ABCD School of Coffee in Bali: Appreciation Classes

ABCD School of Coffee was started in Jakarta. The learning center focuses on raising appreciation over coffee in general through classes that are designed not only for those who want to gain barista skills, but also to have a better understanding and further knowledge about coffee itself.

Since August 2014, ABCD School of Coffee has run over a hundred fully-booked classes. Participants mostly come from Jakarta, with additional enthusiastic ones from Singapore, Malaysia, Medan, Jambi, Riau, Bandung, Surabaya, Makassar, and more.

We are now starting to hold Appreciation Classes in Bali.

For more detailed information about ABCD School of Coffee, please click here.

What is Appreciation Class?

Appreciation Class is the A of ABCD School of Coffee. The lecture runs two hours long. PhatUncle™ Hendri Kurniawan – Founder and Chief Trainer of ABCD School of Coffee – will share the basic knowledge on coffee; from the old history of coffee beans, the distribution, the biological nature of coffee beans, the many kinds of species and varietals, how we plant, nurture, and process coffee beans, and so forth.

Furthermore, PhatUncle™ will guide us through the evolution of coffee lifestyle; how our ancestors first consumed coffee, until what has become of it now – the latest trend in coffee shops, the most updated technology and science in coffee brewing, and the overview of today’s third-wave, specialty coffee industry. This is a class that lays foundation to a new caffeine-fuelled lifestyle, and the very first baby-step to become a barista or coffee brewer.

Appreciation Class is the class that everybody has to take before joining the other classes.

What are the other classes in ABCD School of Coffee?

If A is Appreciation, then we have B, C, and DE1 Classes. B is Brewing, C is Cupping, and DE1 is Definitive Espresso Class. In Brewing we will learn the basic principles and methods of manual brewing – or making coffee without espresso machine. In Cupping we will train our sensory to explore the many flavours, aroma, and notes of different coffee beans, and learn how to evaluate and examine them. Cupping is the very heart of all coffee knowledge. In Definitive Espresso Class we will learn about espresso, the principles and methods of making an espresso beverage, the many kinds of espresso machines, how to make an espresso shot, how to steam the milk, and how to make cappuccino. We will hold Brewing, Cupping, and Definitive Espresso classes in Bali very soon after the Appreciation Classes.

SCHEDULE

Sunday, April 26, 2015, 17.00-19.00 (Code: DPS/A/001)
Monday, April 27, 2015, 17.00-19.00 (Code: DPS/A/002)
Tuesday, April 28, 2015, 17.00-19.00 (Code: DPS/A/003)

Note: Each class is for maximum 6 (six) participants

Venue: Eleven Elephants, Jalan Raya Pantai Berawa 11E, Canggu, Bali. (From Seminyak/Petitenget/Batu Balig area, 2Km after Canggu Club, on the left, right across Taco Love.)

REGISTRATION

Joining Fee: Rp500,000/person.

Please send an email to abcd.courses@gmail.com with subject “Request Registration Form for ABCD School of Coffee in Bali”. We will send you a Registration Form. Send back the Registration Form that you have filled out completely.

We hope to see you very soon in Bali!

Our 7 Best Moments in 2014

Photo by Rendy Anugrah Mahesa / Instagram: @renansa

2014 was filled with so many blessings. We would like to recollect and record some milestones here. There were more beautiful moments than the seven mentioned below. We believed that the impression they have left will be our encouragement to face more challenges in 2015.

01. First Class for SOS Children’s Village

December 17-19, 2014. We welcome four talented youngsters from SOS Children’s Villages or Desa Taruna in Lembang and Cibubur to join our “from zero to cappuccino” experience. We commit to give four free seats for SOS Children’s Villages every month in ABCD Class. Our objective is to generate new, talented baristas, and surely to equip our friends from SOS Children’s Villages with a new skill.

02. Charity Brew with Matt Perger and Jamie Thompson

We are humbled to welcome world champion baristas to brew in our humble coffee bar. On September 18, from 12.30 to 13.30, Matt Perger and Jamie Thompson from St. ALi took command of our place, and brewed non-stop, finishing more than a kg of Kenya – Nyeri Hill PB from Sensory Lab. Coffee lovers eagerly waited around our bar an hour before the event started.

03. Gesha at the Pasar

On August 22 and 23 we brought Panama Gesha beans from Hacienda La Esmeralda to Pasar Santa. Rated among the best and most expensive coffee in the world, we served 11 grams of Gesha in cupping style, and snobbishly slapped a price tag of Rp65,000 a cup. We were wondering whether people would actually show up for that kind of price. To our surprise, we could not stop brewing. We welcome four coffee lovers for every round of presentation – where we told a story of Panama Gesha and why they have become so delicious and expensive. We finished around 4 kgs of Panama Gesha so quickly people were begging for more. Our humble gratitudes for all of you who enjoyed this Gesha affair with us!

04. Introducing Kopi Pahlawan with Baraka Nusantara

Photo by Dicky Lesmana / Instagram: @dickylesmana

October 26, 2014. Our Red Appreciation Jar was the happiest to receive so many donations to help the works of our friends from Baraka Nusantara, particulary Maryam Rodja and Reman Murandi. They brought Kopi Pahlawan from Desa Sembalun – a village in Lombok Island in needs of educational and social facility. Together we introduced this beautiful specialty coffee to Pasar Santa, and all money went for Desa Sembalun. The amount that we received was far beyond our expectation. It was such a great pleasure to see so many kindhearted coffee lovers around us.

05. The Trip to Semarang with Filosofi Kopi The Movie Team

End of September 2014. Piala Citra 2014 winner Angga Dwimas Sasongko will produce and direct Filosofi Kopi – a movie adapted from Dee Lestari’s popular short story. He entrusted ABCD School of Coffee as the training ground for the cast, including Julie Estelle and Chicco Jerikho who also won Best Actor in Piala Citra 2014. More than joining our class, we also had a trip with them to coffee plantations and factory in Semarang, Central Java. The trip took us to understand more about coffee, and bound us as newfound family. Some of our closest friends like Datin Soraya Hamid, Aily Chendra and Wien also joined the trip.

06. Phat Uncle Joining Coffee Science Class in Melbourne

On December 3-4, 2014, Phat Uncle Hendri Kurniawan a.k.a. @kulikopi – our founder and coffee guru – was back as an almost clueless student in Coffee Science Certification Level 1 class held by Coffee Chemistry in Melbourne, Australia. This class aims at building a technical foundation of coffee as a raw commodity, exploring coffee science, sensory analysis, and addressing issues related to quality. The mind-torturing class took Phat Uncle back to the chemistry lab, and proved that the more we learn the more we realize that we know so less. Yet, whatever Phat Uncle has gained in the class will be incorporated in ABCD School of Coffee training moduls and materials.

07. Strangers in the Market

August 16, 2014. A week before this date we started a visual campaign on our Instagram account titled Strangers in the Market. We took shots of the first generation who actually worked hard and creatively to help reviving the dying Pasar Santa. There was Chef Oka Diputra from Mie Chino, and Babby Febrilia from Dai Vintage among many. The message of the campaign was simple: come to Pasar Santa as strangers, and let’s reunite like old friends. On the date, we actually served coffee from Strangers’ Reunion – a cool roaster based in Singapore. We received many testimonies from those who came saying that they indeed made conversations with strangers and found new connections during the event. Strangers in the Market remained our favorite #ngopidipasar day until now because it captured the true spirit of #AnakPasar. And, we hope to see that spirit to keep burning in 2015.

ABCD School of Coffee X SOS Children’s Villages + Toffin Product

LatteArtBandit™ Izman is monitoring Nina as she is learning to tamp. Dayat and Ilham observe.

December 17-19, 2014 were important dates for us. ABCD Class Batch 018 was held, and the participants were Nina, Dayat, Nugie, and the 16-years-old Ilham. They were the youngsters from S.O.S. Children’s Villages, or Desa Taruna – an international NGO to protect and to meet the needs of children all across the globe. Ilham and Nina came from Desa Taruna in Lembang, while Nugie and Dayat came from Desa Taruna in Cibubur.

The objective of ABCD School of Coffee has always been to breed more, and more young and talented baristas. Most of the participants of our classes – who immediately become members of ABCDEF (ABCD Extended Family) – are actually owners of coffee shop, or willing to open one. So, how should we generate new baristas if everybody wants to run the coffee shops?

16-yo Ilham looks like a professional Q Grader as he is learning about Cupping.

Phat Uncle Hendri Kurniawan has been long eyeing to do something with S.O.S. Children’s Villages. Long before we made contact with this honorable institution, Phat Uncle has been studying their mission and programs. It was only natural that when we started ABCD School of Coffee last August 2014 he initiated AngryBrewer™ Ve Handojo to send the first email to S.O.S. Children’s Villages.

After a series of email correspondence, and a visit to S.O.S. Children’s Villages in Tabanan, Bali and Lembang, Bandung, we finally executed this plan. Starting December 2014 we want to commit four seats in ABCD Class every month for the children raised in and/or supported by S.O.S. Children’s Villages.

The first batch was a great experience for us all. Apparently Nina – who is completing her study as a pastry chef! – has a very “expensive” taste. She could not bear sipping low, commercial grade coffee, but she does enjoy gulping Think Tank’s Ethiopia Nekisse N2! And, the young Ilham was so talented he could already formed a heart shaped on a cup of cappuccino the first day he learned how to steam and pour the milk!

Thank you, Toffin Product!

We believe that it was not a coincidence that at the same day we finished this ABCD Class Batch 018 for Nina, Ilham, Nugie and Dayat, some new toys arrived to occupy our new classroom in Pasar Santa 2nd floor, Room G. Our friends in Toffin Product have decided to show full and generous support for our programs. They have sent and placed not less than three espresso machines, and six sets of Hario manual brewing equipments! Two more espresso machines are on their way!

This is why we believe that blessings should be kept flowing. Never keep them for our own’s sake. Let them flow.

Left to Right: Nugie, Dayat, Nina, Ilham, Phat Uncle, and Mr. Roby from S.O.S. Children’s Village.

After completing the 3-day ABCD Class, Nugie displayed his manual brewing skills in Goethe Haus on December 21, 2014 in an event to commemorate the tsunami disaster in Aceh in 2004. Nugie fluently explained the basic principles of manual brewing to his audience.

From the very bottom of our hearts we want to express our huge gratitudes to Toffin Product for this huge support. And, we owe it so much to S.O.S. Children’s Villages who have been very committed in carrying their missions to protect and to meet the needs of children in Indonesia. It is such a big honour for us to work hand-in-hand with S.O.S. Children’s Villages to equip those who have been under their care with barista skills.

To learn more about ABCD School of Coffee programs, please click here.

MILK DAY: Free Cappuccinos Plus Charity!

On the third day of ABCD Class, or second day of DE1 (Definitive Espresso) Class, participants of ABCD School of Coffee will practice how to steam and pour the milk into the cups, and blend them with the perfectly pulled espresso shots. Yup, basically these are white coffee in 6 oz. vessels, a.k.a. cappuccino.

Each participant will end up making up to 20 cups of cappuccinos, and there is no way we can finish them all. In the prehistoric days we will throw away these white coffee with no conscience. Today, we are civilized. And kindhearted. So, we will pour the cappuccinos into some paper cups, and serve them on our open bar. Anybody, any passers-by, can grab these delicious cups, and go, and forget about our existence.

Are these cups good? First, even in our classes we use specialty grade, freshly roasted coffee beans. They are not cheapo, and they will not hurt your tummy. Secondly, we use Fresh Milk from Greenfields. Third, our instructors make sure that the participants will pull the espresso shots and steam the milk correctly. So, there is no reason not to finish these cups.

What will be lacking is the latte art. Hey, it takes a lot of practice to make a perfect latte art, even if it’s just a shape of plain heart.

Yes, the cups are for you. For free. But, we will still put the Red Appreciation Jar on our bar. In case you are generous, kind, and charitably, and you want to put US$1,000,000 for those cups, the whole thing will go for charity.

What kind of charity? Many kinds! We collect the money for natural disasters (rainy season is coming, yo!), for Pasar Santa community, or even to support the underpaid baristas who need financial support for serious needs like medication.

So, keep following our Instagram account @abcd_coffee, and enjoy the next Milk Day!

ABCD’s Fixed Opening Hours

For a long time we had been having no fixed schedule. We are never “open”, nor “close”. Now we are thinking to change this! But first, let us tell you why all this time we had been “random”, and our doors were mostly rolled down during the weekdays.

Because we are not a coffee shop. We are not a café. Referring to our own About Us page: we are a playground, a workshop, a kiosk, and a pop-up coffee bar. (By “pop-up” we mean “not permanent” in terms of timing.)

In ABCD we learn the A-B-C of coffee through many ways. We pop-up our coffee bar almost every weekend not to sell anything, let alone cute cups of cappuccino. #ngopidipasar is all about sharing and appreciation. We want to give true coffee lovers a chance to try excellent coffee beans that are usually not available in coffee shops in the city. We want tell the stories of those coffee beans. We want to share tales about Gesha, El Injerto, or even some Fine Robusta.

And, we wish you could give some appreciation.

The “appreciation” that we are talking about is more than just how much you put in our Red Appreciation Jar. Your appreciation should go for the coffee itself. The coffee as in the big, big world of coffee.

Through our #ngopidipasar pop-ups we hope you get to be introduced to the many, many kinds of coffee. We hope you could have a true “coffee experience”, not “café experience”. (There is no AC, there is no sofa, there is Instagrammable corners, sometimes there is no pretty latte arts. There is nothing but the coffee itself to experience.)

And, we can’t do it every day. We do not want to do it every day even if we can. Why? We give you two reasons.

First, there are enough great coffee shops in town where talented baristas work their magic with specialty coffee beans. For so long they have been mistaken as waiters. Many times they have to spend a whole day making Iced Lychee Tea for customers who use one single glass of it as a reason to sit for hours and use the free wifi to update their Facebooks. How often you see customers entering a posh coffee shop, and the first thing they ask is, “What’s the wifi password here?”

Please, go to those coffee shops, and make a change! Build a communication with the baristas. Allow them to use their magnificent talent to brew you some great caffeine fix. Challenge them to raise their standards. Ask them about where did the beans come from, the roasting profile, the tasting notes, etc. Stop asking “what’s in the menu?”, and start asking “what is the best cup that you can offer me today?”

Our baristas improve themselves when customers challenge, respect, and appreciate their talents properly. In fact, be more than a customer. Be a friend who support and encourage them. You know what? Indonesia is among the biggest coffee producers in the world, yet none of our baristas have ever made it to the Final Round in World Barista Champioship. Not even Top Twenty! You can make a change by being a respecting customer who appreciates and supports them!

Second reason of why we cannot pop-up our coffee bar every day is very practical: the beans. How could we get super premium and expensive beans every day? Or, do you want us to serve the same coffee that coffee shops and cafes in Jakarta have? Then, why bother coming to our place where there is no AC, comfortable couches, and wifi? And, how can it be fair to the coffee shops when we serve the same coffee with them, but with no fixed price?

That’s why our main objectives remain the same: sharing, and appreciating.

We share through our ABCD School of Coffee. We share through our #ngopidipasar pop-up coffee bar events. We appreciate great coffee. We appreciate those who come to us as friends, not demanding customers.

Phat Uncle Hendri Kurniawan says, “Coffee unites people, but the business sometimes tear them apart.” That’s why we want to keep ABCD as a fun playground, and not a place with opening and closing hours.

Yes, we were thinking to change this. But, we decided not to.

 

We always inform our next #ngopidipasar pop-up event in our Instagram account @abcd_coffee. Meanwhile, programs of ABCD School of Coffee can be seen HERE. For updated schedule of ABCD School of Coffee and the Registration Form, please email to abcd.courses@gmail.com. 

The Ever Expanding Family of ABCD School of Coffee

Phat Uncle Hendri Kurniawan monitors Otniel as he is learning to pull a shot of espresso in our ABCD Class.

Our tiny place – a mere 2×6 sqm. hole-in-the-wall – is expanding. Not (yet) physically – as kiosks in the first floor of Pasar Santa are all occupied now! – but rather socially. It is our ABCD School of Coffee that makes it possible to happen.

We are happy to see a great respond to our classes. Our ABCD Class – the one that shares all things coffee from zero to cappuccino – is on high demand. We need to hold additional classes almost every week. Hendri “Phat Uncle” Kurniawan happily spends his weekdays in the classroom from nine in the morning until ten in the evening, sharing his skills and knowledges to enthusiasts. Adding to that, Angry Brewer Ve Handojo also had been given a chance by Club Kembang to share his passion for coffee in a class filled with a dozen coffee lovers.

The intimate scale of our classes – a maximum of three participants! – creates a huge, casual space for discussion.

Who actually come to join our classes?

Some of them want to be baristas. Some of them are café owners or operators. Some of them plan to start a coffee shop. Yet, so many of them actually sign up to merely learn about coffee without business agenda. There was even a self-proclaimed non-coffee drinker who attended the class just for curiosity’s sake! Yet, she ended up drinking lots of coffee, became our coffee smuggler, and now is laying her eyes for Kees van der Westen’s Speedster!

Among our greatest joys is witnessing the facial expression of those who just sipped their very first espresso that they made themselves!

Of course, we are happy to see our clases fully booked until two months ahead. But the happiness comes not from the generated revenue. We are more excited to meet new people in an intimate class. People with the same cravings and passions with us. People with whom we can actually connect. And, our small scale classes allow the connection to go deeper. At the end of the day, there are no students, there are no teachers in our classes. We all have become an extended family.

Cas, Rey, and Belinda. They are not our students. They are a part of our extended family!

In this hole-in-the-wall passions are collided, ideas are exploded, and new possibilities are explored way beyond the brick walls. We are amazed how small scale classes can actually make this happen! Expect new things coming from our humble kiosk in the near future! Talented baristas are being born, new ventures are on the way, and more, and more dots will be connected.

Cecile – The Barista With Attitude! – happily supervises Stef and Sonia who were interning in our pop-up event.

Otniel and Richard interning in one of our pop-up events. They worked together in our manual brew station.

So, whoever you are – as long as you have unquenchable thirst over more, and more caffeine! – we invite you to join ABCD School of Coffee. We invite you to discover more than just the knowledge about coffee. We invite you to learn more than just making espresso and latte. We invite you to think about more than just opening coffee shops or other commercial ventures.

We invite you to find a family of your choice. Phat Uncle himself always says: Coffee is a medium through which we can do bigger things. Let’s learn together to use coffee to make more than just a cup of fancy drink.

If you need to know further information on ABCD School of Coffee please send an email to abcd.courses@gmail.com

Pasar Santa is Getting More Caffeinated!

Holla! Long time no reports here. Apologies! We have been crazy busy brewing and … sharing!

Yes, our School of Coffee is up and running. Phat Uncle Hendri Kurniawan has been sharing his knowledge, and learning how to do PowerPoint. Appreciation, Brewing, Cupping, and Definitive Espresso classes are on the roll. We have received many inquiries regarding our programs and schedule. As of this moment, we are still focusing on sharing about coffee during weekdays. So, the classes are actually for those who are truly eager to be professional baristas, or who want to start and run a coffee shop.

It’s not that we don’t want to run weekend classes. We will. That’s our promise! We just need to look for a new space so that during weekends we could have classes and pop-up the coffee bar at the same time!

For details of ABCD School of Coffee, please see our previous post here. And, for schedule and Registration Form, please email abcd.courses@gmail.com

For the last two weeks, we have been blessed with crazy good beans from the most excellent roasters in Bangkok and Manila.

From Bangkok, our dear friends in Roots sent us their research coffee. These are precious beans fron Ethiopia, El Salvador, Brazil and many more roasted in different profile by Master Roaster Korn “Elmo” Sanguankeaw and Picolo Folk Vento. Roots is home for Thai Barista Champion 2014 Varatt Vichit-Vadakan. From Manila, EDSA Beverage Design Group sent us their hot Summer 2014 Blend, Dark Matter Theory, and Kenya Karimikui beans. Biggest, biggest thanks to these lovely friends of ours!

The response were crazy! Pasar Santa has been crowded with caffeine junkies who did not mind sipping hot cups in a setting that has no air conditioner, no wifi, even not enough seats! Our bar could not stop brewing, and our nerve system nearly broke down. Coffee ran out very fast, and our hearts really broke when we had to let down people who came but no coffee left to brew. Not even a single bean.

 

Yet, we are happy, we are ecstatic to welcome more, and more caffeine junkies! We truly appreciate all the support. We are challenged to brew even better, and better.

In the meantime, neighbours have been popping up as well. After the cool SubStore and Laidback Blues Record Store, Dai Vintage is already open, and Lomonesia celebrated their 10th Anniversary in their new store around the famous big stairs of Pasar Santa upper level. Snoke Indonesia store (providing German e-cigarettes), Miechino (yes, noodles!), and Ketan Pasar (sticky rice!) are also shaping up. More, and more hip stores are filling up the spaces that were once empty. Pasar Santa will very soon be the. it. place!

So, the next time we pop up our coffee bar and invite you to #ngopidipasar … don’t miss the chance to experience the hottest spot of Jakarta – Pasar Santa, that is! – while celebrating good coffee together!

ABCD – School of Coffee

ABCD School of Coffee aims to be the humble Shaolin for coffee enthusiasts. Here, you can learn to simply brush up your coffee knowledge, to brew great coffee at home, or even to start a professional career as a barista.

Why choose ABCD School of Coffee? We give you Four Awesome Reasons:

1. WORLD-CLASS TRAINER

You will be trained by none other than Hendri Kurniawan, a.k.a. Phat Uncle, a.k.a. @kulikopi, who is a:

Certified World Barista Championship Judge for Technical
Certified World Latte Art Championship Judge for Visual and Sensory
Certified World Coffee in Good Spirits Judge for Technical and Taste
Licensed Q Grader

We challenge you to find any other man with this many accolades in the country. Hendri is also the consultant behind many successful coffee shops in Indonesia.

2. SMALL CLASS

Each class accommodates a maximum of three persons. We will still run the class even if only two students applied. Very personal, very intimate.

3. INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITY

Your learning won’t stop after you complete the classes. You will have the opportunity to be interns in our popular pop-cup coffee bar. You will have the experience of working with baristas with attitude (problems), and of serving coffee for connoiseurs, coffee-snobs, other baristas, and amateurs alike!

4. DOING GOOD

Your course fee will also contribute to the training of selected students from orphanages. Together, we will train them to become professional baristas, and we will give them a better future. These privileged graduates will be part of our family.

ABCD School of Coffee is located inside our kiosk in Pasar Santa A.L01-BKS No. 75-77, Jl. Cipaku 1, South Jakarta. The layout of our kiosk is standardized according to the Rules & Regulations of World Barista Championship.

PROGRAMS

RECOMMENDED: ABCD CLASS
This 12-hour class, spread over 3 days, is your comprehensive barista camp. You will learn just about everything a barista needs to know: from the history of coffee, variety of beans, grinding, introduction to roasting, manual brewing, to making espressos, cappuccinos, you-name-it. This is an intensive program designed not only for baristas, but also café owners and operators. The contents of this program include all materials of A, B, C and DE1 Class.
Rp5,000,000/person. Maximum 6 persons in one class. 3 days, 4 hours each. Includes: Certificate.

A for Appreciation Class
Why coffee? How did it start? What did dancing goats have to do with it? Why is it so different and delicious now? How can it taste like berries, nuts, chocolate, or flowers?! What is a green bean? What is roasting? Why should I grind my coffee right before I want to brew it? This class will answer those questions and turn you into a coffee snob in a flash. In short, you will know everything a cool barista should.
Rp500,000/person. Maximum 10 persons in one class. 120 mins.

B for Brewing Class
“I want to brew coffee at home and impress my lover every morning.” Now, you can! This is where you will learn the meticulous art of manual brewing. How to pick the right beans, how to grind it well, and how to know the basic tools and equipments. You will also learn to brew using different methods (pourover, immersion, dripper, and such!) You’ll go out of this class as a coffee geek. Don’t be surprised if you’ll end up building your own coffee lab at home.
Prerequisite: Appreciation Class. Rp1,000,000/person. Maximum 6 persons in one class. 120 mins.

C for Cupping Class
Cup tasters can specifically tell and address the notes of different coffee. This skill holds an important key in coffee trading. Cupping Class will train your overall sense of smell (olfactory) and taste, and help you define the flavours and notes of each cup of coffee in front of you. This introductory class to Q Grading will crown you as a coffee connoisseur.
Prerequisite: Appreciation Class. Rp1,250,000/person. Maximum 6 persons in one class. 120 mins.

DE1 for Definitive Espresso Class
Still reading? This means you’re more than in love with cappuccino or latte. You want to make one for yourself, but you wonder how. It all seems complicated and difficult. Don’t worry, it’s not that hard. In two days, you will be able to pull a good espresso shot, steam the milk, serve a cup of cappuccino, latte, piccolo, or magic! After this class, all you need is an apron to call yourself a barista. (Oh, and some cool tattoos on your hands.)
Prerequisite: Appreciation Class. Rp3,250,000/person. Maximum 6 persons in one class. 2×240 mins.

Learn from the expert in a small, semi-private class. Get the fun working experience. And take part in giving a better future to the underprivileged.

For Classes Schedule and Registrations, please email: abcd.courses@gmail.com

ABCD School of Coffee is located in Jl. RP Soeroso no. 22, Gondangdia, Central Jakarta.

#ngopidipasar Coffee No Kiasu – Sat & Sun, July 19-20

You kno’, Uncle Ve just came back from Orchard Road, lor. He go to many, many coffee shops, he go drink coffee too much, lah.

He go buy good good beans from friends he got there, lah. He bring coffee from Nylon, Strangers Reunion and Common Man to pasar this weekend. So, you come, lah, and try these coffee. They come all the way from Colombia, from Brazil (oh, poor Brazil in football, no?), from Rwanda, from Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia also. They make nice espresso and filtered coffee, lor!

You don’t come, you miss a lot, eh? Because I tell you why. Next weekend we close. Yes, next weekend July 26-27 you go all pulang kampong, lah. So, this weekend we ngopidipasar, OK? This weekend, Saturday and Sunday, July 19 and 20, you come to Ay-Bee-See-Dee in Pasar Santa, orite? We open to make you good good coffee from 3 pm until 9 pm or until we blur, lah.

We got expensive beans for you. Singapo’ Dollar so high lah these days. These coffee no kiasu, and so are you. So, don’t be cheapo with your tip, ok? We need to pay electric bills also, lah! Thank you, thank you. Uncle trust you generous.

#coffee4kids Charity Brew for the Kids of Pasar Santa – Our Gratitudes!

Last weekend our humble abode was flooded with good will and generosity. Our gratitudes to beloved friends who participate in Charity Brew: Coffee for Kids #coffee4kids – where we brew and serve coffee to collect money to give Lebaran / Hari Raya goodie bags to the children of the sellers and tenants in Pasar Santa.

The event was supported by Orkide & Coffee Adorers who supplied the magnificent beans. This neighbour of ours roasted Simalungun Silimakuta Tiga Raja Peaberry for espresso. As the label mentioned, these triple picked screen 17 peaberries coming from the district of Simalungun, sub-district Silimakuta, North Sumatera. The carefully selected beans are grown up on 1,400-1,600 meters above sea level (masl.), and washed wet hulled at Tiga Raja mill on 1,460 masl. Beans for filtered coffee came from the Middle Mountain of district of Dogiyal, up on 1,600 masl. in Papua. Papua Dogiyai Modio beans are also lovingly known as Mace coffee as an homage to women who grow and take care of the coffee.

Once again, premiere soy milk Bonsoy also supported us. Our patrons were really spoiled with some crazy good cups of soy cappuccino they might not get anywhere else in Jakarta. Honestly, we will be more than joyful if every coffee shop in Jakarta could provide Bonsoy as well. Bonsoy makes drastic difference!

Our friend Raynia a.k.a. @sepotongkue did not only bring cheerful mini fruit choux, but also managed to bring along Puput – the Top 8 Contestant of the First Junior MasterChef Indonesia – who baked Red Velvet Cupcakes for our Charity Brew. Meanwhile, the popular Honestly Muesli also brought Overnight Oats and Granola Bars to add the joy in the evening. Celebrity food blogger Natasha V.L. completed the “dining table” with her homebaked quiches.

Inside the kiosk, our B.A.P.s – Baristas with Attitude (Problems)™ – namely Cecil, Izman, plus Til also gained great help from fellow baristas and brewers. We had faithful friends Joni, Lydia, and Ken, and we have Team Tanamera in the house, too! Besides Mr. Ade Ivan – the Certified World Barista Championship Cup Washers and Purchasing Manager* – there were Aga, Wahyu, Wahid, and Audy, too! What a bunch of jumpy people!

We managed to collect a sum of Rp3,679,000 from that night alone. The following night – which was not planned as a Charity Brew event – Honestly Muesli contributed another Rp190,000. Four friends who could not make it to the event still transferred a total amount of Rp1,250,000 – many, many thanks! So, in total we collected Rp5,119,000.

We handed the amount to Fetty Pratiwi who will conduct an event for the kids of Pasar Santa this Saturday, July 19, 2014. Fetty will gather up to 40 kids in a storytelling and drawing activity, and will hand out the Charity Brew goodie bags. This event will take place around our kiosk. So, come along to #ngopidipasar this Saturday in our Coffee No Kiasu weekend, and witness how your own generosity has drawn smiles to the children of Pasar Santa.