Kopi Tubruk

The most common method the Indonesian people prepare their coffee is called kopi Tubruk
The word Tubruk means crash or comes in contact with such force. this no bullshit attitude of making coffee is the simplest method there is just pour hot water into already measured coffee let it steep for a minute and  serve
today i visited one of hidden coffee shop in my city called cafe legi pahit, the cafe name is just the epitome of how coffee should be, sweet and bitter. the cafe was literally open in someones home , there is no professional cafe lay out other than rows of wooden chair made out of recycle crate woods and the regular living room furnishing, friends gathers over a cup of coffee and exchanging story joking and laughing over the veranda, definitely very intimate and homey. the prep kitchen consist of small bar a gas stove, hot water dispenser and a fridge next to the credit card machine and cashier desk, very intimate and simple.
i decided to order straight up robusta kopi tubruk  and indonesian spiced coffee. straight up out of their kitchen/bar/counter,  

 Bayu The barista, pouring boiling water straight into the cup containing three teaspoon of 100% roasted and coarsly grind robusta coffee, the hot water immidietly brew the coffee within contact without overly cooking it

After a few minutes the mixture of bubbles and coffee starts to rise creating a dome of flavor overflowing on top of the cup, whilst the hot water continued to brew the coffee to perfection. Gradually three layer of coffee start to appear within the glass cup. the bottom layer is the more fine grind with the consistency of soft mud, then the middle is part is the coffee liquid and lastly the more coarsely bits of coffee rise up and floated on top.

about 5 minutes or so latter the coffee begun to settles and the dome created by the bubble rising during the brewing process starts to collapsed a bit, there is one  more ritual that only the true coffee drinker understand, even i didn't understand them until i saw my brother pick up the cup and lightly drop it on top of the table and essentially tap the bottom of the cup to settles the mounting bubbles further more.

instead of conventional coffee mix such as creamer, milk, hazelnut or almond flavoring the barista gave me three choices of sugars ;palm sugar, regular sugar cane and rock sugar to sweeten my coffee, each one of the sugar gives the coffee underline flavor, without overpowering it, leaves the coffee flavor to be the highlight of the beverage.

the palm sugar gives hint of nutty flavor just enough, uncharge the coffee flavor  and the rock sugar gives more subtle sweetness after taste and believes to have a medicinal benefits, the cain sugar, however just like the blank canvas for my coffee, only add some sweetness and let me enjoy the full flavor of the coffee uninterrupted.

This methods of serving coffee will brings a unique experience of drinking coffee, since there is no pressing or straining in the process you can't help but to drink the residue of coffee bean floating about your cup.you can't help sip along quite bit amount of coarsely ground bean while you drink the coffee, you may chew than eat them or like many Indonesian just spit it out.

my husband hate this last episode of drinking kopi tubruk, he dislike the feeling of bits and pieces of the bean in his mouth, he always thought that they were on his way, i can understand him, his been spoil by kitchenaid coffee maker. But for us this is the art of drinking coffee, the bits and pieces of the beans floating around the cup then some in your mouth is just part of the experience.