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THE Indonesian coffee booth is again a magnet at the international coffee exhibition or World of Coffee 2019 held in Berlin, Germany, from June 6 to 8, 2019.
According to Indonesian diplomat in charge of information and socio-cutural affairs at the Indonesian Embassy in Berlin, Hannan Hadi said on the first day of the event, the Indonesian booth which was one of those from 24 countries that participated in the exhibition was crowded by visitors.
“The Indonesian coffee was not only introduced by giving product samples but also offering visitors and coffee lovers to enjoy the aroma and coffee from the archipelago,” he said.
Meanwhile the Indonesian Deputy of Mission to Germany, Perry Pada, said he was optimistic that this exhibition would sharpen the competitive edge of the Indonesian coffee on the international market.
“From the comments and responses of the visitors to the Indonesian booth, we believe that the number of people who are interested in the Indonesian coffee will increase. I even observed that there were several transactions and negotiations that had been discussed with the visiting buyers,” Perry said.
He also mentioned that the high interest and demand for the Indonesian coffee offer both an opportunity and a challenge. The challenge is how to meet the demand and maintain its quality.
“Domestic demand is also high. We see more Indonesian baristas now. Both domestic consumption and demand for exports are equally important. For this reason, we need to keep encouraging coffee farmers and entrepreneurs,” said Perry.
In the exhibition, Indonesia introduced the advantages of Indonesian coffee, especially Arabica coffee. Coffee producing companies Rumah Kayu, and Crop and Roast brought two coffee producers, namely the Indonesian Coffee Farmers Association (APEKI) from Bandung, West Java, and Aurelia Da’Gabo Flores from East Nusa Tenggara..
However, the coffee introduced at the coffee exhibition was not only from Bandung and Flores, but also from Toraja (South Sulawsei) and East Java. Besides the original taste, there are also floral flavors, fruity, caramel, and blueberries.
Chairperson of APEKI’s West Bandung chapter, Kurnia Danumiharja who led the Indonesian participants was delighted by the big number of visitors to the Indonesian coffee booth. It turned out that our coffee has a unique character, not only in terms of the taste but also the aroma. The diverse characters of coffee are influenced by the characters of Indonesia’s soils that are rich and different, Kurnia said.
World of Coffee 2019 in Berlin brought together more than 300 exhibitors and was attended by around 10,000 visitors. Besides Indonesia, various coffee-producing countries such as Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Japan and China also participated in the exhibition.
In this event, visitors can chat with coffee experts about the taste of coffee and experience, expertise and motivation for processing and developing the coffee business. World of Coffee was previously held in various major cities in Europe, including Amsterdam, Budapest, Dublin, Rimini, and Maastricht.
In the past six years, the organization of World of Coffee has developed into the largest coffee exhibition in Europe. Initially attended by 3,000 visitors, followed by around 45 exhibitors, today the number has increased rapidly to 11,000 visitors, followed by more than 200 participants.
Various activities of World of Coffee are also enlivened with various interactive activities, such as world coffee championships, cupping coffee, seminars and business meetings.
[antaranews/photo special]
