Image 1: The coffee grinder that has faithfully served the customers for decades at Kapal Selam coffee in Bandung.

Every morning of her life, my late mother always brewed a cup of this distinctively fragrant coffee for my father, and the scent has been imprinted in my memory in such a way, even now. That was the moment when I first smelt the magic aroma of coffee and I’m sure many of you have similar upbringings or have been raised in similar states like I did. As time passes, I found out later that Kapal Selam (Red. Submarine) coffee is a brand of coffee that was brewed by my mother; a local brand that doesn’t have as many fans as Lion Bulan coffee in Bogor or Bis Kota coffee in Jakarta.

Image 1: I call it “The Beast.” – a commercial grinder made in China, an extremely fast and consistent-resulted grinder.

Funny thing is, I just found out that the location of Kapal Selam coffee is actually not far from my residence in Bandung, exactly at Jalan Pasar Barat 42, or you can easily find it behind Pasar Baru, at Jalan Otto Iskandardinata. It’s almost as old as Aroma coffee which has been operated since the 1930s, so has Kapal Selam coffee, which now has reached its second generation.

So why is it called Kapal Selam (Red. Submarine)? According to Chandra Julianto or Tjan Kwang Nyan, his parents named it by chance, when the second World War broke out and one of the popular warfare equipment used at that time was the submarine. As you enter the eight square wide shop which is is equipped with an ancient, soon-to-retired coffee grinder that works perfectly fine, you will see several variants of coffee from Pangalengan, Java, Lampung, Toraja as well as Luwak coffee, that are available at this store, both in arabica and robusta. Interestingly, although the shop is not as busy as it used to be in the 70’s and 80’s, Kapal Selam still has its regular customers, both individuals or café owners, that contribute to its presence to survive today.

Image 2: Chandra Julianto is sorting the Luwak coffee obtained from Pangalengan, West Java.

That afternoon Kapal Selam coffee was still busy serving their customers who came one at a time. Some of them chose coffee which was mixed with corn and had a tastier flavor with the advantage of a much cheaper price. But many also bought Arabica coffee in larger amounts, usually a kilogram, which was priced below one hundred thousand rupiah. For roasting matters alone, they do not do it in the store, but in a separate place at Jalan Wiria which is still in the direction along Jalan Iskandardinata Otto to Tegalega.

Image 3: They withstand because of their customers who have faithfully been consuming Kapal Selam coffee for years. Several cafés in Bandung also buy their coffee here.

I’m sure every city in Indonesia must have a special coffee shop which still holds up until today, and as coffee enthusiasts, you certainly must have similar experience with me. Sutisna, for example, whom I have known since the ’80s, back then when my mother sent me to the Anyar traditional market at Jalan Astanaanyar for grocery shopping.

Image 4: Sutisna, a coffee seller at Anyar traditional market, Bandung.

Sutisna, who has been selling coffee at Anyar traditional market for nearly half of his life started donning his special safari suit right when he saw me pulling my camera out. On and on he told me stories after stories about how people can simply get so addicted to coffee, based on his experiences with his customers. I can’t help  but agreeing right away, and an anonymous poem about coffee which was published in London, in 1674, seems appropriate to end this article:

that Grave and Wholesome Liquor,
that heals the Stomach, makes the Genius quicker,
Relieves the Memory, revives the Sad,
and cheers the Spirits, without making Mad.

So, what coffee is famous in the city where you grew up?

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Kopi Kapal Selam

Setiap pagi selama hidupnya Ibu saya (alm) secara rutin selalu menyeduhkan segelas kopi untuk ayah saya dengan aroma khas. Wangi kopi tersebut sudah terpatri sedemikian rupa  dalam ingatan saya, pun hingga sekarang. Itulah momen perkenalan pertama saya dengan aroma kopi dan saya yakin banyak di antara pembaca yang punya upbringing atau dibesarkan dalam suasana yang sedikit mirip dengan apa yang saya alami. Seiring dengan waktu saya kemudian mengetahui bahwa “Kapal Selam” adalah merek kopi yang dikonsumsi setiap hari, sebuah cap lokal walau penggemarnya tidak sefanatik kopi Lion Bulan di Bogor atau mungkin Kopi Bis Kota di Jakarta.

Lucunya saya baru saja tahu kalau lokasi kopi Kapal Selam ternyata tak jauh dari kediaman saya di kota Bandung tepatnya di Jalan Pasar Barat 42, atau untuk lebih mudahnya berada di belakang Pasar Baru, jl. Otto Iskandardinata. Hampir seusia dengan kopi Aroma yang mulai berjualan kopi sejak tahun 1930an, demikian juga Kapal Selam yang hingga sekarang telah mencapai generasi kedua.

Lalu mengapa namanya kopi Kapal Selam ? Menurut Chandra Julianto atau Tjan Kwang Nyan, orang tua mereka menamainya secara kebetulan saat meletus PD ke-2 dan salah satu perangkat perang yang populer waktu itu adalah kapal selam. Bila Anda memasuki tokonya yang ukup luas dengan lebar sekitar 8 meter dan dilengkapi dengan beberapa alat penggiling kopi yang sudah tampak tua tapi masih tetap berfungsi dengan baik. Beberapa varian kopi seperti dari Pangalengan, Jawa, Lampung, Toraja, dan luwak tersedia di toko ini, baik arabika maupun robusta. Menariknya, walau jumlah pengunjung tak seramai tahun 70 dan 80an, Kapal Selam tetap punya pelanggan tetap, baik perorangan maupun untuk cafe yang membuat keberadaannya terus bertahan hingga sekarang.

Sore itu toko kopi kapal Selam masih terus melayani para pelanggan mereka yang datang satu per satu. Beberapa di antaranya memilih kopi yang dicampur jagung dengan rasa yang lebih “gurih” dan tentu saja harga yang jauh lebih murah. Tapi banyak juga yang memesan kopi jenis arabika dengan harga per kilogram masih di bawah seratus ribu rupiah. Untuk urusan “menggoreng” kopi, mereka tidak melakukannya di toko, tapi di sebuah tempat terpisah di Jalan Wiria yang masih berada di sepanjang jalan Otto Iskandardinata arah ke Tegalega.

Saya yakin setiap kota di Indonesia pasti punya toko kopi khas yang masih tetap bertahan terus hingga sekarang dan Anda tentu punya pengalaman yang sama dengan saya. Contohnya saja Sutisna yang sudah saya kenal sejak tahun 80an kalau ditugaskan oleh ibu saja berbelanja ke Pasar Anyar yang berlokasi di jalan Astanaanyar.

Sutisna yang sudah hampir separuh hidupnya berjualan kopi di pasar segera mengenakan baju safari kebanggaannya saat saya mulai mengeluarkan kamera. Sambil tak habis ia bercerita yang intinya bagaimana orang sulit terlepas dari minuman kopi berdasarkan pengalamannya berinteraksi entah dengan berapa banyak langganannya. Saya tentu mengamini pendapatnya dan  sebuah puisi anonimus tentang kopi yang terbit di London tahun 1674 sepertinya cocok untuk menutup artikel ini :

that Grave and Wholesome Liquor,
that heals the Stomach, makes the Genius quicker,
Relieves the Memory, revives the Sad,
and cheers the Spirits, without making Mad.

Jadi kopi apa yang terkenal di kota tempat Anda dibesarkan  ?

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Image 5: Remains faithful selling coffee since the 70s in the same exact location; accompanied with a grinder that often times refuses to work because of its age.

Image 6: “The Old Companion” When operated, this decades-old coffee grinder makes a sound similar to a steam train.