A MAJOR WORLD PRODUCER, INDONESIA IS LOOKING LOCALLY TO TAKE ITS COFFEE TRADE EVEN FURTHER. HARUMI SUPIT TAKES A SIP

Like first love, the aroma of freshly roasted coffee is unmistakable, a tantalizing whiff of goodness and warmth. Legend has it that coffee, like mankind, had its roots in Africa, when an Ethiopian shepherd noticed his goats turning frisky after eating the berries of a certain plant.

Knowledge of the magical drink spread rapidly along trade routes, and by 1,000 AD the Arab world was busy brewing coffee. The Dutch managed to smuggle the seedlings into Europe in 1616, and then to their colonies, including Java and what is now Sumatra. The first Indonesian coffee exports from Java took place in 1711, the beginnings of a multi-million-dollar industry.

Today, Indonesia is the world’s fourth largest coffee producer after Brazil, Vietnam and Colombia. Major production regions include Sumatra, Java, Bali, Sulawesi, Flores and Papua, with more than 90% of Indonesian coffee grown on farms averaging one hectare or less. The United States, Western Europe and Japan are Indonesia’s major export markets, but demand in China and Russia is rising. Exports of Indonesian coffee beans reached 437,000 tonnes in 2008, at a value of US$956.86 million. An estimated 150,000 tonnes were consumed domestically.

Coffee production is generally divided between Robusta and Arabica types. Robusta is easier to produce less expensive, but also more acidic and less flavorful. While Indonesia produces mainly Robusta, it is also known for the full-bodied, complex flavored Arabicas. About 20% of Indonesian exports are Arabica types, including high-margin, specialty coffees that trade on the New York Coffee Exchange.

Like wines, coffee beans from different regions yield distinctive flavors. Sumatran coffee, including well-known names such as Mandheling and Gayo, has a smooth, intense flavor. Java brews are strong and full bodied, while coffee from Sulawesi is sweet but full bodied. Bali coffee is the sweetest and softest, whereas beans from Flores and Papua have hints of chocolate and earthy notes.

As befits the country’s robust production, Indonesians have a long tradition of drinking coffee. Popular with both rich and poor, coffee is versatile enough to transcend class boundaries, selling in rundown street stalls and high-end hotels.

“We sell coffee, both the instant kind and chilled cans,” says Andrew Wibowo, proprietor of a small minimart in South Jakarta. “It sells consistently.” Traditionally beans are picked, dried, then ground and added to boiling water with a generous dose of sugar to create thick, grainy kopi tubruk. In modern times, instant coffee mixes have proved lucrative, dominated by local brands such as Kapal Api.

The mass consumer market is still expanding, driven by aggressive marketing, innovative new mixes and the lure of convenience. More exotically, Indonesia is also the origin of kopi luwak, the world’s most expensive coffee, made from the beans that have passed through the cat-like palm civet’s digestive system into its droppings. This coffee can retail for hundreds of dollars per kilogram. Meanwhile, a small but growing appreciation for premium style, Arabica coffee is also evident locally, propelled by the foreign influence of a global coffee culture and a rising middle class.

“The status of coffee is shifting,” says Rachim Kartabrata, executive secretary of the Association of Indonesian Coffee Exporters (AEKI). While in the past, factory workers in need of a pick-up drove up the popularity of instant coffee, now a younger, moneyed crowd sets the trend. “After 1998, it was thought that consumption would decrease following the financial crisis. But it actually went up, sponsored by foreign coffee shops like Coffee Bean and Starbucks first, then the emergence of local coffee shops. They copied from Coffee Bean and Starbucks including how to serve in a complicated fashion – as an art.”

Lukman has been a barista at hip local Jakarta coffee joint Anomali Coffee for one year. Prices at Anomali average about 30,000 rupiah for a cup of fresh-ground coffee, amid an ambience befitting Boston or San Francisco. Lukman patiently explains the difference in taste between the Aceh Gayo and the Toraja Kalosi brews. “The Kalosi is sweet and strong,” he offers. Lukman says he likes the challenge of learning about coffee, and educating the customers about it.

While this is good news for the specialty coffee scene, there is still a long way to go toward developing a matured coffee culture. A 2006 survey by Bogor-based micro-roasters Merdeka Coffee showed that nearly 85% of Indonesians preferred coffee grown in Italy to coffee grown in Indonesia, despite the fact Italy doesn’t actually produce coffee.

The rise of a café culture, exemplified by local coffee shop operators such as Excelso, Regal, Brew & Co still has more to do with providing a place for consumers to eat, drink and socialize rather than learn and enjoy premium coffee.

Offering a glimpse of coffee’s production cycle is Losari Coffee Plantation Resort & Spa in Magelang, Central Java. The acclaimed resort, surrounded by 11 hectares of organically farmed Robusta coffee, holds hour-long coffee plantation tours on request, covering the entire process, from growing to grinding. At the end of the tour, guests are served coffee in the middle of the plantation and in the traditional Javanese way.

Amid the rustling shrubs, it is hard to believe that coffee as a way of life in Indonesia may be imperiled. Yet factors including erratic or lessened rainfall from climate change, competition from other land usage such as bio-fuels, and a shortage of farmers all provide genuine threats. The solution is of course to drink more coffee – particularly good quality fair-traded beans, from which farmers reap higher rewards for their produce.

For the millions of devoted Java junkies, this sounds like an easy prescription to swallow. “I love my coffee,” says Bali-born consultant Arsianti. “I can’t start my day without it.”

Contacts

ANOMALI COFFEE
35 Jln Senopati Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta tel: (0)21 5292 0102 www.anomalicoffee.com
INDONESIAN ASSOCIATION OF COFFEE EXPORTERS
20 Jln RP Soeroso, Jakarta tel: (0)21 310 6765
LOSARI COFFEE PLANTATION RESORT & SPA
Magelang 56100, Central Java tel: (0)298 59 6333 www.losari.info
MERDEKA COFFEE
Plaza Niaga II No. 88 Block G Jln MH Thamrin, Bukit Sentul West Java tel: (0)21 8796 2386 www.merdekacoffee.com