Coffee Factory
Koffie Fabriek Aroma – The Oldest Coffee Factory in Bandung City, West Java
Coffee from a Man’s Heart and Passion
Koffie Fabriek Aroma is the oldest coffee factory in Bandung City, West Java, Indonesia. It is located in Banceuy Street No.51 (No.31 in 1900). As you can see on the first coffee package photo above, the telephone number only consist of 4 digits, the Indonesia language (bahasa) spelling on the right side also used old fashion style, and the last, this package printed by Nimef 3735, one of several printing office in Indonesia at that time.
coffee grinders from 1900, 1920, and 1930
old posters
All of nostalgic things from the past, start from year 1900 still remain in this coffee factory; the scent of fresh roasted coffee beans from roasting area, old coffee stoples which still use, old posters on the shop wall, also grinding coffee machines which used in year 1900, 1920, stand on their own table, spread on 3 corners of the shop. A little bit dusty, but those grinders still in a good shape. At the back of shop coffee, packing area, there are 3 other grinding machines from year 1930, standing on a row on a long table.
Mr. Widyapratama, as the owner, worker, and supervisor
Coffee bean dried at the back of the factory, together with rubber woods which will become roasting machine fuel
The coffee beans are delivered from all around Java and Sumatera Islands. There are 2 kind of coffee which is processed in the factory. The first kind is Arabica coffee, which is delivered from Aceh, Medan, Toraja, East Java, Jember, and Temanggung. The second kind is Robusta Coffee, which is delivered from Bengkulu, and Lampung.
The factory built by Tan Houw Sian in 1930, when Indonesia was in Dutch occupation. At that time, Dutch had many coffee plantations in Indonesia. Right now, the factory is run by Mr Widyapratama, a humble entrepreneur, and the second generation of the coffee factory owner. He will welcome and gladly gives free tour while explaining to the people who want to know about the factory and the entire coffee process.
All coffee from Java and Sumatera must had dried at the plantations for 2 weeks, before deliver to The Factory in Bandung. After that, the coffee beans will be dried again for 7 hours in the back of the factory before sacked and stored in the storage for 5 years for Robusta coffee beans and 8 years for Arabica coffee beans. The purpose of drying process is to decrease water, acidity, and caffeine amount in coffee beans, so it will not make stomach problem or heart beating that normal coffees usually produce. Such a long time to get a good quality of coffee.
“We must run our business with heart and passion”
Mr. Widyapratama’s sentence certainly describes his way as a businessman, reflected in his factory which preserves craftsmanship with hand labor and traditional method of processing coffee beans. Furthermore the process needs patience because all of the coffees in the shop are coffee from 5-8 years process!
Sacks of coffee beans are stored for 5-8 years
Coffee roaster
At last, it is the time, after 5-8 years waiting the coffee sacks pulled out from the store. A German big old roasting machine, built in 1936, always ready to roast. It uses rubber wood as fuel for roast the coffee beans for 2 hours; with Mr. Widyapratama supervise the quality by himself. The heat, smoke, ashes are really thick, but the smell of roasting coffee really unresistable.
After 2 hours roasting, the coffee beans will be through quality control for 15-20 minutes, before go to grinding and packing process, then the coffee ready to sell to customers.
Sample of Arabica coffee beans. From the left, coffee beans which already dried for 2 weeks at the plantation, dark green. The second is Robusta coffee beans after 5 years stored. The third is Arabica coffee beans after 8 years stored in the factory storage. The last, on the right, roasted Arabica coffee beans, dark doff brown.
The coffee factory and shop is opened daily except for Sunday from 8 a.m to 3 p.m. If you interesting to know how the factory runs behind the scenes, you can come and ask for it, especially if you can meet Mr. Widyapratama, or you can call in beforehand.
Some intersting stuff and spot from inside of the factory
Koffie Fabriek Aroma
Banceuy Street No. 51
Bandung, Indonesia
40111
022-4230473 (telp)
022-4232648 (fax)
Some articles you might interest:
- commercial coffee grinders – find out why buy coffee in bean form is more recomended rather than in ground form.
- coffe makers – Ok, you got your coffee beans, now let’s know a littel bit about coffee maker types first.
- coffee maker reviews – Know your needs first before buy a coffee maker! A guide to keep you on track in your coffee maker searching.
Comments are closed.