Tulungagung – Jakarta December 2021
Tulungagung used to have Koncoi which served light-roast, reliable whites (they even have flat white in their menu) every morning when most of the other cafes used (presumably) dark-roast, fully robusta houseblend (probably meant for the so-called ES KOPI SKM). The price is cheap but the taste was totally sour and ruined. Koncoi, however, set a pretty pricey tag for their coffee. Yes, 18.000 for an espresso-based coffee was considered ‘expensive’ in Tulungagung.
Koncoi was gone, leaving the newly-built My Own Barn cafe to be the only consistent place to grab a cup of latte in the morning. Minus points are the facts that they open at 10 and that the place will be crowded in just 30 minutes (with teenagers deliberately dressing up solely for taking pictures to post on their socials and ordering colorful non-coffee beverages) after they opened. It has a ‘slow-bar’ where you can order manual brew. Well, the last time we went there, the bar was still closed and when we asked them when they would be open, the cashier said “We don’t know”.
I did not expect anything when I went to Wisang. I just tried to find the nearest and most comfortable place to do my Japanese Language training homework. Wisang used Diamond instead of Greenfield. The taste, however, turned out to be satisfying. The steaming was so appropriate that the milk sweetness came out. I went to Wisang again for a lunch and ordered their Ramen while people-watching.
Filmore was firstly suggested by my friend Adlini Ilma Ghaisany when she was working at the British Embassy and lived in Kuningan then. It was probably around 2016 when both of us just returned to Indonesia. Filmore is always a bit pricey but, you get what you paid for: a strong, thick typewith a usually complex character yet a light aftertaste at the end. Whenever I went back to Kuningan, I was always a regular for their piccolo or flat white.
Mohamed from Filmore probably mentioned Ombe three times when I asked him for an insight on proper whites around Menteng or Melawai. He was right: Ombe was probably the best white I had during my last short-trip in Jakarta. It was not Melbournesque, but without a doubt it was sweet, fruity, and light at the same time. The steaming temperature was perfect as well. My brother will start working around Menteng next year, so I told him to grab a cup or two from Ombe whenever he could later.
