At Saudagar Kopi, Serving a Blend of Tradition and Taste

A quest for a cup of good coffee often comes with little surprises along the way. 

In the case of Saudagar Kopi, it is a delightful mix of well-brewed coffee and an old-school Indonesian breakfast set in a small coffee shop near Jalan Sabang in Central Jakarta. 

It’s no secret that coffee can be outrageously expensive in the city, but Saudagar, which is an Indonesian word for a wealthy, respected person, offers quality without burning a hole in the wallet.

Saudagar Kopi may be less famous than the kopitiams that dot the same area, but it is truly a gem in the busy street. Its passion for coffee is visible not only from the variety of local coffee and brewing method that they introduce in the menu, but also from the Lamarzocco coffee machine that people see instantly when they enter the shop.

Maybe it is the lack of pretentious, industrial look that we see in franchisee coffee shops, but when my friends and I first visited Saudagar last week, the experience was cozy and just right. We were welcomed with warm greetings and pleasant service from knowledgeable waitresses who could answer all the questions we had. 

The menu is glued on a wooden chopping block that they hand out to customers, from which we immediately noticed three variants of Es Kopi Kocok (iced coffee shake). We were impressed that a small coffee shop is dedicated in presenting its own cold brew.
A long list of hot and cold beverages won’t cost you more than Rp 38,000 ($3.30) for a cup. 

Es Kopi Kocok is light with no bitter aftertaste — a sign of good brewing — and the hazelnut latte is nutty and smooth. You can enjoy your cup of coffee with traditional snacks like singkong goreng (fried cassavas), bacang ayam (glutinous rice stuffed with chicken), or colenak , which is tape (fermented cassava) sprinkled with cinnamon powder.

One of the owners, Deviana Arifin, used to work at an oil and gas company before finally ditching her day job to pursue her lifelong passion, coffee. To date, the coffee shop has been running for more than a year.

“Entrepreneurship is more difficult, but managing a coffee shop is something I enjoy doing everyday,” Deviana says.

Saudagar takes pride in its house blend of coffee beans from Toraja, Bali and Silimakuta in North Sumatra. It also offers seasonal coffee that changes every six months. At the moment, it uses coffees from Toraja Sapan and Aceh Gayo.

Deviana grew up in Bandung and caught the coffee bug from her mother, who used to take her out for coffee every day. They lived in the same block that housed Kopi Aroma, a famous local coffee brand. Her father dislikes the beverage, but her mother is all about coffee. Deviana had her first coffee when she was in the second grade.

“At first, I would dip biscuits in my coffee, but slowly I began to appreciate the taste,” she says.

Now that she is brewing coffee to make a living, she finds that preparing beverages for customers who are not familiar with coffee is kind of tricky.

“Coffees are like wine. Some of them are fruity and even flowery, but for people who aren’t familiar with them, somehow it just comes out as sour,” she says.

The house blend caters to the majority of customers who cannot handle the strong taste of coffee, but guests who like their coffee strong may opt for their seasonal coffee.
Saudagar Kopi

Source : Jakartaglobe