The land of coffee lovers

What the place where nobody drinks alcohol do at nights? How people in Aceh spend their evenings with friends? The answer is coffee.

If you ask Acehnese people what are they proud of the most common answer would be coffee. In highlands of Aceh there is a region called Gayo where exclusive Acehnese coffee comes from. Bushes of Arabica and Robusta breath fresh air there and gives good quality beans.

If you come to Banda Aceh and you will feel the need to experience the local life you must go in the evening to some coffee shop to see how it is crowded by local people. Smell of roasted coffee, loud laughs and coffee glass in your hand sometimes till 2 am.

The most popular place to find a coffee shop for a night out is in Ulee Kareng. Near the Hotel Hermes you can find dozens of coffee shops that invites you to try local coffee. Be careful some nights it even might be hard to get a free table.

There are some Indonesian words you should now in order to ask for the coffee you really want. In some menius you will find a word 'sanger' or 'kopi susu'. In Aceh 'sanger' is black coffee with condensed milk. Yes, it is usually very sweet and the amount of condensed milk might be way out of your expectations. Therefore, if you like less sweet coffee just ask to put just a little bit of 'susu'. Also make sure that the coffee they use are definitely from Aceh. As mentioned before, all Acehnese coffee comes from Gayo region. So you will check on meniu if it is written that Gayo coffee is offered.

Ulee Kareng is also known for a coffee roasting. So the coffee that was collected and brought from Gayo region might be roasted in famous coffee shops in Ulee Kareng. If you buy some coffee in some souvenir shops you might see the name of 'Ulee Kareng' on the packaging.

Also take a look at Luwak coffee. It is considered one of the most expensive coffees in the world and is made from facet of animal called civet. Running in the wild they eat coffee beans but their body cannot digest it so they poop them and local people are collecting them and making into coffee. But be aware that quality of Luwak coffee differs a lot, both the price. There are many civet farms that produce this type of coffee more easily. Therefore, it is always to ask if the coffee is from a farm or wild. On the other hand, you will always see the difference in the price.

The most popular and legendary coffee shop in Banda Aceh is called 'Solong Coffee'. The first coffee shop of Solong was established in 1974. After the tsunami in 2004 local people would gather in this coffee shop to talk about the situation and future works. Many people from non-governmental organisations also had their meetings there. It is counted that each day around 1500 cups of coffee are served here every day.

Acehnese people start their day quite early. So 'Solong Coffee' opens its doors 7am every morning. The busiest time for the business is after praying hours when all people comes here to meet their relatives, friends and talk about every day life and news. One more exotic coffee drink you can try here is coffee with a raw egg. In Indonesian language 'egg' is called 'telur'. So look for a name 'coffee telur'.

In 2018 spring there were already 4 coffee shops of 'Solong Coffee' chain in Banda Aceh.