Lyna Mohamad
Over 100 coffee enthusiasts attended the Indonesian Embassy in Brunei Darussalam’s event themed ‘My Kupi, My Indonesia’ over the weekend, featuring a presentation of Indonesia’s exotic coffees to the local audience.
Indonesian Ambassador to Brunei Darussalam Dr Sujatmiko shared that a range of unique coffees reflecting Indonesia’s geographical diversity were highlighted during the event, including beans from Gayo, Toba, and Jambi of Sumatra Island; Puntang, Kamojang, Malabar, and Ijen of Java; and from Toraja of Sulawesi as well as arabica and robusta from Kintamani, Bali.
“Brunei is now at the juncture of expanding its coffee culture. I have found great enthusiasm in Bruneian youth, who are eager to learn more about coffee. Some have gone further and started eyeing the potential of developing their own coffee business. “I believe Indonesia is the best choice for them to source the coffee from as well as a partner to popularise the coffee culture in the Sultanate,” he said.
He added that there are ample opportunities for Bruneian businesses to benefit from the Indonesian coffee industry, adding that the expanding middle class in Indonesia is thirsty for quality cafes, leading to a strong demand. Thus, he invited Bruneians to visit and invest in the industry.
Meanwhile, the event also featured a coffee presentation by local coffee expert and Institute of Brunei Technical Education (IBTE) instructor Mohamad Fadhil bin Abu Bakar, who reviewed the character and taste of Indonesian coffee, and shared advice on how to draw out the flavourful essence from Indonesian coffee.
A show on Aceh’s specialty coffee shop, demonstrated the unique coffee in an upside-down glass.
In addition to local government officials, foreign representatives, businesspersons, media, influencers, and coffee enthusiasts, the embassy also invited local cafes – Batches, the Café, Kupipiks, Ratio, Ngupi, and Café Labi – to exhibit their coffee preperation skills with espresso machines and manual brew method and share the results with the audience.
Guests were treated to an Indonesian cultural show, featuring Pendet Dance of Bali, Indang Dance of West Sumatra, and Gemufamire Dance of Maumere, East Nusa Tenggara.
Indonesian snacks, including laksa, layered steam cassava cake, lemper (sticky rice with chicken floss), egg martabak, and cheese and banana bolen, were also provided.
