S-28 Cafe

I like coffee and going to cafes to enjoy it.

Like many urbanites anywhere, I go to cafes not only to have - drink and enjoy - coffees, but also to socialize or, quite the opposite of it, have some quiet time on my own. Sometimes I also do my blogging from one of these places.



Of all the cafes that I have frequented, I can probably say that S-28 on Jalan Sulanjana 28 is one of my favorites.

Unlike some other cafes which are popular among teenagers, it has a quieter and more relaxed atmosphere: no loud music, no ‘buzzing’ chatters, and – best of all – it is strategically located between my office and home. So, whenever the traffic is bad and I don't feel like driving through it, I can just stop by the place, have a piece of pastry and a coffee, read a book or write a post for my blog, and wait till the congestion is easing.



The decoration of the cafe is quite nice too. I like how they  put a bag of coffee beans and  jars containing different kinds of coffee beans that they serve at the counter.



And I didn't know until quite recently - when I accidentally met an ex-student of mine - that the back room of this cafe is actually also a "Rent Office & Meeting Room." These rented offices and meeting room, according to him (who happens to have  his office there),  provides shared office facilities and even a private secretary and office staff. This can save a lot of overhead and operational costs for a small or a start up business like the one he is trying to start.



Curious, I asked if I could have a peek into his office. It's a nice three square meter office space. It looks like a decent office of a company executive.

Kopi Aroma - Bandung's Coffee Heritage

For a city whose past glory was intimately linked with tea and coffee plantations, Bandung is well known for its cafes and tea and coffee processing plants. One such places that has survived the time and is considered to be a heritage coffee institution is Paberik Kopi Aroma (lit. Aroma Coffee Plant).



Located on 51 Banceuy Street, Paberik Kopi Aroma was established in 1930 by Tan Houw Sian who ran it until 1971 when it was passed to his son Pak Widya Pratama, a friendly guy who would gladly give you a tour of his coffee processing plant, warehouse, and shop and explain the entire process of coffee bean processing.



The whole process begins with the select coffee beans that his shop acquired from local farmers as well as those from many other parts of Indonesia. (He says that he bought his Arabica beans from Aceh, Medan, Tana Toraja, East Nusatenggara, and Java; and Robusta from Central Java and Lampung.)



The already dry beans will be sun-dried for at least one day. They will then be stored in the warehouse for five to eight years depending on the type of the bean. (Robusta coffee beans need longer storage time to get rid of their acidity.)




The 'mature' bean will then be roasted traditional way. Here, Paberik Kopi Aroma only uses red warm fire produced by old rubber tree woods. Pak Widya says that red warm fire is essential in the production process because if the temperature is too high, the beans will get burned and it will destroy the aroma of the coffee.



When the processing is complete, the beans are ready for sale. You can buy them in the form of coffee beans or powder. The store will gladly grind the beans in front of you with its old coffee grinding machines (some of them dated back from the 1900),



And here is a tip about coffee storage that you'll find on Kopi Aroma the packaging:

Wilt U heerlijke Koffei drinken?
aroma en smaak blijven goed, indien U de Koffei van de zak direct in een gesloten stopfles of blik overplaatst.

Niet it de zak laten staan!


Maoe minoem Koffie selamanja enak?
Aromanja dan rasanja tinggal tetep, kaloe ini Koffei soeda di boeka dari kantongnja harep di pindahkeun di stopfles atawa di blik jang tertoetoep rapet.

Djangan tinggal di kantong!

(The top paragraph is in Dutch, the bottom is in old or colonial style Indonesian.)

Translation:
You want to keep/preserve the taste of your coffee?
To preserve the aroma of your coffee, put the coffee in a tightly sealed container once you open the package.

Do not leave it in the package!

Pictures by Myke Jeanneta, a Bandung Daily Photo regular contributor.

Tall Iced Cream Caramel Latte

Summer or dry season is in full swing here. It's been warm and sunny with a lot of clear blue sky these days. It's great to be out and enjoy the outdoors. But when it gets too hot, you can always hop into a cafe and have something cold to drink, just like what I did.

A tall iced cream caramel latte, everyone?

coffee tables

I don't always take photos for reporting purposes. In fact, most of the time, I take photos for the fancy of it, like this one: the neat rows of coffee tables and chairs at a local cafe on Jalan Ranggamalela.

Banana Caramel

Thank God it's Friday evening! Time to stretch legs, enjoy a personal time with a cup of coffee and a good book. And this delectable banana caramel served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream is an extra treat. Have a good weekend, everyone!

Pinhole Ideas Over A Cup of Coffee

Once a month, a group of photographers in Bandung get together for a late afternoon talk of nothing in particular in a forum called ONGKOSS (Omong Kosong Sore-sore), a name which literally means Afternoon Chatters. I'm a 'member' of the group (well, sort of, because this group has no formal membership; any photographers or people interested in photography can come and join the chat).

Last week, the gathering was held at Bengawan Coffee Shop on Jalan Bengawan 54 where a pinhole photography exhibition was being held as part of Komunitas Kamera Lubang Jarum Bandung (Bandung Pinhole Camera Community) efforts to introduce and share their works with the public.

I was there, and the topic being discussed that afternoon was Pinhole Challenge to The Established Photography Practice. It sounds serious enough. But believe me, the atmosphere was very informal: the coffees and the comradeship (camaraderie?) were not less important that what was being talked about.

Coffees, so it seemed, were the source of good friendship and ideas. A good flow of one is a good flow of the other.