A woman presents Robusta Lampung coffee at the International Coffee Day in Bandar Lampung, Lampung, Friday (29/9). The event, which will go on until October 1, aims to promote Lampung coffee and open new export markets. Representatives from as many as 20 countries have been invited to the event.
Twilight descended when a hundred people gathered at Novotel Hotel in Bandar Lampung on Friday (29/9). The aroma of coffee brought by farmers and business players filled the room despite the rain. The International Coffee Day event turned romantic.
From Singapore, Robert Holthausen came a long way to Lampung only to taste a variety of Robusta coffee at the event. The commercial director of CWT Commodities Pte, an international logistics company, tasted the Robusta coffee one by one.
“Hmm, Lampung coffee is truly delicious. It tastes just right,” said Robert, who started drinking coffee dozens of years ago in the Netherlands. Coffee in “the Land of the Windmill,” he said, was a mix of Arabica and Robusta beans, so Lampung’s Robusta coffee was tastier.
He came to the event not only to taste the coffee but also to meet his colleagues. Six years ago, he lived in Lampung. “I am very happy to be able to meet old friends while drinking coffee,” Robert said in broken Indonesian.
Behind his handshake and coffee tasting, Robert said his company planned to build a coffee storehouse in Bandar Lampung. The storehouse with a capacity of 2,500 tons, according to plan, will be operated next year. The coffee exporters from Lampung are targeted.
This is the first time the logistics company is dealing with coffee. Why Lampung? “There are many types of Robusta coffee. It’s simple,” said Robert, who wore batik.
Lampung is known to be one of the centers of Robusta coffee in the country. The coffee generally grows on low land and on land at a height of up to 800 meters above sea level. Meanwhile, Arabica coffee generally grows on high land. Robusta coffee is more immune to pest attacks.
It was not only Robert who was interested in Lampung for coffee. Some buyers from Switzerland and France also came to the event. The Lampung administration invited 20 representatives from other countries, such as Vietnam, Ethiopia and Colombia.
The event was welcomed by local coffee business players. Jemi Rikaldo, a Lampung Robusta coffee businessman who used the Jim’s Coffee brand, said before the opening of the event he had collected around Rp 3 million in sales. Jemi was optimistic he could get more buyers from different regions during the event. “I target to win contracts with business players from at least five countries,” he said.
Currently, Jemi said, from 15 coffee variants being produced, the most popular one was Kopi Luwak. The coffee beans are obtained from the digestion of civets (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus) that consume the Robusta coffee fruits.
The product has been exported to several countries and regions, such as Singapore, Hong Kong, the Netherlands and Ireland. Kopi Luwak beans are sold for Rp 1.5 million per kilogram. Through this event, he eyes buyers from other countries and from the domestic market.
The same excitement in celebrating International Coffee Day was also shown by a coffee business player who uses the Ulubelu Coffee brand, Elmira. Ulubelu is a region in Tanggamus regency, Lampung. Her booth served around 1,000 cups of coffee for the customers. The more people that taste the Lampung coffee, the more the Robusta coffee taste stays in people’s palates.
“We focus on promoting Lampung’s Robusta coffee. So far, Robusta is considered second grade coffee after Arabica. We want to promote fine Robusta, which is processed well,” she said.
Indonesian Coffee Exporters Association (AEKI) chairman for the Lampung chapter Juprius appreciated the Lampung administration for its efforts to promote Robusta coffee. The event could boost coffee exports from Lampung.
He said the growth of coffee shops in Bandar Lampung was a positive indicator for the Robusta coffee business. Aside from absorbing local manpower, the added value of the coffee business also goes directly to the farmers and local businesspeople. Currently, there are around 147,000 families in Lampung that rely on coffee.
According to data from the Lampung Plantation and Husbandry Office, the coffee farming area in Lampung, which is centered in Tanggamus, Way Kanan and West Lampung regencies, stood at 160,876 hectares in 2015. The area increased from 2014 at 154,168 hectares. Coffee production is around 100,000 tons per year.
The farming area is bigger than the rice farming area in the national rice production center in Indramayu regency, West Java, which stands at 116,000 hectares.
Last year, Lampung exported 246,599.7 tons of Robusta coffee to Germany, Japan, Italy and Malaysia. The coffee was combined with that from other regions, such as South Sumatra. The value of the coffee export was no joke. It reached US$442,798,520.2.
Lampung Plantation and Husbandry Office head Dessy Desmaniar Romas said her office was serious in developing the coffee industry in Lampung. Currently, the farmers are encouraged to produce quality coffee by picking the red coffee fruits, not the green ones. Thus, they will produce better quality coffee, known as fine Robusta.
He also wanted to facilitate the meeting between farmers, business players and buyers through the International Coffee Day event. Lampung has huge potential in the global coffee industry. Therefore, this time, the province organized International Coffee Day to help provide momentum to gather and facilitate the meeting of all stakeholders in the coffee business.
Indeed, Indonesia is far below Vietnam and Brazil, which are the world’s biggest coffee producers. So, it all starts with a cup of coffee.
The Lampung administration for the first time celebrates International Coffee Day, from Friday through to Sunday (1/10).
