B

eing a barista, just like a chef, is a male-dominated profession, although it comes from the domestic duties of homemaking that some identify with women.

But several female baristas beg to differ.

Hendrika Visuddhi is a barista, and she believes that women, too, can learn and compete in a male-dominated profession.

Hendrika said she noticed that not a lot of women were interested in learning the skills of coffee-making.

“But [being a barista] is actually similar to any other profession. Coffee is a natural product and anyone can learn how to make a good cup of coffee,” she told The Jakarta Post.

Hendrika said she started to learn about being a barista and opened Mainichi Coffee Jakarta roastery in 2014 while still working at a private company.

“At the time, the coffee trend was booming. Meanwhile, I am a coffee lover as well,” she said, adding that she was also looking for something to do while settling down for her retirement.

She attended training at the Indonesian Coffee and Cocoa Research Institute in Jember, East Java, to learn how to be a barista and roast her own coffee.

Hendrika said her roastery was still a micro business because she ground, roasted and packaged her coffee herself.

“It’s just me in my roastery, so it is still a one-man-show,” Hendrika joked, adding that she frequently attended public events to promote her coffee.

According to Hendrika, the neutral way to serve coffee was with a French press, because the method produces a standard taste that everyone likes.

“Not everyone likes the strong and dense taste of espresso,” she said.

Odi a barista from Lapak Ngopi Papacul Jakarta said she started to learn the art of being a barista six months ago after retiring from her desk job.

“Women don’t have to work behind the desk at an office. For example, a woman can become a barista,” Odi told The Jakarta Post.

She said even though most baristas were male, that did not mean a women could not be a barista. “The challenge and the competition among baristas, especially between male and female baristas, is actually fun. But that also means female baristas have to learn more from male baristas, and vice versa,” she said.

“It may be a male’s natural instinct to become a leader, but that doesn’t mean women can’t be leaders, too,” she added.

Lenny, the owner of Koffie25 roastery, said her colleagues used to tease her about her love of coffee.

“Drinking coffee is typically identified with men. Some people tease me by calling me mas or bang [brother],” she joked.

Lenny explained that she was more of a coffee brewer and roaster because being a barista required more skills. “I still make coffee manually, while selling my roasted coffee,” she said.

Lenny opened her roastery in 2015 while still working as an engineer at a mechanical and electrical plumbing consultant company. “Hence the name Koffie25,” she said.

She said because she loved coffee, she started making cold brew black coffee and milk coffee even though she did not have any barista equipment yet, as they were quite expensive.

“When I made my own coffee, a lot of my friends who bought it said they liked it,” she said.

She added that the entire coffee-making process — roasting, grinding and brewing the beans — was essential in making a good cup of coffee. (ami)