O

span class="caption" style="width: 468px;">One Fifteenth café opened its doors in South Jakarta with a simple mission — to change the way Jakartans enjoy coffee.The coffee fever that has taken the world by storm is kicking in.

Indonesia’s café scene may not be the busiest, considering the country’s reputation as one of the world’s largest coffee exporters, but on the bustling streets of Jakarta, change is happening.

Indonesians are beginning to drink coffee in new and exciting ways thanks to new trends, new techniques and new partnerships.

The movement is mainly defined by micro-roasters and baristas who focus on the unique characteristics of each bean with a sense of style and simplicity.

In Jakarta, the movement is being spearheaded by cafés like One Fifteenth Coffee, led by manager Doddy Samura.

One Fifteenth café opened its doors nine months ago with a simple mission — to change the way Jakartans enjoy coffee.

“We aimed to be the finest specialty café in Indonesia — many others have followed in our footsteps,” Doddy said.

The name One Fifteenth is emblematic of the café’s attention to detail and philosophy. It refers to the “coffee-to-water” ratio that yields the ideal cup of coffee.

Doddy moved to Jakarta from Yogyakarta in 2012 to establish the café, leaving behind his family and visiting them only once a week, a sign of how committed the man is to his craft and the direction of the café.

The coffee at One Fifteenth is different to that which most Indonesians consume.

The café’s helpful staff said the different coffees could be confusing for Indonesians who were not familiar with specialty coffee.

“Customers used to ask why was it so fruity or acidic? But coffee is not meant to be bitter, steaming hot or drunk with three sugars,” said Doddy.

To show consumers how diverse coffee can be, the café now holds cupping sessions every Sunday where enthusiasts can sample different varieties and roasting methods in a friendly and informal environment.

“We always encourage people not to drink the coffee with sugar – just try it before you put in two or three teaspoons of sugar,” said Doddy.

Behind the brew bar is a collection of coffee bags that are a toast to the leaders of specialty coffee worldwide.

Packages from Handsome and Blue Bottle roasts in the US sit beside offerings from Seven Seeds and Proud Mary from Australia and the Coffee Collective from Copenhagen.

 “When we have friends or guests from overseas visiting, they bring the coffee back for us. If you try and ship the coffee across continents, it dies in quality,” said Doddy

Even if the coffee is roasted to its peak, by the time it gets to Indonesia by mail it’s no longer fresh — not an option, as quality is something not to be compromised, along with educating the consumer whenever possible.

It is for this reason that One Fifteenth’s coffee is roasted in-house by Morph Coffee under the careful supervision of Andrew Tang.

“At the moment, the house blend is a 60/40 blend of single-estate coffees. Both feature a fully washed processing method and come from a coffee estate on Kintamani Mountain in Bali,” said Andrew.

One Fifteenth features a brew bar — a feature of specialty cafés around the world but a rare sight in Jakarta.

The bar features brewing equipment like the aeropress, the pour-over, a Japanese cold drop and an array of syphon filters.

The décor of the café is a far cry from the franchise coffee shops that span the globe.

The café is minimalist in design with open spaces, light woods and long communal tables. It is a scene that could easily feature in one of the many architectural or Monocle magazines on offer at the café.

For now, the food offerings at One Fifteenth are simple and few with coffee being the café’s main focus.

A selection of toasted sandwiches, churros doughnuts and cakes are available as coffee accompaniments, if required. Plans are being made to expand the menu, however.

Doddy warned that One Fifteenth, which opens until 10 p.m. on weekdays and 11 p.m. on weekends, was always busy on the weekend while on weekdays it all depended on traffic.

But, One Fifteenth is the type of café where your senses will be treated — it’s certainly worth enduring Jakarta’s cross-town traffic and a must-see for those coffee enthusiasts who don’t take the bean for granted.

The writer is an intern at The Jakarta Post