2018 Jakarta Coffee Trend : Es Kopi Susu
If you're reading this, most probably you're a coffee lover, and that's great! We should have more coffee lover here in Jakarta so there will be more coffee shop open. More demands, more supplies!
But anyway..it seems to me the 2013 - 2016 are the years for new specialty coffee shops to open, everyone competing to show off their best expensive machines, fancy imported beans, fancy interior design, and located in the upscale areas. And somehow in 2017 - 2018 that hype replaced by tiny coffee stalls that serve Es Kopi Susu / sweetened iced coffee (sugar or palm sugar) with milk.
I won't be a coffee snob and against it, it's the market demands after all. And when it comes to coffee, it's just personal preferences. But let's talk about why the demands are so big for this type of coffee in Jakarta.
But anyway..it seems to me the 2013 - 2016 are the years for new specialty coffee shops to open, everyone competing to show off their best expensive machines, fancy imported beans, fancy interior design, and located in the upscale areas. And somehow in 2017 - 2018 that hype replaced by tiny coffee stalls that serve Es Kopi Susu / sweetened iced coffee (sugar or palm sugar) with milk.
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| Es Kopi Susu by Kopi Bawah Tangga |
I won't be a coffee snob and against it, it's the market demands after all. And when it comes to coffee, it's just personal preferences. But let's talk about why the demands are so big for this type of coffee in Jakarta.
1. It's Cheap
In Jakarta there are more B and C class market to grab, there are a lot of people that lives in the suburban and work in Jakarta with minimum wages, also using the commuter line or public transport. What I meant by minimum wages here is around IDR 3,600,000,- or USD 256 monthly, or USD 3072 yearly, that's the exact exchange rate when this post is written.
For these people, a cup of a specialty coffee that cost IDR 40k - 50k, it's just too much, they can't afford it every week, let alone every day. So when there's a coffee stall that offers sweetened ice coffee for IDR 15k - 25k, with a fun brand on social media, of course it's booming. Suddenly we see less posts about latte art and manual brew stuffs, and all we see is this Es Kopi Susu on social media.
In Jakarta there are more B and C class market to grab, there are a lot of people that lives in the suburban and work in Jakarta with minimum wages, also using the commuter line or public transport. What I meant by minimum wages here is around IDR 3,600,000,- or USD 256 monthly, or USD 3072 yearly, that's the exact exchange rate when this post is written.
For these people, a cup of a specialty coffee that cost IDR 40k - 50k, it's just too much, they can't afford it every week, let alone every day. So when there's a coffee stall that offers sweetened ice coffee for IDR 15k - 25k, with a fun brand on social media, of course it's booming. Suddenly we see less posts about latte art and manual brew stuffs, and all we see is this Es Kopi Susu on social media.
2. It's Sweet
The majority of people in Jakarta are not at all coffee snobs. People here like their coffees to be sweet, with sugar or condensed milk. Because in their mind coffee without it are just plain bitter. There's not enough education about the taste notes of a coffee, simply because specialty coffee here is expensive. For people to educate oneself, takes a lot of investment indeed.
The majority of people in Jakarta are not at all coffee snobs. People here like their coffees to be sweet, with sugar or condensed milk. Because in their mind coffee without it are just plain bitter. There's not enough education about the taste notes of a coffee, simply because specialty coffee here is expensive. For people to educate oneself, takes a lot of investment indeed.
3. Upgrades from 3 in 1 Instant Coffee
The people that are into this Es Kopi Susu / iced coffee milk, usually are the ones that drinks instant 3-in-1 coffee. So for these people, it's actually an upgrade. From a sachet of instant coffee that cost IDR 5k to Es Kopi Susu that cost 18k. Sure is an upgrade! Same robusta coffee, but this one can be posted on social media ;)
4. Gojek Delivery Services
It's just like Uber Eats, cheap delivery services for you to get a coffee from a hole in a wall places, such as coffee stall that sells Es Kopi Susu. With the delivery service like this, most of the customers don't even know what the place looks like, as long as the coffee is cheap, sweet, and got delivered to your door, all good.
The people that are into this Es Kopi Susu / iced coffee milk, usually are the ones that drinks instant 3-in-1 coffee. So for these people, it's actually an upgrade. From a sachet of instant coffee that cost IDR 5k to Es Kopi Susu that cost 18k. Sure is an upgrade! Same robusta coffee, but this one can be posted on social media ;)
4. Gojek Delivery Services
It's just like Uber Eats, cheap delivery services for you to get a coffee from a hole in a wall places, such as coffee stall that sells Es Kopi Susu. With the delivery service like this, most of the customers don't even know what the place looks like, as long as the coffee is cheap, sweet, and got delivered to your door, all good.
5. Closer to the Roots
Basically 99% Indonesian traditional drinks and desserts are crazy sweet. So for this Es Kopi Susu to get accepted by the Jakartans, I would say absolutely easy. Especially we're already familiar with Kopi Tarik from Singapore and Malaysia, or Vietnamese Drip Coffee, I would say that opened the way for this new coffee drink hype.
6. Tiny Investments
While most big players in the Jakarta's coffee industry condemn this Es Kopi Susu trend for ruining the market that they've tried to educate about the specialty coffee, the budget businessmen picked up the trend pretty quick. There are more and more coffee stalls opened up that offers this drinks in Jakarta. The tiny investment is one of the appealing aspects. The super cheap ingredients and almost no equipment investments are the key here.
They're using dark roasted robusta beans for one, that costs IDR 60k - 150k (USD 4.25 - 10.25) per kilogram, because it has the coffee bitterness and bold body that they need. For the milk, they use UHT milk that cost around IDR 12k (or USD 1.00) per 1000ml. Condensed milk also cost less than a dollar per can. Sugars also cost nothing here in Jakarta. For the equipments, they don't need to invest in an expensive espresso machine, most of the coffee stalls use cold brew. They might need a grinder, or can simply ask the coffee beans supplier to grind it for them. Cheap? Absolutely!
But the question is, is this a sustainable business? On my personal opinion, I think it's just a temporary hype. Just like most business in Jakarta, there are lots of them opened, a lot of them closed too when they don't have the strong concept. Having a business that's only counting on the trends are not the type of business I'd prefer, too short lifespan. I think the pioneers might still standing in couple of years from now. But probably Jakartans will grew tired of the unhealthiness of the drink eventually, no one wanna have diabetes from drinking coffees right?
I'm more like a black coffee kinda person, even though I've tried some of this Es Kopi Susu drinks, I can't handle the generous amount of sugar they've added in my drinks, so I think I'll stick with my favorite Americano or Manual Brew Coffee for now. What about you? Have you tried these drinks?
xoxo
AP
Basically 99% Indonesian traditional drinks and desserts are crazy sweet. So for this Es Kopi Susu to get accepted by the Jakartans, I would say absolutely easy. Especially we're already familiar with Kopi Tarik from Singapore and Malaysia, or Vietnamese Drip Coffee, I would say that opened the way for this new coffee drink hype.
6. Tiny Investments
While most big players in the Jakarta's coffee industry condemn this Es Kopi Susu trend for ruining the market that they've tried to educate about the specialty coffee, the budget businessmen picked up the trend pretty quick. There are more and more coffee stalls opened up that offers this drinks in Jakarta. The tiny investment is one of the appealing aspects. The super cheap ingredients and almost no equipment investments are the key here.
They're using dark roasted robusta beans for one, that costs IDR 60k - 150k (USD 4.25 - 10.25) per kilogram, because it has the coffee bitterness and bold body that they need. For the milk, they use UHT milk that cost around IDR 12k (or USD 1.00) per 1000ml. Condensed milk also cost less than a dollar per can. Sugars also cost nothing here in Jakarta. For the equipments, they don't need to invest in an expensive espresso machine, most of the coffee stalls use cold brew. They might need a grinder, or can simply ask the coffee beans supplier to grind it for them. Cheap? Absolutely!
But the question is, is this a sustainable business? On my personal opinion, I think it's just a temporary hype. Just like most business in Jakarta, there are lots of them opened, a lot of them closed too when they don't have the strong concept. Having a business that's only counting on the trends are not the type of business I'd prefer, too short lifespan. I think the pioneers might still standing in couple of years from now. But probably Jakartans will grew tired of the unhealthiness of the drink eventually, no one wanna have diabetes from drinking coffees right?
I'm more like a black coffee kinda person, even though I've tried some of this Es Kopi Susu drinks, I can't handle the generous amount of sugar they've added in my drinks, so I think I'll stick with my favorite Americano or Manual Brew Coffee for now. What about you? Have you tried these drinks?
xoxo
AP
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