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Indonesia’s coffee: More than just a cuppa
Coffee permeates almost every aspect of the Indonesian lifestyle, so much so it’s become a verb, ngopi. And while it may be just a hot beverage for most consumers, the business is a long-term investment toward sustainability for both domestic and international markets.
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Brewing potential: Indonesia is the world’s fourth largest coffee producer, but needs to focus on sustainable production and increased market reach. (Shutterstock/Portumen)
C
offee is one of those things you either chug religiously to fuel your morning or sip daintily while people-watching at a scenic cafe.
A coffee habit does not need to be costly, as the popularity of takeaway coffee shops attests to.
But before the iced coffee boom of recent times, Indonesia’s coffee scene was perhaps best exemplified by Anomali Coffee.
Established in 2007, Anomali Coffee is a coffee roasting company that offers beans from various regions in Indonesia. Along the way, it started to include coffee equipment, barista classes and its own cafe among its offerings.
In its “Ngupi Lestari” (sustainable coffee) webinar, Anomali Coffee co-owner Irvan Helmi, who also chairs the Sustainable Coffee Platform of Indonesia (SCOPI), said that in the early days, not many had thought about selling coffee as a long-term business.
“I went to the Sinar shop in Tanah Abang and I saw the shopkeepers were [completely] covered in coffee powder. I was in middle school or high school at that time, and I immediately took an interest to coffee,” he recalled, and that he previously thought coffee only came in sachets.
