Adi W. Taroepratjeka

In one occasion Adi W. Taroepratjeka said to me, “People (who own restaurants or cafés) are not used to getting criticisms, and more often than not, they suspect of hidden intentions that lie behind them. In truth, a constructive criticism will make a restaurant improve, as opposed to just getting praises all the time.” With long and extensive knowledge and background as consultants in the food and beverage industry, Adi and his wife Mia are no newbies in the culinary field.  Their company, Secangkir Kopi (A Cup of Coffee) is the place for anyone who wants to get consultations and trainings in opening a café or a restaurant. It was in their apartment at KH. Mas Mansyur Jakarta, where we discussed many topics, especially their experiences in the field that they’re currently pursuing.

Starting off studying architecture at Insititut Teknik Bandung (Bandung Institute of Engineering), Adi became more interested in culinary and decided to change directions and studied at a hospitality school in pursue of becoming a chef.

Adi’s name is well-known in the coffee industry and he is one of the culinary officials in JalanSutra’s mailing list. With a colorful and diversed background, it’s quite challenging writing about Adi, who also knows a lot about wine, since he had also trained as a sommelier. When he was still a hospitality student in Bandung, he took more fancy in starting up a restaurant business with his friends, even though it’s more appropriate to say he was doing community service, because Adi never cared much about the profits he made, as he had more pleasure in playing around with different recipes and tastes. That has been the expertise he has kept on developing, which results in him being asked as a consultant for many companies in cuisines.

Imagine this – the Italian pasta that he cooked up for me that evening was in fact, flavoured with Balinese spices – an experiment that probably never comes across any chef’s mind, let alone mine. And remove any doubts in thinking whether or not I enjoyed it, because a plateful of pasta with the peculiar Indonesian spices blended together with the authentic texture of Italian pasta, was just one of Adi’s creation that I felt more than happy to devour.

Once dinner was out of the way, then we were off tasting coffee from the Expobar Office Control espresso machine that they bought after their wedding. “Other people buy houses after they get married, but we spent all our money for one espresso machine and one Blendtec blender,” they declared cheerfully. We sipped our espressos with delight, which was made of Costa Rica and Yunan Starbucks region coffee that Adi extracted in 23, 24 and 25 seconds; just  to find the right extraction and the best taste out of the coffee itself. In other words, don’t stick to the dogma that an espresso must always be extracted in 25 seconds, or any other specified number. The complexity of many factors that influence the taste of the coffee itself must be utilized with the search of what Adi called as the “sweet spot”, which can be different between one kind of coffee and the others.

“Whenever we have a barista training for a client, each participant can use up one kilogram of coffee. We do this intentionally so that the baristas truly know the taste of the coffee they create, so they don’t exclusively function as servers only,” said Adi.

As consultants for many restaurants and cafés, they are fully responsible for market strategy (not marketing), menu designs, and even human resources selection. “If a client wants to open a café in Jakarta, we’d ask where exactly in Jakarta; West, East, North, or South Jakarta? Because each district has a different characteristic of coffee drinkers, as well as a different preference for the kinds of coffee they drink and the prices they’re willing to pay for.” The initial consultation will continue intensely when the client will be given directions not only for the things mentioned before, but also for selecting the equipment from suppliers and training of employees.

“1 kg of coffee is used up in a matter of a day everytime we have a barista training, so they can taste their coffee appropriately.” (Adi Taroepratjeka).

After the start-up phase, the couple follow the clients’ development until the clients can operate independently for a period of more or less a year, in which the clients are ready to run on their own. “At times, it is hard to adjust to the wishes of clients who have veered off from the initial concept, but we are powerless because it is their prerogative. The biggest component in starting a café is usually the interior design, aside from the rent, that is. People go to cafés and they pay not only for the food and drinks, but also for the atmosphere. Other than that, the hardest part is managing human resources, because the owners (clients) must deal with employees who, sometimes, tend to misbehave,” explained Adi.

I could lose track of time due to the lengthy discussion we were having, even more because there were so many questions I hadnt had the chance to ask. Nevertheless, it was quite rare for me to be served home-made pasta by a chef who qualified as a Q Grader (coffee tasting expertise), as well as the 3 shots of espressos and one latte art that followed after. So, hatur nuhun (ed. thank you in Sundanese), Mr. Adi and Mrs. Mia, for chatting with me…

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Adi W. Taroepratjeka

Di suatu kesempatan Adi W. Taroepratjeka pernah menyatakan kepada saya “Kita belum terbiasa menerima kritik dan malah seringkali dianggap punya niatan lain. Padahal kritik yang konstruktif akan membuat sebuah restoran lebih maju ketimbang mereka yang lebih senang dengan pujian”. Dengan bekal pengetahuan dan pengalamannya yang panjang sebagai konsultan di bidang Food & Beverage Adi beserta istrinya Mia bukanlah orang asing dalam bidang kuliner. Perusahaan mereka  Secangkir Kopi adalah tempat bagi siapa saja yang ingin mendapatkan konsultasi dan pelatihan dalam merintis usaha dibidang cafe atau restoran. Di apartemennya di kawasan KH. Mas Masykur Jakarta saya berbincang  berbagai topik, khususnya pengalaman mereka dalam bidang bisnis yang saat ini mereka tekuni.

Namanya sudah malang melintang khususnya di dunia kopi dan salah satu punggawa kuliner di milis Jalansutra. Dengan keragaman latar belakangnya yang penuh warna, agak sulit menulis tentang seorang Adi yang juga tahu banyak tentang minuman anggur karena pernah mendapatkan pelatihan sommelier. Saat masih berkuliah di sekolah perhotelan di Bandung ia malah asyik membangun bisnis restoran bersama teman-temannya. Lebih tepat disebut dengan kerja bakti karena Adi tidak pernah berhitung berapa keuntungan yang akan ia peroleh karena ia memperoleh kenikmatan bermain dengan aneka resep dan rasa. Keahlian inilah yang terus ia kembangkan hingga sekarang dan sering dijadikan konsultan rasa oleh beberapa perusahaan makanan. Coba saja anda bayangkan masakan pasta Italia yang saya nikmati ia beri bumbu masakan Bali, sebuah eksperimen yang mungkin tidak pernah terlintas oleh seorang juru masak apalagi saya. Jangan disangka saya tidak bisa menikmatinya, sepiring pasta dengan rasa bumbu khas rempah Indonesia bersatu dengan tekstur pasta Italia adalah kreasi Adi yang tandas saya habiskan malam itu.

Setelah acara makan, baru kami memulai mencicipi kopi dengan mesin espresso Expobar Office Control yang mereka beli setelah acara pernikahan mereka. “Kalau orang lain beli rumah, kami menghabiskan uang dengan satu mesin espresso dan satu blender merek Blendtec” kata mereka berdua sambil tertawa. Kami menikmati espresso dari Starbucks region Kosta Rika dan Yunan yang ia atur waktu ektraksinya dari 23, 24, hingga 25 detik untuk mendapatkan waktu ektraksi yang cocok untuk menghasilkan rasa terbaik dari sebuah kopi. Dengan kata lain,  jangan terpaku pada pakem bahwa ektraksi espresso harus selalu 25 detik atau pada angka tertentu. Kompleksnya berbagai faktor yang mempengaruhi kopi harus disiasati dengan pencarian yang disebut Adi sebagai  sweet spot yang berbeda antara satu kopi dengan yang lainnya.

“Pada saat pelatihan barista yang kami lakukan kepada klien, mereka bisa menghabiskan satu kilogram per orang. Ini sengaja kami lakukan agar barista tahu benar rasa kopi yang ia sajikan, bukan hanya berfungsi sebagai penyaji semata” katanya.

Sebagai konsultan di berbagai restoran dan cafe, pasangan suami istri ini bertanggung jawab penuh terhadap strategi market (bukan marketing), desain menu yang disajikan, hingga pemilihan sumber daya manusia. “Kalau ada yang mau buka cafe di Jakarta, kami akan bertanya dulu di mana lokasinya, Jakarta Barat, Timur, Utara, atau Selatan. Karena masing2 wilayah punya karakteristik peminum kopi yang berlainan dari segi jenis kopi hingga harga yang harus dibayarkan”. Konsultasi awal ini akan terus berlanjut secara intens manakala klien akan diberikan petunjuk bukan hanya dari hal2 yang sudah disebutkan di atas, tapi juga termasuk pemilihan alat dari para suplier berikut pelatihan tenaga kerjanya.

Setelah masa start-up, mereka akan terus mengikuti perkembangan klien nya hingga mereka bisa jalan sendiri hingga kurang lebih setahun sampai mereka bisa dilepas. “Kadang sulit menyesuaikan dengan keingin para pemilik yang melenceng dari konsep awal, tapi kami tidak bisa berbuat apa2 karena itu hak mereka. Komponen terbesar dalam usaha cafe biasanya dalam desain interior selain sewa lokasi. Orang datang ke cafe tidak semata-mata ingin menikmati kopi, tapi juga membeli suasana yang ditawarkan. Setelah itu yang paling sulit adalah pengaturan sumber daya manusia yang dipekerjakan karena pemilik harus berhadapan dengan karyawan yang kadang punya prilaku tidak terpuji” ujarnya.

Kalau tidak ingat waktu mungkin obrolannya bisa lebih panjang, apalagi  masih banyak yang harus ditanyakan. Selain itu, jarang2 saya dibuatkan pasta oleh seorang chef, juru masak yang punya kualifikasi Q Grader atau ahli pencicip kopi berikut 3 shot espresso dan satu latte art di atas.  Jadi, hatur nuhun Kang Adi & Mia atas waktunya ngobrol dengan saya … 🙂