Kopi Lanang Tator
2009.07.31 00:05
We love coffee (kopi in Indonesian), and fortunately, Indonesia has among the best coffee beans in the world.
There are several varieties of coffee in Indonesia, including kopi Aceh, Mandailing, Java, Bali, Toraja (these are all named after the regions where the coffee plants are grown), and the infamous kopi luwak (regarded as the best-tasting coffee, as it’s brewed from beans collected from the droppings of a luwak or civet (!), which only chooses the ripest coffee fruits and helps to slightly ferment the beans beforehand through its digestion).
The pic shown here is that of a (heavenly) cup of kopi Toraja, hailing from the Toraja region in Indonesia’s South Sulawesi province. Here‘s a Google Map link for those curious of where that is.
The word ‘Tator‘ on the cup is short for ‘Tana Toraja‘ (which means ‘Toraja Land’), and is actually the name of the cafe which specializes in brewing this kind of kopi Toraja. The word Toraja itself also refers to the people of that land, whose unique culture has become a well-known tourist attraction.
Back to the coffee, that particular brew in the cup that everyone should try (no promotion intended :p) is called the Kopi Lanang, and is unique itself in the sense of how it’s brewed. The word ‘lanang‘, meanwhile, is actually a Javanese word meaning ‘man’, hinting somewhat that only the manly drink this coffee! :p
So let’s look how this ‘manly’ Kopi Lanang Tator is brewed… (Pics are courtesy of kucingputi)
First of all, they use a siphon. What’s that? Read about it here.
Put your freshly ground Toraja coffee in the upper bulb, water in the lower one, a heater beneath that lower bulb, and wait until the water boils…
…and pushes upwards in a mixture of steam, brewing the ground coffee perfectly!
Stir accordingly as shown in the pic to make the brew even more perfect (and thus heavenly :p)…
After you’re satisfied sniffing that perfectly nice aroma, remove the heater from the lower bulb, and the resulting vacuum there will suck down your brew. There’s of course a filter between the upper and lower bulb to keep the silt apart.
Remove the upper bulb… and voila! Your brew’s ready to pour a cuppa or two.
The siphon at Tator cafe makes two servings… and it’s then up to you whether you like your coffee black… or with some sugar (I prefer some brown sugar)… and you can also ask for some hot milk in a cute little jar (yes, please, just a bit… and I’ll drink the rest of that milk, thank you :p). They also used to give some complimentary bolu kukus (I’m not sure what’s the English term for this, but it’s kinda like a small steamed cake)… but I guess it’s just cookies now… :p
Anyway, the following are some more pics of the brewed result… down to the cuppa.
All we can say that it’s some damn fine coffee… it’s what coffee should taste like… fit for true coffee lovers. The others? Well, they can have their tasteless fix at that global coffee chain with that famous green logo :p
(And this is just the first of our coffee recommendation series. Stay tuned for kopi Aceh, Bali, and the others. Indonesia? Ya kopi! :p)
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5 comments on “Kopi Lanang Tator”
great post! looking forward for the next coffee series.
jadi gak nih ngupi2 disaat hujan gerimis seperti yang kau bilang di blog aku ituh?
Ntar deh yak bareng kucingputi, soal serial kopi berikutnya dan ngupi2-nya… :p
Matur nuwun lho, wis moco lan ngomentari, btw… Tulisanmu juga apik2 kok, I like… :p
sajake enak tenan kopine … nangin kabare (saka liputan tv) sing paling uenak ki wiji kopi sing dijumuk saka telek luwak; kandane kopi luwak ra entuk melu lomba kopi, margane paling nyamleng, mula bakal menang terus yen dilomba’ke :)
ah tenane ta? iklas ta mujinya? wakakakaka
kok durung ana liputan kuliner terbaru to, mas luwak?
wis luwe ki, pengen mbadog panganan …
ya wis, tak nyosrop kopi dhisik :))
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