Banda Aceh – Rows of coffee shops—ranging from traditional stalls to modern cafes—are a common sight on the streets of Banda Aceh.
The shops never seem to be empty of visitors. Benches are mostly occupied or bursting with customers — young and old, men and women — who can be seen mingling, chatting happily, and sipping coffee at the shops from morning to evening.
And not without reason. Aceh is known to the world as one of the producers of premium-quality coffee.
Gayo Arabica coffee, for example, has a special place in the hearts of foreign coffee lovers — to the point of being categorized as specialty coffee.
The coffee produced from plantations in the Gayo highlands is known to have a distinctive aroma with a complex flavor and strong body.
The Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) has regularly placed Gayo Arabica coffee at the top of every cupping test assessment, with an average score of 86–90 points.
To put a coffee in the specialty category, the SCAA only needs a taste test expert to give it a score of 80 points in the cupping test.
Coffee shops in Aceh generally serve three kinds of coffee: black coffee, milk coffee, and sanger coffee. At first glance, sanger coffee looks similar to milk coffee.
The difference lies in its composition: sweetened condensed milk and sugar are added to the coffee in such a way that the aroma of the coffee remains dominant. Another distinctive feature of this coffee is its foam, which comes from the coffee being shaken before serving.
Coffee has indeed become a part of the lifestyle and social institutions of the Acehnese people. And the culture has been alive since the era of Dutch colonialism in Indonesia.
Acehnese anthropologist from the State Islamic University (UIN) Ar-Raniry Banda Aceh, Reza Idria, highlighted that Acehnese people’s habit of sitting together and chatting at a stall or a public space, including the cultural characteristics of the people on the coast of the Strait of Malacca.
“Maybe those who enjoy it are different. In the Malay world, there are people drinking teh tarik and all sorts, while in Aceh, they drink coffee,” he said.
The phenomenon of coffee being the favorite drink of the Acehnese people cannot be separated from the influence of the Dutch colonialists. The Dutch brought coffee beans to Aceh and opened many coffee plantations there.
The entry of coffee into Aceh encouraged the emergence of coffee shops that were used by the community as a place to socialize and gather freely.
In the villages, coffee shops often sit near mosques so that when the call to prayer sounds, residents can reach the mosque more easily.
This has helped create a positive association with coffee among the Acehnese people who like to socialize and still uphold the values of Islamic teachings.
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