The delightful scent of Indonesian coffee and the enchanting sound of gamelan greeted all the guesses of Indonesian Coffee Day (06/10). This special occasion was conducted together by Indonesian Consulate General and Indonesian Trade Promotion Center in Hamburg at Die Rösterei Café, Hamburg, in the spirit of 64th anniversary of Indonesian Independence and 4th German’s Coffee Day (Tags des Kaffees).
To create an Indonesian atmosphere, 1st floor of Die Rösterei Café were decorated with beautiful Indonesian umbrellas and ornaments. No less than 80 guesses came to the event, including the Dean Consul General of Croatia, Zarko Plevnik; as well as Hamburg Consular Corps members; Protocol Office of Hamburg Senate, Wiebke Haubold; Gero Winkler of International Department of Hamburg Chamber of Commerce; Chief Executive of German Coffee Association Holger Preibisch, representatives of 9 major German Coffee Importers/Corporation based in Hamburg and representatives from DIG (German Indonesian Association) Hamburg.
Indonesian Consul General in Hamburg, Teuku Darmawan, stated that the purpose of Indonesian Coffee Day was to promote Indonesian coffee in Germany. This was based on the facts that German coffee fans, particularly in Hamburg, where many major coffee importers are located, take a great pleasure in savoring Indonesian coffee.
Mr. Darmawan also updated the audience with recent news on the search and rescue efforts following the West Sumatra’s earthquake. He expressed his sincere gratitude and conveyed how he was deeply touched by the gesture of to the people and Government of Germany who already pledged USD 3 million of immediate assistance to the victims of the earthquake.
On another note, the Indonesian Consul General also stated that bilateral relationship between Indonesia and Germany is currently enhancing with close cooperation in many areas, including economy, investment, environment and climate change. The roles of Indonesia in many facets of international cooperation area are heading towards the peak since its inclusion in the G-20 major economies.
Discovering Indonesian Coffee Flavour
The speaker of the day was Mr. Dermawan Nur, a coffee exporter from Jakarta. On his short presentation about Indonesian coffee industry, he elaborated business opportunities, in particular, in the sector of Indonesian organic coffees. To comply with European exporting standard, Indonesian organic coffee producers need to acquire certification. Therefore, many small and medium Indonesian coffee producers are currently in need of new European business partners, as a step to comply with the said standard.
As highlight of the event, all guesses are provided with the opportunity to taste different types of Indonesian coffees. Gayo Coffee from Aceh, Papua Coffee, Flores Coffee, Toraja Coffee from Sulawesi and Luwak Coffee from Sumatra made the stars of the night. It is a public knowledge that Indonesian coffee is amongst the most expensive coffee in German retail market. Some of the guesses acknowledged that Luwak coffee tastes unique and delightful compared to other types of coffee.
Indonesian coffee in Germany in numbers
In terms of trade, Germany is the biggest Indonesian coffee market destination in Europe. Last year statistic figures show that Germany imported 146 million Euros worth of Indonesian coffee or 1 million tons of Indonesian coffee. Up to date, Indonesia ranked number 5 of biggest coffee exporters to Germany. It is expected that coffee export from Indonesia to Germany will penetrate a higher bar of export value in the near future. (Source: Indonesian General Consulate in Hamburg)
