Food & Clubs

Display of coffees/Photo: Adji SoedibjoIndonesia is one of the major coffee producing countries in the world. Visitors have endless opportunities to taste different coffees, even take trips to the plantations where coffee is grown. Some of Indonesia's best coffees are often found at kedai kopi or coffee shops where a cup of kopi tubruk, or black coffee is the daily staple. For single origin and blended coffees from various parts of Indonesia, a visit to Graha Kopi in Graha Bintaro, Tangerang Selatan, Banten province is guaranteed to be a memorable experience.

Graha Kopi is located at Pasar Segar, a modern complex of shop houses designated for traditional merchants. The sign on a brown canopy is less than fifty meters directly across from the parking area. As you get closer to the shop, the strong aroma of coffee beckons your senses. It is nicely designed with cream hued walls over a dark wood dado covering the interior of the coffee shop. Its vintage-style wood furniture captures an old-time ambience. The owner, Hadi Lesmono, is an avid coffee aficionado and has been one since he was five years old. After a long career in the banking industry, and without any plans for his time in retirement, he established Graha Kopi a little over a year ago. Hadi says, "My wife purchased this shop house and after cancelling her plans to run her own business, she wanted to rent it out. I did not waste any time and within only two weeks, I managed to organize my hobby around the shop. Coffee is my hobby, not a business."

He adds, "Here I serve only coffee, no snacks. The best way to enjoy coffee is simply having kopi tubruk or black coffee, period. No adding sugar or milk. If you do that, it means you want to enjoy a drink, not a cup of coffee."Graha Kopi/Photo: Adji Soedibjo

Hadi's passion for coffee is palpable, as everything is well organized in his kedai kopi, kept immaculately neat and clean. He gets his coffee from traders as well as directly from farmers. He advises, "When you know what coffee you want, I let you smell it first before I prepare it. It's fascinating to smell its aroma. By the time your coffee is right in front of you, smell its aroma again. After brewing, don't drink it right away, use a teaspoon to disperse the coffee's foam for two minutes then you may start to drink it. There is no way you can judge its taste when it's still very hot."

Hadi explains, "Many foreigners grossly generalize when referring to coffee from North Sumatra as Mandhailing. It's best to refer to the coffee's origin such as Lintong Nihuta, southwest of Lake Toba or Sidikalang, for example. Even worse, some foreigners even refer to coffee from Aceh Gayo as Mandhailing." He emphasizes, "I always taste any coffee I get beforehand, it's like testing so then I decide whether it's going to be salable or not."

Special Coffees/Photo: Adji SoedibjoGraha Kopi opens daily except Mondays. Its business hours vary, depending on Hadi's wishes. "Sometimes when I have things to do, I open at 8 am, though I always tell people that our kedai opens at 9 am, to be safe. I usually call it a day by sunset. But when I still have visitors who linger, I stay longer, sometimes closing at 10 pm."

Hadi does the roasting and grounding process by himself. His warm and friendly personality comes through as he eagerly answers customers' questions about coffee. All the coffee beans are either Arabica or Robusta and hail from Aceh Gayo, Sidikalang, Lintong Nihuta, Jawa, Bali Kintamani, Flores Bajawa, Toraja and Papua Wamena for single origin. There are also blended coffees including Mandhailing Gayo, Bali Gayo as well as other blends. Hadi says, "the Bali Gayo blend is recommended and its taste gets better when it's warm. Blending coffee is actually an art by itself." He adds," While less tasty coffees like Lampung or Semendo from South Sumatra are less recommended, they nevertheless have a loyal group of drinkers."

Hadi adds, "Graha Kopi also provides coffee on special request. These coffees are usually hard to get and are not available at other stores. These include Aceh Gayo Sanopa, Mandhailing Tebu, Papua Maenomani, Java Raung, Gayo Bergendaal, Java Djampit, to name a few." He shares, "I have Organic Robusta Java from Rawa Seneng in Temanggung, Central Java. It's a special coffee grown by Trappist monks at St. Maria Monastery. It has a distinctly ripe banana flavor. It's even tastier when you blend it with Arabica such as Mandhailing or Gayo. You know, different plantation, different taste. Even when sampling coffee from the same plantation, this year's harvest will be different compared to the following year's."Lintong Nihuta Coffee/Photo: Adji Soedibjo

Retno, a 64 year old regular patron at Graha Kopi, comments,"I have been drinking coffee for 30 years. I can drink two to four mugs of coffee per day and it must be kopi tubruk. Our family is truly fanatic about coffee." Retno's eldest son, Donny, is a resident of Surabaya and during his latest visit to Jakarta stopped by Graha Kopi 3 days in a row while he was here.

Hadi comments, "the Sidikalang coffee blend is considered satanic coffee due to its highest caffeine content. Next in line is the Gayo blend or Kopi Ganja. Sidikalang blend gets sticky in your mouth, and after 30 minutes you can still savor its taste. As for the original Sidikalang coffee, it's definitely satanic and its aroma is very strong."

"Our customers know Graha Kopi primarily by word of mouth. We get orders through sms and we even deliver overnight via courier service. We also handle international orders to the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia and the United States," Hadi concludes. Graha Kopi is undeniably the place for coffee at its best. It's also a place for you to either learn about or know your coffees better!

Graha Kopi

Pasar Segar, Graha Raya Bintaro RB 1/10

Pondok Jagung, Tangerang Selatan

Price $ $

Hadi Lesmono's Cellphone: 0815-881-2071

Hadi Lesmono chats with Donny/Photo: Adji Soedibjo

Bali Kintamani Aceh Gayo Blend/Photo: Adji Soedibjo