Jakarta coffee lovers were gathering on a Friday night at Veranda, South Jakarta (29/10). Beritagar.id held coffee discussion with famous coffee practitioners as panellists on their monthly “Obsat”.
Themed “Ngopi Dulu Biar Waras”, this event focused on the talk about coffee trends in Indonesia, especially in the metropolitans.
Among the speakers, there is World Barista Championship judge Mira Yudhawati. The mother-of-one who is also a Marketing Manager at Caswells Coffee Indonesia talks about coffee business.
“Nowadays, people are more educated about coffee,” said Mira.
“Back in the first time I work in coffee business, people are more concerned in the price of coffee. Today, they appreciated it more and even willing to do the cupping before buying it,” said her again.
According to International Coffee Organization data, Indonesia is the fourth biggest country contributes in world coffee export and production behind Brazil, Vietnam, and Columbia. In 2014, Indonesia produced 9,350,000 lot coffees and exported 5,977,000 lot coffees. It means that Indonesians only consume 36% of total Indonesia’s coffee production.
Many efforts are required in order to educate people about how important coffee is for Indonesia’s economy. Some people make celebrations. Some people make seminars. Some people make movies.
One of the most famous films about Indonesia’s coffee is Biji Kopi Indonesia (Aroma of Heaven). The documentary movie directed by Budi Kurniawan talks about traditions, cultures, arts, and beliefs in Indonesia’s coffee history rooted from about 300 years ago. The movie trailer was also played before the talk show in order to introduce guests to Indonesia’s coffee culture.
“However, the number of local consumer’s is actually increasing. On the last 3 years, the number increases up to 40% especially in big cities such as Jakarta and Denpasar,” said Mira.
“It is affected by lifestyle demands. We were helped by international coffee chain opened in Indonesia years ago,” said Mirza Lukman, one of the panellists.
“Thanks to the coffee chain, now we’re more exposed to wide varieties of coffee. We all have our personal preferences on enjoying the coffee. It also triggers local coffee business,” said the Q-Grader.
Raymond Malvin, one of the panellists said that one of the major factors that affect this business is the price of coffee. Undoubtedly, the price of a cup of coffee is rather high not only because of the coffee beans’ price, but also because of the operational costs.
“We don’t always have to follow high lifestyle just to enjoy coffee. Many coffee shops have more affordable coffee. Sipping instant coffee at home can be pleasurable as well. Once again, people have their own way to enjoy coffee,” said the founder of kopikeliling.com.
Tags: coffee, talk show, coffee business, obsat