Indonesian Coffee Festival

Dede Yusuf, the vice governor of West Java, admitted that he was an avid coffee drinker who used to drink up to eight cups a day, until his wife Sendy Ramania Wurandani decided that it was simply too much and started limiting his intake. It was one of the things that Dede shared in between an informal talk at the opening of Festival Kopi Bandung (Bandung Coffee Festival) which was held at Union Square, Cihampelas Walk on Friday, 23^rd of December 2011. Along with Dede Yusuf as the government’s rep, also attending were 17 industry executives including Asosiasi Kopi Spesial Indonesia, or AKSI (The Association of Indonesian Specialty Coffee) as the supporting community for the event – a beginning for an even bigger event, which is going to be held in Ubud in 2012.

Dede stressed on the importance of West Java’s position,  that has been producing coffee since the Dutch colonial era. To support the coffee industry, the government have currently allocated about 600,000 hectares of land that are not only located in Pangalengan, but also Garut and Tasikmalaya.  As a side note, the coffee plantation at Jaya Papandayan mountain, located in Kramatwangi village in Cisurupan sub-district, Garut regency, has successfully harvested its own Arabica coffee for as much as 15 tonnes last June. The Perhutani-owned plantation (A government-owned company specialising in the management of forests) that takes up only 2700 hectares so far is hoped to grow in size and profit, with the cooperation of Lembaga Masyarakat Desa Hutan (The Agricultural Society Institution).

“The government wishes for an added value through a process that doesn’t stop on red batches (raw coffee fruit that are brokered in large amount of quantity, which causes loss of quality and taste), but also includes coffee grains. This is intended to improve the farmers’ incomes,” explains Dede. In agreement with Dede, according to Adi W. Taropertajeka, a lot of attention needs to be given to the fate of our farmers, because no matter how much coffee is being sold, they can only enjoy a small amount of percentage from the selling price.

As I happened to be one of the speakers, I conveyed my wish for Java Preanger Coffee to be in the same calibre with other world-class specialty coffees, especially if the geographical indication that was being developed had fulfilled its unique characteristic.

The event was also filled with a latte art course by Aji Darius from Roswell Coffee in Bandung, and a demonstration on brewing coffee using a french press and pour-over method, brought by Resi from The Association of Indonesian Specialty Coffee.

Unfortunately, it was a one-day event that must end, considering how much attraction it drew from coffee enthusiasts in Bandung.

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Nia Paramitha, the thinker behind Indonesia Road to Coffee Festival 2012 (on the left) with Yanthi Tambunan and Tuti H. Mochtar, the head of AKSI (The Association of Indonesian Specialty Coffee).

Menuju Festival Kopi Indonesia

Dede Yusuf, Waklil Gubernur Jawa Barat mengakui dirinya sebagai peminum kopi hingga 8 cangkir perhari sebelum kebiasaannya dibatasi oleh sang istri Ir.Sendy Ramania Wurandani. Hal ini diungkapkan dalam bincang informal pada pembukaan Festival Kopi Bandung yang bertempat di Union Square, Cihampelas Walk, Jum’at, 23 Desember. Bersama Dede Yusuf selaku wakil dari pemerintah, hadir sebanyak 17 pelaku industri termasuk Asosiasi Kopi Spesial Indonesia yang juga mendukung acara yang merupakan pemanasan sebelum kegiatan puncak Festival Kopi Indonesia yang akan berlangsung di U12.

Java Preanger Coffee. 600,000 hectares of land all over West Java remains available for coffee plantation, according to Dede Yusuf, the vice governor of West Java.

Dede menggarisbawahi akan semakin pentingnya posisi Jawa Barat yang sudah sejak jaman kolonial Belanda sebagai salah satu sentra produksi kopi di Indonesia. Saat ini untuk mendukung indusutri kopi, pemerintah Jawa Barat sudah mengalokasikan lahan sebanyak 600 ribu hektar yang bukan saja terletak di Pangalengan, tapi hingga ke wilayah Garut dan Tasikmalaya. Sebagai catatan, saat ini kopi di kawasan  Gunung Jaya Papandayan  Desa Kramatwangi Kecamatan Cisurupan Kab. Garut sudah berhasil melakukan penen kopi arabika sebanyak 15 ton pada bulan Juni lalu. Lahan milik Perhutani yang baru ditanami sebanyak 2700 hektar dan diharapkan akan terus bertambah dengan kerjasama  Lembaga Masyarakat Desa Hutan (LMDH).

“Pemerintah menginginkan adanya nilai tambah dari perkebunan kopi melalui proses yang tidak terhenti pada gelondong merah, tapi hingga ke gabah kopi. Hal ini dimaksudkan agar petani memperoleh penghasilan yang lebih baik” ungkap Dede. Senada dengan Dede, menurut Adi W. Taropertajeka, perlu perhatian kepada nasib petani karena berapapun kopi yang dijual, hanya sekian persen dari harga jual yang bisa dinikmati mereka.

Latte Art. Aji Darius from Roswell Coffee demonstrates latte art techniques to the visitors of Bandung Coffee festival.

Genesis Coffee. Actively selling coffee grains since 1960, they’re trying their luck on producing specialty coffee. Although relatively small, but they have the potential and the competitive prices to offer.

Kebetulan didaulat untuk berbicara, saya cuma menyampaikan keinginan jika di waktu yang akan datang Java Preanger Coffee akan bersanding dengan kelompok mainstream kopi spesial di dunia apalagi bila indikasi geografis yang dikembangkan sudah memenuhi karakter unik kopi tersebut.

Acara perkopian juga diisi dengan sajian latte art oleh Aji Darius dari Roswell Coffee Bandung dan demo menyeduh kopi dengan alat french press dan pour over yang dibawakan Resi dari Asosiasi Kopi Spesial Indonesia.

Roswell coffee. Began roasting with a Gene Café machine five years ago, they have been producing coffee in an increasing amount of quantity. Roswell is also a main distributor of coffee machines such as ECM Giotto, Compak and La Spaziale, as well as other coffee paraphernalias. 

Cuma sayang, acaranya hanya berlangsung satu hari saja, mengingat anjimo pengunjung yang antusias menghadiri acara kopi yang punya daya tarik cukup besar di kota Bandung.

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 Mata Angin (Compass Rose). Relying on the traditional technique of simple brewing without any machines, this coffee stall is located at Jalan Bengawan, Bandung, I haven’t had the chance to visit, but it could be another great option for coffee enthusiasts and weekenders from outside of Bandung.