All you coffee-lovers put on your mocha loafers, for it's time for a trip down memory lane. Don't spill your beans, but let them drain. Aroma's Coffee Factory has been in the business of making good earnest coffee since the 1930's. That's right, the times when booted, mustached cursing Dutchmen were still playing command-and-conquer in Indonesia . All that dividing and ruling sure took its toll upon their energy level. Alas, Extra Joss wasn't available back then, so they built Aroma's Coffee Factory to keep spirits up. Now, more than 70 years later, Aroma's is still doing its mission: making coffee the way it should be, without artificial flavorings, pesticides or even vanilla essence.
When you enter the small shop on Jalan Banceuy, central Bandung, its wooden interior and antique coffee paraphernalia such as old coffee machines and bronze scales will make you think that you stepped into a movie set. Luckily the all-pervasive smell of freshly ground coffee beans will bring you back to reality, and as the second-generation owner takes you around on a tour that will explain all the nooks and crannies of the coffee business to you, the decor will come alive. It is a rare thing that in this day and age where profit margins dictate people's life, and actually in many occasions, their coffee intake, Aroma's coffee factory remains dedicated to entrepreneurial craftsmanship that keeps rusty German made coffee burners from the 1930's a foundation instead of a relic from a long forgotten past.
Everything in the factory is still hand-labor, from the picking and sorting of the beans to the roasting and packing. The coffee beans coming mainly from Sumatra and Jawa are dried in the back yard for an hour and then piled sack upon sack rising more than 10 meters above our heads in the storage room, where the Robusta beans will dry for 5 years, while the Arabica beans require an astonishing 8 years of lying around. In that time the acidity of the beans will drop in a natural process, and as an end result Aroma's coffee is not only tastier but also a lot healthier. ‘Arabica is fit for people with high blood pressure, and Robusta for people with low blood pressure' explains the owner. The health of his customers is more important to him than the amount of beans he sells. He is a man who believes in God...and good coffee, ‘What is the purpose of praying everyday, when in the end you cheat on your customers?' he asks.
After the years of drying, the beans are then hand-roasted in a rusty but reliable oven fired by rubber wood, and then according to customers' wishes ground or sold as whole beans. ‘It is very simple, but you need a lot of patience' the owner twinkles. Back in the shop people line up to buy their essential provision of Arabica or Robusta. Many of them have been coming here for years in search of a flavor and quality; these are real coffee drinkers who will instantly say no to instant coffee. Get a taste of authenticity and drop by at Aroma's. Open daily, if you want a behind the scenes look on the coffee making process, be there before 2 o clock or call in beforehand.
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June 24, 2009
Aroma coffee for character in a cup: coffee that won’t make your heart beat faster
All you coffee-lovers put on your mocha loafers, for it's time for a trip down memory lane. Don't spill your beans, but let them drain. Aroma's Coffee Factory has been in the business of making good earnest coffee since the 1930's. That's right, the times when booted, mustached cursing Dutchmen were still playing command-and-conquer in Indonesia . All that dividing and ruling sure took its toll upon their energy level. Alas, Extra Joss wasn't available back then, so they built Aroma's Coffee Factory to keep spirits up. Now, more than 70 years later, Aroma's is still doing its mission: making coffee the way it should be, without artificial flavorings, pesticides or even vanilla essence.
When you enter the small shop on Jalan Banceuy, central Bandung, its wooden interior and antique coffee paraphernalia such as old coffee machines and bronze scales will make you think that you stepped into a movie set. Luckily the all-pervasive smell of freshly ground coffee beans will bring you back to reality, and as the second-generation owner takes you around on a tour that will explain all the nooks and crannies of the coffee business to you, the decor will come alive. It is a rare thing that in this day and age where profit margins dictate people's life, and actually in many occasions, their coffee intake, Aroma's coffee factory remains dedicated to entrepreneurial craftsmanship that keeps rusty German made coffee burners from the 1930's a foundation instead of a relic from a long forgotten past.
Everything in the factory is still hand-labor, from the picking and sorting of the beans to the roasting and packing. The coffee beans coming mainly from Sumatra and Jawa are dried in the back yard for an hour and then piled sack upon sack rising more than 10 meters above our heads in the storage room, where the Robusta beans will dry for 5 years, while the Arabica beans require an astonishing 8 years of lying around. In that time the acidity of the beans will drop in a natural process, and as an end result Aroma's coffee is not only tastier but also a lot healthier. ‘Arabica is fit for people with high blood pressure, and Robusta for people with low blood pressure' explains the owner. The health of his customers is more important to him than the amount of beans he sells. He is a man who believes in God...and good coffee, ‘What is the purpose of praying everyday, when in the end you cheat on your customers?' he asks.
After the years of drying, the beans are then hand-roasted in a rusty but reliable oven fired by rubber wood, and then according to customers' wishes ground or sold as whole beans. ‘It is very simple, but you need a lot of patience' the owner twinkles. Back in the shop people line up to buy their essential provision of Arabica or Robusta. Many of them have been coming here for years in search of a flavor and quality; these are real coffee drinkers who will instantly say no to instant coffee. Get a taste of authenticity and drop by at Aroma's. Open daily, if you want a behind the scenes look on the coffee making process, be there before 2 o clock or call in beforehand.
When you enter the small shop on Jalan Banceuy, central Bandung, its wooden interior and antique coffee paraphernalia such as old coffee machines and bronze scales will make you think that you stepped into a movie set. Luckily the all-pervasive smell of freshly ground coffee beans will bring you back to reality, and as the second-generation owner takes you around on a tour that will explain all the nooks and crannies of the coffee business to you, the decor will come alive. It is a rare thing that in this day and age where profit margins dictate people's life, and actually in many occasions, their coffee intake, Aroma's coffee factory remains dedicated to entrepreneurial craftsmanship that keeps rusty German made coffee burners from the 1930's a foundation instead of a relic from a long forgotten past.
Everything in the factory is still hand-labor, from the picking and sorting of the beans to the roasting and packing. The coffee beans coming mainly from Sumatra and Jawa are dried in the back yard for an hour and then piled sack upon sack rising more than 10 meters above our heads in the storage room, where the Robusta beans will dry for 5 years, while the Arabica beans require an astonishing 8 years of lying around. In that time the acidity of the beans will drop in a natural process, and as an end result Aroma's coffee is not only tastier but also a lot healthier. ‘Arabica is fit for people with high blood pressure, and Robusta for people with low blood pressure' explains the owner. The health of his customers is more important to him than the amount of beans he sells. He is a man who believes in God...and good coffee, ‘What is the purpose of praying everyday, when in the end you cheat on your customers?' he asks.
After the years of drying, the beans are then hand-roasted in a rusty but reliable oven fired by rubber wood, and then according to customers' wishes ground or sold as whole beans. ‘It is very simple, but you need a lot of patience' the owner twinkles. Back in the shop people line up to buy their essential provision of Arabica or Robusta. Many of them have been coming here for years in search of a flavor and quality; these are real coffee drinkers who will instantly say no to instant coffee. Get a taste of authenticity and drop by at Aroma's. Open daily, if you want a behind the scenes look on the coffee making process, be there before 2 o clock or call in beforehand.
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