Photo: St Ali’s Instagram
Despite Indonesia being famous for its coffee beans, not so long ago, it was extremely difficult to find a truly great cup of kopi in Jakarta. Fortunately that has changed a lot in recent years, with excellent cafes such as Giyanti, Tanamera and Common Grounds leading the way. A big reason for their success is that they take the art of brewing as seriously as they do in the coffee capital of Australia, Melbourne (which was once voted the city with the best coffee in the world).
Now we’ve gotten word that one of Melbourne’s finest cafes, known for serving some of the very best coffee in the Land Down Under, is coming to the Big Durian!
Opened in 2005, St. Ali has a reputation for taking coffee chemistry to a whole other level. Their head barista, Matt Perger, placed first in the World Coffee & Good Spirits Championship in 2014 and second in the 2013 World Barista Championship. Oh, and its siphon brewing method was once included on a Buzzfeed listicle of “The Most Pretentious Things Ever”, a fact St. Ali proudly touts on its website.
St. Ali owner Salvator Malasta told coffee new blog Sprudge that his company was opening a cafe in Kuningan’s Setiabudi One (which just happens to sit opposite the Australian embassy) later this year. They’ll be opening the cafe in partnership with Common Grounds (where St. Ali did a pop-up event last year).
The 120 seat cafe will serve espresso from top-of-the-line La Marzocco espresso machines, and offer filter coffee via “a massive one hundred meter brew bar.” Sprudge also said the cafe would use “biodynamic non-homogenized milk” and fresh produce shipped in from Melbourne. Many of St Ali’s key staff will be coming to Jakarta to either manage the new venture or train the newbies, including Perger who will be making sure the baristas are up to snuff.
To get their beans just right, Malasta said St. Ali is also opening its own roastery in Tomang, West Jakarta. They also have plans to expand to Bali in 2016.
We thank the coffee gods for this amazing and unexpected gift. And to the rest of Jakarta’s coffee cafes, we’ll just say – it’s time to step up your games even more.
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