Each coffee houses in Tulungagung usually also had a traditional coffee that brewed by the baristas, generally called Green Coffee. It is kinds of coffee that mix with green beans in the roasting process. People here also prefer coffee with lots of sugar.

Meanwhile, in town like Surabaya, Gresik, and Sidoarjo, the people are generally fanatic to certain coffee houses. Each coffee house in these towns had their own kinds of coffee which they brewed them self. Coffee with brands aren’t being choose so much by people here.

One thing in common of coffee culture around the world is that just one cup of coffee can bring hours of social interactions between people.