Political talk brews in Aceh's coffee shops

Political talk brews in Aceh's coffee shops

Nani Afrida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh

In Aceh, Rp 500 not only pays for a steaming hot cup of coffee,
but also a morning full of lively, sometimes quarrelsome
conversation.

While an international coffee store behemoth (you know the
one) touts its unique "experience", men in Aceh have long had
their equivalent, beginning their morning at the coffee shop,
just as their fathers and grandfathers did before them.

At Jasa Ayah ("father's merit") coffee shop in this provincial
capital, for example, men from all walks of life -- legislators,
community activists, civil servants, soldiers -- gather. Here,
they are free to talk about everything in their lives, ranging
from their domestic problems to the conflict in the province,
until the store shuts off its lights and closes its doors at 9
p.m.

Debates often spiral into heated arguments, especially over
emotionally charged issues, such as the central government's
treatment of the Acehnese. Some have even attributed the
"rebellious" tendency of the people in the country's easternmost
province to the coffee-shop culture of argument and political
education.

"Acehnese know too much about politics because they often
frequent coffee shops," said a member of the local legislative
assembly who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Nobody knows when the tradition began or why, although it may
be related to the history of migration into the province by Arab
traders, who came from areas where coffee shops were commonplace,
and the sexual segregation of men and women into separate social
spheres, with the latter staying in the home.

Of course, it's not only the conversation that draws diners.
The local coffee is different from that served elsewhere,
including kopi tubruk, the sweet black coffee with grounds to be
found in Java.

Acehnese coffee is known to be robust, and may even cause the
first-time drinker to feel light headed.

At Jasa Ayah, the coffee is brewed to the owner's unique
formula. The coffee shop, now owned by Nawawi, was set up in 1982
by his father.

"We buy the coffee from Lamno in West Aceh. The coffee beans
from there are usually smaller than usual," Nawawi said.

The beans are roasted without oil in a one-meter-diameter
cylinder over a coal fire. When the coffee beans are almost fully
roasted, a number of secret ingredients are added to them, along
with sugar and butter. Then the coffee is left to cool before
being ground.

Before it is served, Acehnese coffee is mixed with hot water
and put through a special strainer several times, leading to its
name, kopi tarik (literally, "pulled coffee").

The end result is a cup of coffee with a heady, fragrant
aroma.

Aceh is also renowned as a major coffee-growing region in
Sumatra, especially around the Gayo highlands in Central Aceh,
with plantations which produce export-quality Arabica beans. In
2000, Aceh earned almost US$10.5 million in foreign exchange from
coffee exports.

Central Aceh alone is home to 73,781 hectares of coffee
plantations and produces up to 28,357 tons of coffee annually.

In Aceh, coffee beans are sold at different prices depending
on their quality. Usually beans of export quality can fetch a
price of Rp 15,000 per kilogram.

When the conflict with the central government flared up in
1998, many coffee plantations were abandoned by their owners, who
fled to other areas for their safety. Data compiled by the local
plantation agency show that about 250,000 hectares of of coffee
plantations in the province are now in a state of neglect.

"Coffee traders in Aceh are usually very rich, and Acehnese
coffee is famous everywhere," said Bahtiar, 40, a resident of
Central Aceh.

Or at least that was the case until conflict enveloped the
province. Hopefully, restoration of peace one day will bring more
orders for the plantations. That in itself will be a hot topic of
conversation down at the coffee shop.