Gombengsari: Tour de Coffee Culture

Who doesn’t love a cup of coffee? Well how about two cups of coffee? Three cups? We all seem to agree that Coffee is one of the most popular drinks in the world. From the crowded streets of Paris to the most isolated places in Brazil we can see people enjoying their cup of coffee.

“Finland tops the world’s 20 biggest coffee drinkers with 12kg per capita per year”

According to the statistics from the International Coffee Organization (ICO), Finland tops the world’s 20 biggest coffee drinkers with 12kg per capita per year, tagging along are Norway, 9.9kg per capita per year and Iceland, 9kg per capita per year. Indonesia? We can’t seem to find Indonesia at the 4,5,6 list, nor the 20. But despite that we didn’t achieve anything in the world’s 20 biggest coffee drinkers, we are in fact one of the world’s 10 biggest coffee exporters!

Exporting almost 1.5bn pounds per year to the whole wide world makes us the top 4^th biggest coffee exporters. We are only behind Brazil, Vietnam and Colombia.

Thus, as the result of that, Indonesia have a lot of coffee plantations spread in many islands. We currently have 17,508 islands, so how many are the coffee plantations? I’ll let you do the math for us!

We have a long history of coffee culture in Indonesia, starting when the Dutch colonialization begins. But until now that habit continues to exist. Who doesn’t know Luwak Coffee? It is one of the most expensive coffee in the world and it comes from Indonesia.

But enough of the Luwak Coffee. We’re here to inform you that there’s a small village in Banyuwangi, East Java, Indonesia that is famous for their coffee plantations and coffee tour. It’s a small village called Gombengsari Village.

The villagers of Gombengsari owns their private coffee plantations and creates an ecosystem of small coffee home industries. Small, but they shipped their coffee beans worldwide. They grow Arabica, Robusta, and their local coffee called Konoga.

Upon arriving Gombengsari Village, you’ll be welcomed by the warmest smile that you’ll ever see over there. Entering the village, you’ll see lots and lots of coffee plantation on your left and right side, along with many coconut trees. Besides famous for their coffee, Gombengsari is also famous for their coconuts. Villagers will greet you and often will make you try their homemade coffee for free. Different houses usually have their own coffee plantations, so if you plan to visit each house along the way, prepare to drink a lot of coffee.

What makes this place unique is the coffee tour that you’ll get from the locals. They’ll teach you anything about coffee, starting from picking the beans, roasting it, creating it in a powder form until ready to package and delivery. Visitors can try all of this process while being served with Gombengsari traditional coffee.

Most of these houses keep the coffee processing traditional. You won’t see expensive coffee makers, or fancy equipment’s. You’ll only see old cooking stoves, and more old cooking stoves. But this is what makes Gombengsari coffee taste a lot different than the coffee that you’ll find at Starbucks.

And if you’re done with the whole coffee processing, Gombengsari village still has lots to offer! If you’re the adventurous type try visit the hidden waterfall located near the pine forest. Or wake up early to start the day enjoying the sunrise at Puncak Asmoro, one of the highest point in Gombengsari to enjoy the most beautiful sunrise that you’ll ever see at Banyuwangi, and if you look to your left, you’ll see Mount Ijen peacefully standing tall, covered in mist.

Welcome to the village of Gombengsari!