The Journal · Ten part series
Indonesian coffee, told properly.
Most people don’t realise that Indonesia is the world’s fourth-largest coffee producer. It’s where the name “Java” comes from. Still, if you visit most cafés in the UK, you’d hardly know Indonesian coffee exists.
That’s why we started BRUUK. We’re a small team, founded and led by members of the Indonesian diaspora. We grew up with this coffee and want to share it with everyone.
Latest · Hospitality
What Your Coffee Says About Your Venue, and Why the Answer Is Usually Nothing
If a guest asked where your coffee comes from and why you chose it, could your team answer?
3 min read
Read the articleThe whole series
Ten articles · One per week- 10HospitalityWhat Your Coffee Says About Your Venue, and Why the Answer Is Usually NothingIf a guest asked where your coffee comes from and why you chose it, could your team answer?
3 min read
- 09CultureFrom Colonial Crop to Cultural Pride: How Indonesia Took Back Its Coffee StoryStart inside Indonesia. Coffee there was never only an export. It became a culture with its own language. The warung kopi, the roadside coffee stall…
3 min read
- 08FounderWhy I Built an Indonesian Coffee Company in LondonIndonesia is the fourth largest coffee producer on earth. It gave the world the word Java. Its coffee history runs for three centuries and its islands…
3 min read
- 07OriginsThree Mountains, Three Cups: A Trip Through Our Origin RegionsAt the northern tip of Sumatra, around Lake Tawar, the Gayo Highlands are one of the most respected arabica regions in Asia. Coffee arrived here in…
3 min read
- 06SpeciesArabica and Robusta: Indonesia Is One of the Few Countries That Got Both RightFirst the history. Indonesia started out as an arabica origin. The Java coffee that made the island famous was arabica, grown from those first Dutch…
3 min read
- 05FarmersNinety Five Percent: The Families Behind Every Indonesian CupMore than 90% of it is grown by smallholder farmers, usually on family plots of about a hectare or less. Not estates. Not corporate plantations…
3 min read
- 04ProcessGiling Basah: The Way of Making Coffee You’ll Find Almost Nowhere ElseGiling basah means wet hulling, and it’s almost entirely Indonesian. It’s a traditional practice on islands like Sumatra and Sulawesi. There have been…
3 min read
- 03GeographySeventeen Thousand Islands on the Ring of Fire: Why Geography Made Indonesian Coffee SpecialStart with the volcanoes. Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire and has more active volcanoes than any other country. Every eruption, over…
3 min read
- 02RitualStir. Wait. Feel. What Kopi Tubruk Taught Us About Slowing DownIt’s called kopi tubruk. Finely ground coffee goes straight into the glass. Hot water goes over it. You stir. And then, and this is the part modern…
3 min read
- 01HistoryFrom Java to the World: The 300 Years of History in Your Coffee CupIn the late 1600s the Dutch East India Company took coffee seedlings out of Yemen, breaking a monopoly the Arab world had guarded closely, and planted…
3 min read