A Second Cup of Coffee on the Island of the Gods

Coffee is more than just a refreshing beverage. It holds a sacred place in the daily lives of the Balinese. Coffee is part of offerings presented to ancestral spirits every day and it is also a staple when it comes to daily interactions.

KOMPAS/RIZA FATHONI

An employee of Bali Coffee Cafe, Denpasar, Bali, prepares offerings, one of which is a cup of coffee, on Sunday (28/1/2018).

Coffee is more than just a refreshing beverage. It holds a sacred place in the daily lives of the Balinese. Coffee is part of banten saiban (offerings presented to ancestral spirits every day) and it is also a staple when it comes to daily interactions.

“Let’s go home. It’s time to say goodbye,” said Jembrana resident Ketut Wiryana, 50. Some of his companions were surprised as there had been no agreement that we would soon bid our host farewell. What was going on?

Wiryana then whispered, “It’s a Balinese tradition that a second cup of coffee means that guests can leave. The first cup of coffee is to welcome guests and the second cup means that there is nothing more to talk about. Guests can leave.” Soon, we bid our host farewell.

Apparently, coffee is more than just a beverage. In Bali, it is also a means of non-verbal communication.

For the Balinese, coffee does not just mean a welcoming embrace and soothing wine, which legendary composer Johann Sebastian Bach expressed in his composition Coffee Cantata. It is closely linked to prayers and incense sticks. It is the breath and blood of the Balinese.

When they rise in the morning, they perform the banten saiban ritual, namely praying and providing offerings at several spots around the house, around the fireplace, the yard and the water spring. Coffee is an optional part of the offering. However, when they have it, the Balinese usually include it in the saiban offering.

Every day, the family of Buleleng resident Wayan Angga Wiguna, 18, prepares banten saiban for an ancestral offering. Included in the offering are flowers, white rice, water, incense sticks and coffee. Apart from preparing the offering, Angga also starts his day by drinking a cup of coffee.

“This is like sharing what we have with our ancestors. It is a form of gratitude for all the blessings we have been given. As we drink coffee, we also share it [with our ancestors]. Coffee is energy, coffee is life,” he said. For him, breathing in the smell of coffee in the morning is like injecting adrenalin into his body.

The mebanten saiban tradition is not only upheld at home. In businesses such as cafés, banten saiban is also prepared. At the Bali Coffee Café (BCC), which is situated in a corner of the Rimo Trade Center, several employees were seen preparing banten saiban.

“This is the difference between businesses owned by the Balinese and non-Balinese. Banten saiban is always available at businesses owned by the Balinese because we still uphold our traditions,” BCC operational head Nathanael Rama Putra said.

Coffee holds a sacred place in the hearts of the Balinese people. Every 25 days before the Galungan holiday, Balinese Hindu adherents hold the Tumpek Uduh or Tumpek Wariga ceremony to welcome Sanghyang Sangkara, the god protecting plants.

On that day, kliwon wuku wariga (which comes every 210 days), people in Munduk village, Banjar district, Buleleng regency, say prayers to worship Sanghyang Sangkara at the Pura Kopi Subak Abian Munduk temple. Pura Kopi (the coffee temple) is located next to Puri Lumbung, the first accommodation in Munduk village. The temple was built in the 1920s.

Through generations

Coffee and life in Bali is interconnected not just through local traditions. It has been cultivated and passed down from generation to generation long before people saw Bali as a café haven. In northern Bali, Banyuatis coffee has been legendary since the 1960s and in southern Bali, Kupu-Kupu Bola Dunia coffee has been cultivated since 1935.

Both variants still dominate the market in Bali today. Producers have withstood competition for years by selling coffee in their own shops, adding to the variety and packaging it in single-serve sachets. These tactics expand their marketing reach, especially at traditional markets, roadside stalls and shops.

There are two types of Balinese coffee, namely Arabica and Robusta. The Balinese Arabica, popularly known as Kintamani, obtained a geographical indication certificate from the Law and Human Rights Ministry in 2008. It has a thick orange flavor.

As for Robusta, the most popular type is Pupuan from Tabanan regency. Much like Kintamani, Pupuan also obtained the certificate in December 2017. Pupuan has an interesting chocolate and clover aftertaste. Both coffees have penetrated foreign markets.

KOMPAS/RIZA FATHONI

A worker moves newly roasted coffee beans at the Banyuatis coffee plant in Seririt, Singaraja, Buleleng regency, Bali, on Tuesday (30/1/2018).

History

In the book Bali Sekala and Niskala volume II, third edition (1995), Fred B Eiseman Jr said coffee cultivation in Bali began in the 1750s, mainly with Arabica coffee. The coffee lasted for around 100 years before succumbing to coffee leaf rust. The Dutch brought Robusta coffee to Bali around 1912.

According to Balinese cultural observer and papyrus leaf researcher Sugi Lanus, coffee cultivation in Bali was different to other regions in Indonesia because Bali was not included in the Dutch’s cultuurstelsel (forced cultivation). “Bali was exempted from the cultuurstelsel and therefore had no coffee, sugar or clove plantations on a massive scale,” Sugi said.

Coffee cultivation in Bali utilizes the subak abian (dry soil) system. Farmers treat coffee much like rice. Subak groups establish temples on their coffee plantations to hold rituals.

Coffee is cultivated almost all over Bali. Of its eight regencies, six have Arabica coffee plantations. Robusta coffee plantations are spread across eight regencies. Almost all coffee plantations in Bali are managed by locals. Bali Food, Horticulture and Plantation Agency data shows that the island has 35,490 hectares of coffee plantations.

Bali is not just about tourism. It is also about coffee being the breath and blood of the Balinese.

(DAHLIA IRAWATI)