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Adapting to different cafe settings

Posted by Alun Evans on October 9, 2009 at 3:47pm
We have just opened a new cafe inside an International School campus. This cafe is designed to provide quality coffee and cakes (and light foods) to parents, staff and senior students. After the first week I am coming to the conclusion that I kind of underestimated the volume of business as well as the dynamics and menu mix of what customers want.We knew that compared to our other cafes ticket average would be far lower, volume of drinks a lot higher. What I did not expect was just how much volume of coffee we would be doing. The differential between drinks and food is large. I have 3 barista working flat out on a 2 group machine over the busy periods (before school, morning break, lunch break and after school). to cope with coffee demand Even with this manpower we are struggling. Problem is compounded by the fact that we are only managing the cafe and had no imput in the design. It is a lesson for me on several fronts.Week one was what they call here a "soft" launch... so we have not yet got around to adding the full menu options of sandwiches, salads, soups and Panini! As we traditionally have done our own foods it now looks like this might be difficult. Prepping on site is problematic due to space restrictions. Bringing the food items mentioned in from an external food supplier is not a fit for our ethos of business management... and the GP on the prices expected are not going to fit together and work.Secondly I think we(I) should have gone for a 3 group machine, instead of a two group. We have a 3 group lever in another cafe doing less volume on the coffee side of the business. Would think, looking at the kg we are putting through, that this new cafe might be putting out the equivalent volume as a 500 room hotel does (here in Jakarta... not in Europe or NZ which would be far higher I am sure). I have in the past over estimated coffee production... first time I have under estimated it.Anyway, lessons learnt going into week 2 will require some big revisions as well as some smaller, tidier tweaks of existing systems.
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By Rail through Java

Posted by Alun Evans on April 10, 2009 at 8:00pm
Many years ago rail was the way I used to get around Java. The Dutch built a comprehensive railway system in the 1880's designed to make passenger and goods transport from the interior easy. At one stage lones ran both West-East and North-South criss-crossing the entire island.These days the railway runs from Jakarta through to Banyuwangi in the East of the island. Tracks service Bandung, Surabaya, Semarang, Yogyakarta, Blitar, Malang and Probolinggo. 10 years ago I used to make it a habit of taking the train where and when possible. Back then air transport was both unreliable and very expensive. The train (and boat network linking the islands) was a busy and viable alternative.There are a variety of choices when it comes to trains- economy class, buisness class and executive. Economy (Ekonomi) class typically have bench type seats and no air conditioning. Not particular comfortable in Java hot, sticky days. Business (Bisnis) have air conditinaing and more comfortable seats, although they are often crowded. Executive (Eksekutif) trains are the luxury alternative. Fairly comfortable airline seats, airconditioned and complete with meals. Prices are around $15 for trips from Jakarta to Central Java, $25 all the way to Banyuwangi or Bali.Revisiting the past Arlini, Elijah and I did a trip through to Arlini's home town of Yogyakarta. We left Jakarta at 8.45 and arrived in Yogyakarta (about 650km from Jakarta) at 5pm. The trip took us along the North Coast, then up over the divide and down onto the Southern Plain.The trip was as memorable as the ones I took a decade earlier. The greeness of the rice field, the blues of the Mountain the mistiness of the pass going over into the South of the island. Fantastic and well worthwhile for visitors to Indonesia. The little things- the vendors at the various stations, the friendliness of the staff and the general "rocking" experience missing in many modern trains are all there.The coffee? Well to be honest it was tradditional Indonesian coffee- Kopi tubruk. Finely ground robusta with heapings of sugar. It was though, good to the last drop!
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Has Kris Mon II finally arrived in Indonesia...??

Posted by Alun Evans on December 20, 2008 at 2:17pm
Firstly I should explain that "Kris Mon" is not an aged Reggae Star from Jamaica, but rather is the Indonesian Idyom for "krisis Monetary" (or I guess 'recession' in English). I was here through Kris Mon I. That was the Asian economic crisis that crippled Southeast Asia from 1997 through until around 2001. It was bad. Many people lost their lives here in Indonesia, and there was a change in government with President Soeharto standing down after 32 years at the helm of this huge country.This time around things could be potentially worse. In 1997 the crisis gripped South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines. Those 4 countries took ov average 5 years to recover back to 1997 levels. The rest of Asia bounced back quicker, thanks mainly to the strength of the economies in Europe and USA. We all know how things are in USA, but until very recently signs of crisis have not been evident in Indonesia.Signs things were changing emerged in October, when the rupiah dropped against the US$ some 30% almost overnight. A few months earlier foreign goods started to have problems entering Indonesia. Ostensibly this was due to changes in import regulations, in reality it mirrored what happened in 1997 with protection of local manufacturers taking precedent over imports.In recent days a few more visable signs have emerged to the eyes of the veteran observer. I went for dinner at the Novotel Bogor, not far from our home. We have been eating here for years and normally Saturday night is BBQ buffet night with a rich selection of beef, Prawns, Shrimp, Red Snapper, Squid and a selection of other goodies. Anyway dinner this time consisted of a selection of choices that numbered on 1 hand. No BBQ. It sounds a small thing, but having lived through 1 economic crisis, I can see the signs of another on the horizon. Novotel is part of one of the worlds largest Hotel Groups, Accor Group. They are based in France and having read a bit about their outlook on the web after the meagre dinner, I guess this is a result of severe belt tightening.Other signs more directly affect our business here. Big corportates such as Citigroup and BHP Billiton have decimated their expatriate numbers almost overnight. There is yet again an exodus of expatriates out of the country.Of course to date the average Indonesian has not noticed a crisis is developing like a Tsunami offshore. Malls are breakneck busy with shoppers, consumer spending is roaring along unchecked. Like what happened in 97 when the crisis hits here I am afraid things could get ugly. It will for sure slow down retail here.
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Night Music; the sounds of coffee and West Java.

Posted by Alun Evans on September 20, 2008 at 4:44pm

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Jakarta is a city of noise, a cacophony of noise. From the moment you arrive in the city, whether it is by airplane, train or bus, the new arrival steps into a warm, humid bath of sound. The noise is mostly man made, motorbikes, trucks, cars, horns, sirens, bells. It is a place not for those who like peace and quiet.Rural Indonesia is quite the opposite- a mixture of man made and nature’s sounds gently rolled into a smooth, round packet.West Java is normally not known for its coffee cultivation. Back in the early Dutch Colonial days, most of the original coffee was planted in a wedge shaped curve that stretched from Batavia up into the hill country around Bogor and Sukabumi. The coffee was grown here mixed with Pepper and Clove trees. The more valuable spices, Nutmeg, cinnamon and nuts such as cashew were traded from the islands further to the east through the Port of Batavia (Jakarta), then back to Europe on company ships.Coffee initially grew very well on the flat land around Batavia. Today the areas where the coffee was planted are densely populated inner city suburbs- there is no sign of the small private plantations that once thrived there. Likewise the rolling hill country that rises from the city towards Bogor has little sign of the past agricultural endeavours. As recently as world war 2, Dutch plantations stretched along the banks of the Cileungsi River, and up into the hills behind modern day Bukit Sentul and Cibinong. The Cileungsi River was a pleasant waterway used to transport Coffee, fruit, Cloves, Pepper and rubber grown in orderly plots down into Jakarta for local consumption and export.Today the toll road runs through to Bogor, 45 minutes south of the Capital City. Along the way the most obviously greenery is the golf courses of Emeralda, Riverside and Bogor Raya. The remnants of the plantations surprisingly can still be found. Driving through Cibinong towards Jonggol the hills are still farmed; rubber trees and cloves planted decades ago healthy and bearing latex and fruit. However it is much more difficult to identify where the original coffee plantations were.As in many growing countries, the truth is the coffee is still there, if you know where to look for it. Over the years I have either stumbled upon remnants of the original coffee plantations, or been invited to view coffee that has been unearthed growing wild- tall and straggly, amongst new growth of secondary rainforest.Sukabumi is a city southwest of Bogor. The geographic area that covers Sukabumi down to the Indian ocean port town of Pelabhuan Ratu (Queens Harbour) was at one time settled heavily by Dutch settlers. The clubs at Pelabhuan Ratu are mentioned in great detail by writers as late as the 1920’s and 1930’s as being busy havens for planters and their families when coming to town on market days. Again it is difficult to believe today, but a detour up onto the slopes of Gunung Salak or the hills surrounding the harbour confirms the continuing existence of the prime plantation crops, including coffee.In the late 1890’s and early 1900’s, rust played havoc with the Arabica coffee plantings throughout the Dutch East Indies. Much of the coffee was wiped out and replanted in first Liberica, then Robusta. Robusta remains the main type of coffee grown today, despite efforts to try and focus growers on the more difficult to cultivate, but higher returning Arabica.Around West Java Robusta is common, Arabica less so. Arabica stands are often remnants of the original plantings- by DNA testing can be pretty accurately traced back to either Malabar or Ceylon Arabica root stock. These were the types of coffee that the Dutch brought into Batavia and planted early on. Modern Arabica plantings also exist, becoming more common around Bandung and even as far North as the Bandung rise of Puncak Pass.At this time of year the coffee growing areas are an extremely pleasant place to spend a night or two. It is the monsoon season, and in mountainous West Java that means heavy, turbulent afternoon thunderstorms. The original stands of coffee are often mixed in with newer plants of robusta and the staples of Papaya, Banana and Pandan. Vanilla is also often grown at the higher altitudes. Around 3 in the afternoon, the wind drops and the air thickens like the atmosphere in a Botanical garden Glasshouse. The chatter of birds, crickets and even the bleating of goats lessens, in expectation of what’s to come. When the rain arrives it is preceded by distant thunderclaps, and the sizzle of lightening stretching across the hazy blue sky, occasionally reaching down to a ridge or reaching tree-top. The first drops are heavy and bloated, literally splattering on the soil and Banana leaves. The coffee trees, growing beneath the taller canopy, are initially well sheltered fro the rain, but soon everything- including chickens, children and coffee are wet through.The wind slowly picks up, pushing the rain from a heavy vertical fall, to a cutting horizontal path. Clay tracks turn to mud and any villager unfortunate enough to have been caught out in the Sawah/Padi or on a motorbike, is soaked to the skin. The coffee trees stir in the wind, seemingly enjoying the moisture, the deluge.The end of the storms often coincides with dusk, the period of the day when activity ebbs toward evening, and night music. The remnants of the rainfall drip melodically from the tall trees, through the coffee trees below onto the ground. Chickens root for grubs that have been drawn to the surface. Children emerge from beneath red terracotta tile roofs to play in the puddles.The music is taken up to a new level, like an orchestra tuning their instruments, when the local mosques begin calling the villagers to Sholat Magrib. Every village has at least 1 mosque, so as the evening falls the voices of the many imam blend and rise together, in balance. Magically the sky begins to turn a fiery orange, flecked with gold and red amongst the remaining wisps of thunder cloud. Only Tropical evenings embody the colours, sounds and smells such as these. The slight fragrance of sweet jasmine from coffee blooms, tinged with the smoky sweetness of charcoal grilled chicken sate. The murmur of an evening breeze that touches the higher slopes of the valleys above the villages and the rising chatter of the evening masters of gentle, natural noise- the Cicadas, crickets, cicak and geckos.It is hard to believe that many of these villages are a mere hour or so from the more braise and metallic noise that is Jakarta or Bandung. An evening amongst the coffee growers of West Java is a trip back in time to a much simpler and perhaps wholesome era.© Alun H.G Evans, 2007. All rights reserved. May be republished on permission and/or if author is given full creative recognition in writing.
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