Indonesian specialty coffee expands into Silicon Valley
Indonesian diaspora start-up Hijau Coffee has officially opened its first permanent outlet in San José, California, United States, on Saturday (5/9), as a step to expand the promotion of Indonesian products and culture in the Silicon Valley area.
Starting as a pop-up business, the outlet founded by Indonesian diaspora members Lisa Maria and Ryan Prawiradjaja was inaugurated by Indonesian Consul General in San Francisco Yohpy Ichsan Wardana together with San José Mayor Matt Mahan and San José City Council member Michael Mulcahy.
Indonesian Consul General in San Francisco Yohpy Ichsan Wardana, in a statement received in Jakarta on Sunday, emphasised that Hijau Coffee’s development is a concrete form of economic diplomacy in encouraging small and medium enterprises as well as the diaspora in the Bay Area to expand their networks and markets.
“We want more Indonesian entrepreneurs to dare to ‘level up’ and seize opportunities in the Bay Area. The Consulate General is ready to be a bridge to open networks and opportunities so that Indonesian products and identity are increasingly recognised by the American public,” said Yohpy.
Hijau Coffee serves a variety of creative menu items such as pandan latte, nastar latte, and klepon latte, with a supply of selected coffee beans from Takengon, Aceh, and Kintamani, Bali.
The outlet’s inauguration was also enlivened by Indonesian arts and culture through performances of Balinese dance and Gamelan Pusaka Sunda.
San José Mayor Matt Mahan welcomed Hijau Coffee’s presence as part of San José’s diversity as well as a gathering place for the Indonesian-American diaspora community to nurture their cultural roots.
Meanwhile, San José council member Michael Mulcahy assessed that the new outlet on the San Carlos corridor is a new asset that enriches the economic dynamics and cultural representation of Indonesia among the 16,000 small businesses in San José.
Hijau Coffee’s presence further strengthens the penetration of Indonesian specialty coffee in the US market—complementing other Indonesian diaspora coffee shops already operating in the Bay Area, namely Kopi Kita in San Francisco and Kopi Bar in Berkeley.