Coffee War

Pionir Coffee Shop Manual Brew di Indonesia

Pada akhir 2008, Sumule bersaudara, Derby dan Yogi membuat konsep coffee shop yang terbilang berani, atau bahkan nekad, pada saat itu. Sementara Indonesia dilanda demam kopi espresso ala Starbucks, Coffee War menjadi coffee shop pertama yang hanya menjual kopi dengan metode manual brewing.

“Saat itu istilah manual brewing masih belum populer. Kami hanya ingin menyediakan kopi dalam bentuk lain di luar kopi espresso machine, karena tidak semua orang bisa menikmati rasa espresso yang sangat intens,” kata Derby Sumule. 

Konsistensi
Jika dibandingkan dengan coffee shop lain, Anda bisa mengharapkan konsistensi dalam hal ketersediaan biji kopi di sini. Derby memiliki keyakinannya sendiri, “Mungkin minggu ini sebuah coffee shop memiliki kopi Venezuela, sementara minggu depan tidak tersedia lagi. Saya kurang setuju, atau lebih tepatnya, konsep tersebut kurang cocok dengan saya. Jika alasannya Anda bosan dengan kopi yang itu-itu saja, kan Anda bisa minum cokelat,” katanya sambil bercanda.

Beberapa coffee shop mungkin menyediakan banyak sekali biji kopi dari seluruh Indonesia, dengan banyak variasi metode fermentasi, namun selama 5 tahun beroperasi, Coffee War hanya menyediakan 3 kopi single origin.

Menurut Derby, tingkat pengetahuan pasar di Indonesia mengenai kopi masih tidak terlalu luas sehingga jika pilihannya terlalu banyak, maka pelanggan malah akan bingung. Mungkin ada satu atau dua biji kopi yang sangat laku, namun yang lain penjualannya terhambat. Akibatnya sirkulasi biji kopi bermasalah, sehingga kopi menjadi tidak lagi segar.

Raut wajahnya menjadi serius ketika membicarakan soal pilihan kopinya. “Saya tidak akan mengambil satu biji kopi jika saya tidak mengenal betul asal kopi atau proses fermentasinya. Saya harus yakin dahulu bahwa kopi yang mereka jual itu bagus dan stoknya bisa konsisten. Ketika komunikasi dalam mata rantai produksi kopi mulai dari perkebunan, green bean trader, roaster kurang baik, maka kualitas produk akan menjadi tanda tanya,” tegas Derby. 

Di coffee shop yang populer sebagai tempat hangout favorit para pekerja seni ini, setidaknya ada 3 kopi yang harus Anda coba: Kalosi Benteng Alla Utara yang acidic, Flores Bajawa yang chocolaty, dan terutama, Toraja Pulu-Pulu yang merupakan favorit kami dengan rasa manis alami yang dominan. Ada banyak metode manual brew yang bisa Anda coba di Coffee War, namun french press atau kopi tubruk merupakan rekomendasi Derby.

 

french press

The Pioneer Manual Brew Coffee Shop in Indonesia 

It was the end of 2008, The Sumule Brothers, Derby and Yogi decided to build a daring coffee shop concept, at the time. While most Indonesians were crazy for espresso based coffee ala Starbucks, the Sumules with their Coffee War, became the first coffee shop that specialized in offering manual brewed coffee.

“At the time, the term manual brewing is not as popular. We just want to provide coffee in other format than using espresso machine. You know, not everybody can enjoy the intense taste of the espresso,” said Derby Sumule.


Consistency
Compared to other coffee shops which seem to be proud of their inconsistency, you should expect consistency here, in terms of the available coffee bean. Derby holds his own belief, “Maybe this week a coffee shop has bean from Venezuela, then the stock don’t last until the next week. I disagree, or to be exact, I’m not comfortable with that kind of concept. If you got tired with some certain bean, you could always have a cup of chocolate,” he laughed.

Other coffee shops might be offering numerous bean from all over Indonesia, along with the variation of processing methods, but after 5 years operating, Coffee War only got 3 single origin coffee beans.

According to Derby, the current knowledge level of Indonesian market about coffee is not really high. The more options you got, the more confused they become. Perhaps there’s one or two best selling bean, but the others got stuck. As a result, the circulation of the product is not good, it means the beans is no longer fresh.

He became serious when we talked about his choices of bean. “I never use a single origin bean if I don’t know exactly the origin or the fermentation process. I have to convince myself that the bean is good and I can have consistent stock throughout the year. When there’s something wrong within the chain coffee production, from the coffee farm, green bean trader, roaster, to the barista, the quality of the product will be questionable,” said Derby.

Coffee War, which has been well known as the artists or art workers favorite hangout place, offers 3 must try coffee bean: the acidic Kalosi Benteng Alla Utara, the chocolaty Flores Bajawa, and then, my personal favorite, Toraja Pulu-Pulu. The last one has a distinctive sweet note. Derby called the note sugar cane, but somehow it reminds me of the sweetness of rambutan. An unusual note in coffee taste I know, however there’s no denying, that was my first impression.

There are many available manual brewing methods in Coffee War, but french press is Derby’s favorite. It’s one of the most simple and efficient methods, in fact the baristas can do other stuff while waiting for the brewing process. It also gives you the thickest body with some few residual coffee powder, which can be good or bad, depend on your personal preference.

Recommendation:

    1. French press / tubruk: Kalosi Benteng Alla Utara

    2. French press / tubruk: Flores Bajawa

    3. French press / tubruk: Toraja Pulu-Pulu

House blend:all single origin

Coffee War
Jl. Kemang Timur no. 15A, Jakarta Selatan

@coffeewarID