Revolution Began in Coffee Shops

KOMPAS/ABDULLAH FIKRI ASHRI

Ismen Holidi, the owner-manager of Warung Kong Djie, established in 1943, is pictured on Monday (21/5/2018) at his coffee shop on Jl. Siburik Barat in Tanjung Pandan, Belitung Regency, Bangka Belitung Islands. Even though the island does not cultivate any coffee, Belitung has a coffee-drinking culture that is almost a century old.

These towns have stories about coffee to share, even if they do not produce it. There are strong local traditions of meeting, drinking coffee and discussing things at coffee shops. They are the heart of these towns -- where their lifeblood is pumped, reconciliation blossoms and revolutions begin.

It was getting late last Monday but people were still coming to the Kong Djie coffee shop on Jl. Siburik Barat in Tanjung Pandang, Belitung. Laughter reverberated across the room as dozens of teaspoons clinked against glass cups.

Ahmad Fansuri, 33, had just finished his cup of coffee. The tour driver visited the coffee shop after accompanying his guests around Belitung. Together with local traveling enthusiasts Garry and Erling Rinanto, Ahmad talked about tourism-related things. “People used to talk about nothing other than palm oil, because almost everyone here works on oil palm plantations,” he said.

However, after the film Laskar Pelangi (The Rainbow Troops) was released in 2008, people began to talk about tourism. Tin mines and palm oil were slowly left behind. And where did the idea first spread? In coffee shops, of course.

Indonesian Tourist Guide Association (HPI) Bangka Belitung branch head Agus Pahlevi said big ideas often came from simple chats in coffee shops. Belitung, whose economy once depended on local tin mines, has been transformed into a tourism island, with coffee tourism among its most popular travel packages.

Two of the island’s most famous coffee shops are Ake Coffee Shop (established in 1922) and Kong Djie Coffee Shop (established in 1943). Agus said no visit to Belitung Island was complete without sipping coffee at a local establishment.

The warmth between visitors and owners is palpable despite the coffee shops having only wooden benches. Everyone mingles with one another regardless of religion, professional backgrounds and ethnicity. Employers and workers are equal here. They all pay Rp 10,000 (71 US cents) for a cup of coffee. “You just have to come and sit here. Without saying anything, someone will bring you a small cup of coffee,” Erling said.

As Belitung does not produce coffee, owners buy it from the nearest coffee-producing region. Coffee in Belitung is usually supplied by Robusta plantations in Lampung.

Bond

Simplicity also permeates coffee shops in Pontianak, West Kalimantan. At Asiang coffee shop, for instance, customers have queued for coffee since dawn. The owner, Asiang, 63, was shirtless and busy making coffee. His wrinkled fingers deftly brewed, filtered and poured it from an aluminum jar. “In one day, I can sell 600 cups of coffee,” he said.

The coffee shop, which opened its doors in 1958, is never quiet. Traders, laborers, businesspeople and government employees sit side by side day in and day out, sipping coffee together.

Tuti Holis, a third generation Tong San coffee shop owner in Makassar, South Sulawesi, said she personally knew all of her loyal customers, many of whom saw her coffee shop as a second home. Such continuous interaction strengthens social bonds. In Surabaya, which also does not produce coffee, kopi parkir (parking coffee) is a popular term.

When customers drink coffee and need to head out before their brews are finished, they can tell the owner to keep their coffee for them. A lid will be placed on top of the coffee cups, which will then be either stored or placed on the table where the customers were sitting.

Customers can come back hours later and their coffees will still be there. They can then finish it, pay and leave. This is not unusual.

Coffee shops are also known to be places of historic significance. In Maluku, local politicians often use coffee shops for discussions, meeting with constituents and for a political show of force. This is similar to the agora in ancient Greek culture.

The strong social bonds often associated with coffee shops have led to reconciliation in regions affected by social conflicts, like what happened in Maluku years ago. The Trikora coffee shop in Ambon, for instance, is located between Muslim and Christian areas. Leaders and peace negotiators of the two communities once met in one of the rooms that sport heavy burn marks. The coffee shop, which stands on a street corner, has two doors: one on Jl. Said Perintah and the other on Jl. AM Sangadji.

“During the conflict, Muslims entered from AM Sangadji and Christians entered from Said Perintah. They held meetings inside to share stories, hug one another and just cried their hearts out over what was happening in the region at the time,” Ambon peace activist Rudi Fofid said.

In Pontianak, which was affected by violence from 1996 to 1999, coffee shops also served as peace catalyzers. “Some said that, in a social situation filled with turmoil, if coffee shops are still open then it means the situation is still under control,” said Ahmad Sofian, a writer of a book on coffee shops in Pontianak.

According to A Kiong, 63, the third-generation owner of the Ake coffee shop in Belitung, local politicians often gathered in his shop when Bangka Belitung was about to become a separate province from South Sumatra. Many ideas blossomed in the coffee shop.

Pontianak’s United in Difference Community (Sadap) coordinator Isa Oktaviani said coffee shops were the birth place of many of her ideas for her diversity campaign. For her, the simplicity of coffee shops helps youth like her to brainstorm creative ideas. “For example, creating a website to campaign for diversity and to jumpstart movements,” she said.

The coffee shop at Kanopi Center also serves as an alternative space for various artistic, film and diversity communities. Kanopi Indonesia founder Deny Sofian said he does not charge them to use his place.

The coffee-drinking tradition has become an effective communication channel -- a basic need for all mankind. The simplicity of coffee shops enables fluid interaction regardless of social class. This is where tolerance and politeness are born.

(IKI/FRN/ESA/BRO/GRE)