Tasting impressive Balinese coffee flavor
Tasting impressive Balinese coffee flavor
Wahyuni Kamah, Contributor, Denpasar, Bali
Indonesian coffee lovers are familiar with local coffees, such
as Medan, Lampung and Toraja coffees. Still, Balinese coffee does
not ring a bell despite its impressive taste.
Only a few who cannot forget the taste of Balinese coffee keep
coming back for more, getting what they need in a small
specialized shop in the heart of Denpasar, on Jl. Gajah Mada.
Nestled among the old and unpolished stores, the small shop
draws pedestrians with the aroma of coffee.
Don't expect fancy cafe-like settings, since the shop only has
one table with cappuccino and espresso makers on it and several
seats to allow visitors to sample coffee on the spot.
There are tall shelves on the wall where attractively packed
coffee -- in aluminum wrapping, batik, paper, fabric, tins and
bamboo boxes -- are on display.
"The attractive wrappings are to tempt tourists to take them
home as souvenirs," said Djuwito Tjahjadi, owner of the Bhineka
Jaya shop.
Visitors can choose either roasted coffee beans, medium grind
coffee, fine blend coffee or cappuccino in different sizes and
packets. Others coffees like Toraja are also sold.
In order to meet the demands of coffee fans wanting to buy
more than a kilogram of coffee, a series of large rectangular
tins for fine-blend coffee are neatly lined up next to an old
fashioned scale used to weigh the coffee.
Large pictures showing the coffee-making process hang on the
wall.
Whenever the 82-year-old Djuwito Tjahjadi is in his shop, he
will kindly invite visitors to taste a cup of espresso or
cappuccino.
"It took me seven years to find the right taste of espresso to
meet the different tastes of coffee drinkers," said Djuwito, who
visited other countries in his youth to learn about and taste
different coffee flavors.
The excellence of his coffee, claimed Djuwito, had drawn
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to drop into his shop
several years back.
"I visit Bali regularly and never miss coffee shopping in this
shop," said an American tourist from Wisconsin, who bought many
packets of coffee.
Djuwito's father, Bian Ek, started selling coffee at Bhineka
Jaya in the 1930s. Since the mid-1960s, modern machinery has been
used to roast the coffee.
When the director of Worldwide Coffee Research, Dr. Hubert S.
Koehler, visited Djuwito's coffee retail shop and factory in
1995, he left a written statement praising the hygienic process
of coffee roasting and the authentic taste of Balinese coffee.
According to Djuwito, the secret behind the excellent taste of
his coffee is its freshness. He said that the coffee sold at his
outlet is always freshly produced in the factory. Moreover, he
never uses chemicals and only selected coffee beans grown at
plantations in Kintamani, Pelaga and Singaraja are roasted,
making his coffee 100 percent pure Balinese coffee.
At times, Djuwito helps visitors select which coffee to buy.
"Bali Gold is a favorite of Westerners," he said.
Despite its relatively expensive price, customers keep coming
back to replenish their supply of fine blends, ground coffee and
beans. The price of coffee in tins starts from Rp 20,900 per
kilogram while those in attractive wrappings cost Rp 15,000 to Rp
25,000 per 500 grams.
In order to ensure the coffee's quality, Djuwito does not let
customers buy a great amount of coffee at a single time. "The
coffee could be damaged (in the long run) and possibly be
returned. I don't want that to happen or to disappoint coffee
drinkers," said the Bali-born man.