Coffee Life

Menonjolkan Rasa Alami Kopi

Words & Photos: Edwin Pangestu

Jika Anda berada di ujung selatan Jakarta, Coffee Life yang terletak di Pondok Labu merupakan salah satu meeting point yang saya rekomendasikan. Lokasinya cukup jauh memang, namun Coffee Life beranggapan bahwa “a good cup is worth travelling”. Dengan desain interior bernuansa industrial, saya merasa sangat betah untuk berlama-lama di coffee shop ini sambil menikmati beberapa cangkir kopi dan lukisan karya Sir Dandy, frontman band Teenage Death Star. 

Syahrani Rahim, salah satu co-founder Coffee Life, mengaku mendapat pencerahan mengenai konsep third wave ini di Melbourne, Australia. “Saya dimanjakan dengan kopi yang beragam dan sangat berbeda dari rasa kopi yang biasa kita kenal semasa kecil yaitu harus kental dan pahit,” kata pria yang akrab disapa Rani. 

Ia menambahkan, “kopi mirip dengan daging. Jika Anda ingin merasakan rasa murni daging, Anda hanya membutuhkan garam dan lada, tidak perlu tambahan saus. Begitu juga dengan kopi. Ketika Anda menambahkan gula, Anda dapat merusak rasa murni kopi.”

Karena keinginan untuk menyajikan rasa kopi yang berbeda dari stereotype masyarakat Indonesia, Coffee Life mempercayakan roaster muda, Hideo Gunawan untuk menonjolkan rasa fruity dari kopi. 

“Orang yang tidak terbiasa minum kopi akan lebih mudah menerima rasa kopi manual brew, contohnya dengan teknik pourover. Di sisi lain, espresso merupakan minuman yang susah dibuat, biayanya mahal karena melibatkan banyak trial & error, dan kalibrasi yang harus dilakukan setiap pagi. Namun ketika Anda bisa menikmati rasa espresso yang lebih intens, Anda akan mengingat rasanya lebih lama,” jelas Rani.

Salah satu yang menjadi highlight di Coffee Life adalah kopi Ethiopia Yirgacheffe dengan metode fermentasi full wash yang menghasilkan rasa dominan manis, floral, herbs, dan winey. Saat ini Coffee Life juga memiliki biji kopi single origin lain seperti Sunda Bumisora, Sunda Hejo, Sumatera Batak, atau Bali Vintage. Selain teknik pourover, coffee shop ini juga menyediakan metode manual brew lain seperti aero press, french press, atau syphon. 

Kesimpulan: Sebuah meeeting point yang asyik, apalagi jika rumah Anda di daerah Pondok Labu

Exposing Coffee's Natural Taste

If you’re in south part of Jakarta, Coffee Life which is located in Pondok Labu is one of my recommended meeting point. It’s quite far I know, but Coffee Life believes that ”a good cup is worth travelling”. With industrial interior design, I felt at home while enjoying some cups of coffee and the paintings of Sir Dandy, Teenage Death Star's frontman.

Syahrani Rahim, one of Coffee Life co-founders, was inspired by the third wave coffee in Merlbourne, Australia. “I was spoiled with various coffee. They were very different than our typical coffee taste: should be full bodied and bitter,” said the man who is also known as Rani.

He added, “coffee is similar to meat. If you want to feel the pure taste of the meat, you only need salt and pepper, without any additional sauce. The same goes for coffee. When you add sugar, you may ruin the coffee's pure flavor.”

Because of the objective to offer different coffee taste than the stereotyped expectations, Coffee Life believed in a young coffee roaster, Hideo Gunawan, to bring out the fruitiness of the coffee. 

“People who are not used to coffee will find manual brew coffee, such as pourover, easier to the palatte. On ther other hand, espresso is a hard drink to make, it costs a lot, because it needs trial and error, also taste calibration every morning. But once you’re used to espresso’s taste profile, the impression will last longer,” he said.

One of the highlighted bean here is Ethiopia Yirgacheffe with full washed fermentation method. It produces very pronounced sweet, floral, herbs, and winey notes. The coffee shop also has other single origins such as Sunda Bumisora, Sunda Hejo, Sumatera Batak, or Bali Vintage. Aside from pourover, Coffee Life also has other manual brewing methods like aero press, french press or syphon.

Verdict: A cool meeting point, especially when you live around Pondok Labu 

Recommendation:

1. Pourover – Ethiopia Yirgacheffe

2. Pourover – Sunda Hejo

3. Aero press – Sumatra Batak

House blend: Ulos Batak, Ethiopia and Sunda

Coffee Life

Jl. Margasatwa no. 15, Pondok Labu – Jakarta Selatan

@coffeelifeID