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W. Java vies for new markets for Preanger coffee
Brewing style: Visitors observe a bartender as he demonstrates a manual coffee brewing technique during the West Java Coffee Festival in Bandung, West Java, on Friday
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Brewing style: Visitors observe a bartender as he demonstrates a manual coffee brewing technique during the West Java Coffee Festival in Bandung, West Java, on Friday. The festival, which runs from Nov. 20 to 29, aims to introduce and promote the variety of coffee products harvested in plantations across the province. (JP/Arya Dipa) (JP/Arya Dipa)
Brewing style: Visitors observe a bartender as he demonstrates a manual coffee brewing technique during the West Java Coffee Festival in Bandung, West Java, on Friday. The festival, which runs from Nov. 20 to 29, aims to introduce and promote the variety of coffee products harvested in plantations across the province. (JP/Arya Dipa)
In an attempt to expand the local and international markets for its coffee products, the West Java provincial administration is implementing a series of measures to introduce coffee variants harvested from plantations across the region.
West Java Trade and Industry Agency head Ferry Sofwan Arief said coffee-based industries in West Java had great potential, adding, however, that sales of the province's coffee products, known as Java Preanger coffee since the colonial era, were currently fairly listless as a result of a lack of promotion.
'Today, most of our coffee beans are bought by businesspeople from outside the province and branded as products of their respective region.
'As such, many consumers and market players have no idea that many coffee products actually come from West Java,' Ferry said on Thursday.
Indonesia has long been a source of some of the world's most highly prized coffee variants.
Among the most popular are North Sumatra's Lintong and Mandheling, variants of the traditional Arabica strain. Lampung Robusta, meanwhile, is cultivated in southern Sumatra, while Aceh Gayo, another Arabica variant, is harvested from plantations in the central highlands of Aceh.
Java Preanger coffee, meanwhile, refers to variants harvested from the mountainous Preanger region, also known as Priangan, which covers several parts of West Java, including Bandung, West Bandung, Subang and Garut.
The demand from overseas markets for Preanger coffee, while relatively low, has been on the rise in recent years.
Data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), for example, show that West Java exported 111.7 tons of roasted and green coffee beans worth a total of US$763,900 during the first nine months of this year, a 53 percent increase from 72.6 tons shipped overseas in the whole of 2014.
Last year, the province also managed to export 22.9 tons of processed coffee products with a value of $1.2 million.
According to Ferry, the annual production of Preanger coffee, however, is still too low to meet the demand of the residents of West Java, which is home to some 46 million residents.
'If half of them drink [local] coffee, local farmers and coffee-based industries will definitely see much greater business opportunities,' said Ferry, adding that 80 percent of the province's annual coffee production was currently earmarked for export.
Ferry said his agency had organized several events to promote Java Preanger coffee to the public and potential buyers, including the West Java Coffee Festival held in Bandung from Nov. 20 to 22.
The festival includes a workshop, talk show and contests aimed at promoting the province's coffee products.
'So far, 43 participants have submitted their coffee products to compete in the Golden Cup competition in search of the best-quality coffee in West Java,' Ferry said.
Secangkir Kopi Consultation and Training Institute founder Adi W. Taroepratjeka said coffee products from West Java had a distinctive taste lent by the province's long history of coffee cultivation.
'West Java coffee is superior thanks to the use of a variety of coffee beans, which are able to adapt to the local environment and create distinctive tastes,' he said.
Morning Glory Coffee chain owner and coffee aficionado Nathanael Charis, meanwhile, said coffee farmers in West Java needed to be provided with training and knowledge to improve their planting, harvesting and processing skills.
'Many farmers' knowledge stops at harvesting. The moment a buyer comes and offers a price, they simply agree. This must be set right. Farmers must understand the quality of their products and maintain production patterns,' Nathanael said.
