M

iss Coffee Indonesia 2012 Bianca Beatrice Darmawan is not doing it for world peace nor for the other grandiose idea of making world a better place, things that have been frequently cited by many beauty pageant contestants in cliché speeches across the globe.

Instead, the 23-year-old went for something simple, realistic and practical.

She told The Jakarta Post in a recent interview that her motivation to participate in the Miss Coffee competition was driven by her plan to open a coffee shop.

It may sound selfish at first but hearing directly from the girl’s petite lips her elaboration on the good cause behind her business plan; we are given no choice but to withdraw our negative assumption. In fact, her aspiration might have been the one thing that won her the title of Miss Coffee Indonesia 2012 and first runner-up in the prestigious Miss Coffee International contest in Bali.

Sitting in a coffee shop in one of the many malls in Jakarta, she repeated again her wish to use her coffee business to improve the livelihood of local coffee farmers.

“The supply for the shop will come directly from the farmers,” she explains.

Yet, it is not an easy feat for Bianca given the poor quality of local coffee products that, she believes, derives from the farmers’ lack of knowledge.

Bianca admits this is a big challenge for her to educate the farmers that are used to traditional ways of producing coffee. But she believes that empowering the farmers is the key to enable her to accomplish her main mission as Miss Coffee Indonesia; to promote Indonesian coffee on the global stage.

“Indonesian coffee is known for its diverse taste. We many different varieties of coffee from Sabang to Merauke, each with its own unique flavor,” Bianca said.

Unfortunately, the abundant natural resource does not come with qualified human resources. Therefore, the basic knowledge of seed selection, fertilizer and harvesting must be given to local farmers to improve the quality, Bianca recommends.

“They must know that coffee plants have an age limit. If they produce coffee from very old plants, the taste will not be good. Many local farmers do not know this and still harvest from 20-year-old plants,” she shared.
From only having a limited amount of coffee knowledge, Bianca seems to be an expert now. She almost knows every kind of Indonesian coffee; she even can identify many with her eyes closed.

“Papua Wamena coffee is nutty and chocolaty. It is my favorite [...] Kintamani coffee from Bali, which loved by the Japanese for its acidic taste,” and her knowledge goes on, gained as a result of extensive learning in preparation for Miss Coffee International.

She said she was trained by coffee expert Tuti Mochtar for two full weeks for the big event. Tuti changed Bianca from a one-cup-a-day coffee girl to Miss Coffee Indonesia.

Bianca confessed that she was not a coffee drinker until three years ago when she started to work. She says she needs one cup of coffee in the morning to start the day.

Born in Jakarta in April 1989, Bianca grew up only knowing coffee as her father’s favorite drink. The second child, she moved with her family to the US when she was 15 years old. After graduating from university, she stayed and worked there but finally returned to Jakarta to be with her family.

Before snatching the Miss Coffee Indonesia title, Bianca was already Miss Asia Indonesia 2011, Miss Prettiest USA 2010 as well as the Miss Asia Sacramento Pageant 2010 Miss Scholastic Achievement.

Her sister and manager Grace Amelia Darmawan says the family is very proud of Bianca’s achievements, which have had a positive impact on her character development.

“She was very shy when she was younger, always hiding behind my mother and cried when strangers wanted to shake her hand,” Grace shared.

It seems that years of living abroad and the experience of many beauty contests have changed the once timid young girl into a confident and brave woman.

From a very reserved child, Bianca has now become the spokesperson of the country when it comes to coffee. Next on her schedule is to promote Indonesian coffee at an agricultural forum in South Korea, accompanying the agriculture minister.

Bianca says she is also very busy handling her coffee business, preparing the logo and marketing strategy, while planning an Indonesian tour to meet coffee farmers and hold training sessions.

With all the hard work, it looks like Bianca wants to show that her winning doesn’t just serve her and her personal interests — making her a better person and helping her develop her coffee business — but also her surroundings, including her family, the coffee farmers as well as the country.