The Hip Coffee Joint

Batik, books, banana coffee, board games and air bong spesial: it's all in Koffiedoeloe, an unpretentious, olde-world cafe with a pleasingly scuffed-elbow ambiance and a zingy coffee menu which includes fresh delights such as lemon coffee (Kopi ala Mexico) and hot hugs from ginger and coconut coffee (Kopi Wangi Djahe-Sari Kelapa).

“I wanted to create a new ambiance,” explains owner Agus Supriyadi. “A fusion of the traditional with the contemporary.” We're standing at a little coffee bar in the den right at the back of the four-room coffee house. On one side are green French windows letting in a little dusk, on the other, a bijou book nook with two deep chairs and a well-aimed spotlight beaming down from the ceiling. “Our library,” says Agus, pointing to a bookshelf of paperbacks: Neil Gaiman, J.K. Rowling, Tolkien, and C.S. Lewis; all for patrons to borrow on site.

The central room of the coffee house is a rustic living room. There are old wooden travel trunks which serve as tables, a manual sewing machine mounted to a table, potted cactus plants and two sleek guys flashing smiles and manhandling a mannequin. The room is abuzz. “We're preparing for the grand launch of Batik by Lonkka,” contemporary batik designer Rudi Michael Winata explains. He is tall and slim; cute in a blue woollen beanie. The gallery will be permanently housed in a little room adjacent to the Koffiedoeloe living room.

Do coffee and batik seem strange bedfellows? In Koffiedoeloe they actually blend rather seamlessly: strips of batik furnish the coffee tables, the waiting staff wear batik sashes around their waists and the walls and colours of the coffeehouse are the same earthy reds and sepias of natural dyes. Later, I buy a piece of batik for Rp.65,000 and am told that the motif is called ‘Coffee Seed Batik'.

Though the tones of Koffiedoeloe are muted, the colours of Lonkka pop and fizz on their hangers, and the cuts are whittled to skim your skin. “We fuse the traditional with the contemporary by giving our batik shirts streamline sleek silhouettes and sexy fits,” Michael continues. The cuts are also playful - a big departure from traditional formal formless batik. Lonkka shirts may have ruffles, double rows of buttons, details in the hems, cuffs, collars and pockets; even hoods. “With the hooded batik shirts we are hoping to woo teenagers back to batik by offering them something edgy, flattering, unusual and fun.”

In the future, Lonkka aims to print its own batik, but for now it sources fabrics from cottage industries across Indonesia. “Local stamped batik gives better brighter colours than factory produced materials,” explains Iqbal Makapagal, Lonkka's creative consultant. “The batik is more expensive but the quality is higher and the designs are less common.” Being unique is important to Lonkka, who only make two pieces for each motif. Lonkka also make women's designs under the directorship of Maria Budiasih and have a boutique in Seminyak, Bali.

Back in the lulling cocoon of Koffiedoeloe, I am on my third designer coffee (looks like a murky snow globe, tastes like Christmas) and am eyeing the notice board. Koffiedoeloe is quite the community hub. There are early-bird Sunday mornings for thirsty dog walkers, cyclists and joggers (Koffiedoeloe is pet friendly); there are monthly Photography Club meets for shutterbugs to practise portraiture; Koffiedoeloe also lends its premises to the Helping Hands Yayasan (which assists impoverished children with schooling), to the local Cosmo Choir for rehearsals and to a community of antique sellers for its monthly bazaars. On warm Saturday nights, Koffiedoeloe also hosts live music at an easy-listening volume.

Koffiedoeloe opened nine months ago and is another of the many hidden treasures of Benhil in Central Jakarta. It has a small garden, a raised veranda with seating, free WiFi, and a menu which will test your Bahasa pronunciation. The customers are kind to strangers and the local fare is simple and tasty.

To find Koffiedoeloe (who you can call on 021 979 58 735), take a rattling old Rp.2,500 bemo ride down Benhil all the way to Jl Pejompongan Raya No. 1, Benhil. For more on Lonkka browse to: www.lonkka.wordpress.com . You can also join in the festivities at the Lonkka Batik launch on July 10th at 11am.