A Cup of Java in Java - Bandung’s Best Coffee Shops
If you ask anyone to think of the word Java, we can guarantee there will be three things that will immediately spring to mind:
Computer script
The large Indonesian island
Coffee
As we’re more literate in caffeine than coding, this article is about numbers 2 and 3. We’ve been travelling west to east through Java whilst drinking an awful lot of… Java!
The coffee scene across the island of Java is huge, from street side stalls selling cheap and delicious kopi susu (literally coffee and milk) to the high end, late night coffee bars that stay open until the early hours, offering everything from lattes to coffee mocktails. It seems that coffee is available at whatever time of day, and the capital city of West Java, Bandung is no exception.
What Is The History Of Java Coffee?
Coffee or rather coffee seedlings were first introduced to the island of Java by the Dutch in the 17th Century. After stealing a few plants from their Arabian traders, the Dutch brought the seeds to Indonesia, planting seeds in Java, Sumatra and Bali. The coffee seedlings flourished in the Indonesian soil, and the Dutch quickly began exporting the coffee to Europe. The imported coffee was a huge success, and became extremely popular throughout Europe, with it being referred to as ‘Java’ thanks to the name imprinted on the coffee imports.
Today, Indonesia is no longer the world's largest producer of coffee, but the island of Java is still synonymous with the good brown stuff.
Read on to find out which coffee shops we enjoyed a good ‘cup of java’ in the city of Bandung.
Where to drink the best coffee in Bandung?
Kurokoffee (Location)
Set way out in the northern suburbs, close to the Universitas Katolik Parahyangan, Kurokoffee is an absolute gem. Set in a beautifully converted house and garden, this coffee shop sprawls out across the open plan ground floor, first floor terrace and stylish back garden.
Stylish will be a word that applies for the whole of this coffee shop.
Loosely Japanese themed with many Studio Ghibli props and prints scattered throughout, this is an achingly cool space, popular with the local students and young professionals. The long tables are crowded with groups of friends, laptops, cameras and other hallmarks of the new nomadic professional.
The large garden is full of tables, trees with low hanging leaves and artfully placed stepping stones. There is also a stage area and we frequently encountered live jazz music in the afternoons.
The coffee here is fantastic. Never too sweet, or too bitter, it is the perfect caffeinated middle ground. Both the iced latte and the iced long black were amazing drinks.
Kurokoffee also serves really excellent food. From Indonesian favourites through to Japanese, Korean and Thai bowls. It is obviously more expensive than street food, but nothing too extravagant. The menu here will set you back between 50k IDR and 60k IDR with coffees running at 25k IDR to 35 k IDR.
Dr Ells Coffee Otista (Location)
Growing up with the nickname “Ells'' by friends and family, and seeing Dr Ells Coffee Otista named on Google Maps, Ellie has no choice but to pay this coffee shop a visit.
Dr Ells is located on Jalan Otto Iskandar Dinata in the centre of Bandung, and is only a short walk from Bandung Railway Station, Pasar Baru Shopping Mall and the popular street food market of Sudirman Street . Unlike its old-school fabric store neighbours on the street, this small coffee shop offers a cool and contemporary vibe, with outdoor seating and a large glass window/door stretching across the whole front of the store. Inside, the interior of Dr Ells is sleek and modern, with white tiled walls contrasting with dark and light wooden furniture.
Dr Ells offers all the standard coffee offerings from iced lattes to flat whites as well as Manja Coffee (chocolate), Genit (mocha) and Cinta (matcha).
Both times we visited, we opted for our usual order of two iced lattes and were not disappointed. The coffee was perfectly strong and not too sweet, with a rich and nutty flavour. The iced lattes were even better when paired with a slice of their chocolate brownie!
Jazz Coffee, Sudirman Market (Location)
Set within the Sudirman Market food court, this little coffee shop is perfect for a pre or post dinner pick me up whilst snacking your way through the food market. Jazz Coffee certainly lives up to its name with jazz playing through an old record player, LPs decorating the counters and shelving units, and the black and orange walls paired with the warm hanging lights to give a cosy atmosphere. Stepping into the coffee shop feels as though you’ve stepped into a Jazz lounge.
Jazz Coffee serves all your favourite coffees, both hot and cold as well as matcha, chocolate drinks and a selection of flavoured teas. If you’re dining in Sudirman Market, we can highly recommend grabbing a brew!
Tamoe Coffee and Tea (Location)
This coffee shop is located in central Bandung and offers the usual coffee affair from Americanos to Cappuccinos. The coffee shop is extremely stylish, with a modern aesthetic of white walls and brick interior contrasting with dark grey concrete and soft fairy lights. There is seating both indoors and outdoors.
We would recommend pairing a visit to Tamoe Coffee and Tea with a visit to the restaurant Bakmie Karet (location) next door which serves excellent noodles with pork and chicken topped with meatballs and fried wontons.
Coffee Toffee (Location)
This coffee chain has two locations within the city of Bandung. One to the north which we visited, and one closer to the centre.
Serving all the coffee favourites, we opted for two iced lattes. What we received however can only be described as giant sized iced coffee served in two large glass stein style tumblers. The coffee was delicious and due to the size kept us powered up for the rest of the afternoon's activities.
If you’re in Bandung, we’d recommend visiting the Coffee Toffee we visited as it's a great place for a “pick me up” after visiting the Babakan Siliwangi City Forest (location).
This small park has a circular route made up of raised walkways that wind their way through the forest. Covered by the canopy of the trees, this park is a perfect place to escape the intense tropical heat.
You could even visit Coffee Toffee beforehand and get a takeaway coffee and food to bring with you to the park.
Belikopi (Location)
This is another chain located in Bandung, but also one we continued to seek out whilst travelling through Java. Belikopi serves excellent coffee at extremely affordable prices, which is ideal if you’re on a backpacking budget like us. Cheap, delicious, caffeinated and in our case iced, Belikopi relieved us on multiple occasions.
We were paying 10000 IDR (£0.52 or $0.64) for one iced latte.
We’d recommend giving them a Google if you’re backpacking and a coffee lover. They also have regular coffee promotions such as buy one get one free, or buy multiple to get a discount. Just take a look at the posters advertised on the cafe walls. We stumbled upon Belikopi throughout our Javanese adventures and they’ve been our “go to” for low cost caffeine fixes.
Final Thoughts
Wherever you are staying in Bandung, you’ll never be far from a coffee shop. From the high end, to the street stall, whatever your budget, you’ll easily find the perfect caffeine fix within the city!
Let us know if you visit any of these coffee shops in the comments below.
Thanks for reading,
John & Ellie x
#adventuresofjellie
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