The coffee culture in Jakarta is on the up
As reported in the Jakarta Globe, Jakarta is a place that has fallen in love with coffee. Over the past ten years, the coffee culture has flourished beyond recognition and the Jakartans are learning how to savour and enjoy the drink.
Once considered an ‘exclusive drink,’ coffee is now incorporated into daily life on a more regular basis. It has been noted by those in the city that coffee shops are the place to chill out and socialise with friends and also an excellent backdrop to a business meeting or discussions about work.
Another spin-off of the developing coffee culture (or reason for this development) is the increased quality of coffee. Whether frequenting an international coffee shop or a local establishment, the change in quality and welcoming ambiance is noted.
In a recent review of the coffee shops, three outlets were picked out as being of particular note. The Bakoel Koffie company’s branch, Cikini, has been applauded for its colonial impressive interior décor and sympathetic furniture. The chain of shops was launched in the 1800s by a Chinese man and the business has been in the family ever since.
Anomali is a high quality Indonesian coffee chain. The welcoming service is offset against a connoisseur’s menu of coffee blends, such as the civet cat coffee, one of the most expensive blends.
There is an oriental feel to the Kopitam Oey coffee shop, also noted for its vintage interior design and great selection of international coffee blends on the menu, which also includes traditional dishes such as friend bananas.
Photo: yohanes budiyanto
Coffee company creates Inspiration Index
Don Francisco’s Coffee have carried out a survey to focus on happy things in these miserable economic times. It’s about time that we had something positive to think about, instead of job losses, debt crises, repossessions and so on. The survey carried out by this cheerful coffee company, was to compile an ‘Inspiration Index’ by working out what inspires us. These findings were recently published by the company.
Any surprises? When working out where, on a scale of 1 to 100, the levels of inspiration of an individual are, it was revealed from a survey of a thousand Americans, that the average level of ‘inspiration’ was a little over two thirds, at 66.
The survey wanted to work out what inspires us and keeps us happy. Coffee featured in the top results –apparently coffee breaks were chosen by 40% as a time of inspiration during the day. It seems that feelings run high on the topic of caffeine intake – the survey results also showed that 40% of those surveyed would prefer to sacrifice other consumable treats, such as alcohol and chocolate, before they would be prepared to give up coffee.
Other top answers for inspiring events included a bit of peace and quiet time on your own to chill out (78%), doing a bit of physical exercise (73%) and spending time with loved ones, family and friends (66%).
The survey was created to try to measure the inspiration felt by Americans, considering personal factors and external factors alike.
Hot coffee may reduce MRSA bacteria in your nose
It’s always rather lovely to hear that something we enjoy doing is good for us. Although many of us eat salads and healthy foods, it seems to be something of a shame that chocolate or crisps or other naughty foodstuffs are not renowned as being excellent for the constitution. However, recent reports in WebMD Health News, may show that the caffeine elixir, loved so much by so many of us, may have certain health advantages.
What are they? According to research carried out, the consumption of hot coffee or tea is connected with a reduced likelihood of finding MRSA bacteria in your nose – in fact the study results revealed that these people were 50% less likely to have this bacteria. It appears that temperature is a factor in the findings – cold drinks such as iced tea did not produce the same results.
One of the researchers, Eric Matheson MD, added that the risk of carrying the bacteria was inversely proportional to the amount of coffee or tea drunk by participants in the survey (ie, the more you drink, the better the odds).
This is important news as almost 2.5 million people have evidence of the bacteria in their noses, which often produces illnesses when coming into contact with open skin wounds.
Of course, the research is only in its infancy – it will now continue. One question to investigate is whether those with MRSA are affected by the hot drinks. Let’s hope that coffee and tea have some excellent properties to encourage further consumption.
Harry Potter was born in a coffee shop
Just as the latest and final film in the Harry Potter series has been released, Potter mania is reignited once more. Many fans know that the author of the extraordinarily successful phenomenon had lowly origins, a single mum in Scotland, when she started writing the series. Did you know, however, that the first book (Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone) was part-written in a local coffee shop in Edinburgh?
Touched by the magic of the Harry Potter series, even this coffee shop has become famous as a result of its association with the wizarding world. The Elephant House, the name of the coffee shop in question, has become something of a local celebrity in its own right. Apparently J K Rowling wrote many of her earlier books in the back room of the shop, which has views of the Edinburgh Castle.
The Elephant House also boasts other famous literary customers. It is said that the writer of the Rebus books, Ian Rankin, also visited the coffee shop. Similarly, Alexander McCall-Smith, the writer of the much-loved series relating to the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency has frequented the establishment as well.
Could it be that the coffee stimulates the imagination and literary talent? Or perhaps the beautiful setting in Edinburgh contributes towards the success of the coffee shop in playing a part in the creation of these celebrated works of fiction. This is, of course, not the first time that coffee houses have been associated with intellectual musing and ideas – there are many such associations littered in coffee houses of the past.
Uganda’s exports in coffee rise by fifty-eight percent
Africa is renowned for its great coffee – Kenya, Ethiopia amongst other countries can supply us with a lovely coffee blend. Uganda, in particular, is doing well currently thanks to a great harvest. The information released by the Coffee Development Authority, indicates that exports are up by fifty eight per cent.
It appears that coffee farms in the south and west of the country are currently harvesting their primary crop, whereas the regions in the centre and east of Uganda are now collecting in a secondary harvest where yields are slightly lower.
Unofficial figures which have been published indicate that exports rose by just under 136,000 bags (60 kg) in a month, compared with the figures last year.
It is said that Uganda is largely comprised of small farms amounting to around ninety-five per cent of the coffee market in the country. As these farmers depend on rain for the cultivation of the plants, the coffee industry is reliant on the weather and dry spells cause problems.
Robusta coffee is indigenous to Uganda and still grows wild in some of the rain forests, very unusually naturally growing coffee plants. Arabica, the much-loved coffee bean, was introduced to the Ugandan culture in the early twentieth century. The local farmers often mix their coffee plants amongst traditional food crops, often under the shade of trees. Usually, these coffee plants will flower around twice a year. Coffee connoisseurs have described Ugandan coffee has unique and intense in character.
Green Besspresso serves good coffee
Question: where can you find a mobile coffee stall which has great coffee and which is extremely environmentally friendly? Answer: Iowa, via Besspresso. Brainchild of Dave Bess and Anna Erickson, this coffee-in-a-van business was created as a result of them noticing the lack of decent coffee stands as they travelled around the county.
As such, Bess bought a van to use as a mobile coffee shop, taking coffee to the people, rather than waiting for the people to find him. But the van he bought was no ordinary van: aptly painted green, this vehicle runs on soy-based biodiesel fuel and power for the in-van coffee equipment is created by the solar panels on the roof.
To date, Besspresso has been all over the place, including festivals (such as the Bonnaroo music event in Tennessee or sports events around the country). Alternatively, the Besspresso van can be found in town at appropriate places.
What can you purchase from the van? There is a selection of coffees from woodroasted blends, espressos and chocolate/macadamia coffee. You can also purchase healthy smoothies and edible goods too.
Although the Besspresso is a great idea, the notion of mobile vans has been used by several enterprising people around the world, in different countries. The Besspresso is an example of the need for good coffee and also the preoccupation with the coffee industry in producing environmentally friendly goods. Other ideas used by other entrepreneurs include recyclable coffee cups, using coffee grounds as mulch and participation in projects such as the Fair Trade movement.
Mummy’s Breakfast Club in Bradley Stoke a success
The Willow Brook Centre has a new proposition for parents with youngsters who are no longer at school – they have organised a group, called the Mummy’s Breakfast Morning, which is aimed to help parents to meet, socialise and also entertain their pre-school children. They can drink coffee, chat and watch their children play, all courtesy of the new club.
So what happened? According to reports in the local press, the event went very well. The turn-out was relatively high – around 85 parents arrived at the Breakfast Morning, which took place at the Harvester in the Centre, to take part in the launch of this project. The event started at half past nine and over the following two hours, visitors were entitled to a free hot drink and also some entertainment was available for their little ones.
In order to make the club as accessible as possible, there is no joining fee and it is simply a case of online applications to the scheme. Not only are members able to visit the Morning Club and socialise locally, there is also a special offer and discounts scheme for the various shops in the Willow Brook Centre. Those stores which are taking part in the scheme include Boots, Excellence Spa and the Card Factory.
It is intended that the Mummy’s Breakfast Morning club will now be held on the last Tuesday of the month, so that the benefits can be enjoyed regularly by Mummies!
Park Rangers impart knowledge over coffee
Having a chat and drinking coffee go hand in hand, don’t they? This is something that has been acknowledged by the park rangers at the Colter Bay Visitor Centre, Jackson Hole, as reported on the local website. They have a practice of making themselves available to answer questions from the public before the formal job starts. What do they call this venture? Coffee with a Ranger.
The two rangers in question are Barry Merchant and Danny LaFrancois. The proper opening hours of the Visitor Centre begin at 8, but these enthusiasts put up a sign to make it clear that they are available to talk about their work with interested members of the public before they start their working day. This is not a new fad either: the men having been doing this for around a decade (their job is seasonal) on a less formal basis.
The previous system was a little more ad hoc – the rangers answered questions raised by visitors before the Visitor Centre opened as they did their rounds locally. They had the idea of formalising the arrangement a little more when they saw a similar ‘Coffee with a Ranger’ system in place at Yellowstone National Park. They decided to to something similar themselves back in Jackson Hole.
Now, they hand out maps and brochures and answer questions and have the time of their life. Both rangers enjoy the social side of their meetings with the public. However their sign may be a little misleading – in order to leave the local cafes and coffee shops to sell coffee, they simply impart information.
Success of coffee business despite economic downturn
The news is filled with doom and gloom about the financial problems in the world at the moment – job losses, unemployment, spending cuts, tax increases, mounting debt… but as reported recently, there are some cheerful success stories around too.
There is one story in the news, for example, about a home grown café which has developed into a sizeable chain of no less than 23 shops over an eight year period with over 200 employees.
Which coffee shop business is this? Based in Wellington, New Zealand, Mojo Coffee certainly lives up to its name. It has appeared in the country’s fastest growing business ranks three times in the last four years.
What are the reasons for such success? According to the owners, they told the press New Zealanders don’t really go for big franchises and so they used a joint venture structure so that each branch had its own personality and identity.
To date, Mojo Coffee has spread its wings within New Zealand but, as you would expect from such a dynamic company, their sights are now set further afield. One of the founders of the business has been quoted as revealing the next goal – to open up a shop in Tokyo – as Mojo Coffee believes that they have found an unsatisfied coffee need in Japan. If the success of the company is anything to go by, the Japanese are likely to be treated to some Kiwi coffee in the very near future.
Australian Madcap uses coffee to help those with mental illnesses
Did you know that it’s estimated around 20% of people will suffer at some time with a mental health issue? How many of us get through life without periods of stress which may result in high levels of anxiety or perhaps bouts of depression? The importance and frequency of this little-spoken-about health problem has been acknowledged by award-winning barista, Anthony Cheeseman. And Cheeseman has decided to put his money where his mouth is by using his skills in the coffee culture to help these people in need.
In suburban Melbourne, Australia, Cheeseman has created a coffee café called Madcap Café (now with three branches) which addresses these concerns, as well as serving up good quality coffee and food. What is special about the business? Those with mental health issues are helped to feel included in society, as the business tries to employ 50-60% of their employees suffering from such an illness. The business aims to let these individuals work as part of a team, not differentiated from the other employees.
The idea for the Madcap Café was born when Cheeseman ran his previous café and attended a think-tank meeting where he first heard about Ermha (Eastern Region Mental Health Association), an organisation trying to address the stigma attached to those with mental health issues as they sought employment. Together, Cheeseman and Ermha have worked to train and give these people a chance by working with coffee – and, by all accounts, as well as the social achievements of the business, the coffee is superb too.