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.