Lampung Coffee – Bus Patas brand – from Cibubur Market

One day, my Mom said that there is coffee sold at the Cibubur Market, near our home. She was not sure about the kind of coffee sold there, but the coffee is still in beans and will be grinded when we buy it. And then she offered if I wanted to taste the coffee. Well, Mom, off course, I want to.

A few days later, my Mom said that the coffee is ready. The coffee is from Lampung - Bus Patas brand. It came in three packs.

Why three packs? My Mom said that the coffee has three qualities, which is why it came in three different packs. It has first, second, and third quality. My Mom added that the coffee was grinded right in front of my Mom. So, the freshness is guaranteed, and nothing was added to the beans.

The coffee cupping was done at my friend's house.

The fragrance of the three kinds of this Lampung Coffee are different. The first quality of Lampung Coffee - Bus Patas brand has strong fragrance. So nice at my nose. The second quality of Lampung Coffee - Bus Patas brand has less fragrance compare to the first one. It is predictable that the third quality of Lampung Coffee - Bus Patas brand has no fragrance at all.

All qualities of this Lampung Coffee - Bus Patas brand is categorized as medium roasting as the color of the beans are dark brown.

It is time to drink the coffee. The one who prepared for the coffee was my friend's servant who always remembers that I really like black coffee. The first cups were wrong as she added sugar. Well, we should not use sugar when we conduct coffee cupping. The coffee should be black, no sugar and has been filtered, so we can taste the whole coffee, not the sugar.

The second cups were right. Three cups of coffee that represented three qualities of the coffee.

The color of the three qualities of the coffee was black. It is clear that the roasting method does not affect the color of the coffee in the cup.

The taste and the aroma of the coffee is the same with the fragrance of the coffee. The first quality of Lampung Coffee - Bus Patas brand has strong aroma and tastes so good. The taste was light and did not leave any mark as it ran through my throat. The second quality of Lampung Coffee - Bus Patas brand has less aroma and taste compare to the first one. Again, as we learned from the beginning, the third quality of Lampung Coffee - Bus Patas brand has no aroma and no taste.

But the cupping at my home found that the first quality of Lampung Coffee - Bus Patas brand tasted so bitter when sugar is added.

Overall, the quality of this coffee is good. Fresh and original. Nothing is added. The quality is the same with the taste. And yes, the price is cheap and friendly compare to the price of coffee at the supermarket and the café.

So, you wanna taste this Lampung Coffee - Bus Patas brand? I bet you do.


Happy cupping,
Astrid

New Year’s Eve: Dinner & Bronze Durian from Pontianak

Happy New Year 2007!!!

Anybody celebrated the New Year’s Eve?

I was planned to go home to my parents in Cibubur and had a dinner and opened a bottle of wine with them. But it was a surprise that I got a lot of sudden invitations to New Year’s Eve parties on that December 31st, 2006. Unfortunately, I could not come to those invitations as I already promised my parents to have a dinner with them. (Sorry, guys. You have to book your seat earlier, I guess, hehehe).

When I came home, I saw my Mom cooked Semur Ayam, Opor Ayam, Ketupat, Lontong, Sayur Rebung, and Lasagna. We also had a guest star in our dining table. Our neighbor sent us Chicken Satay from Cilacap, West Java. All food were so delicious that made our stomach full and happy. We closed our dinner with a bottle of 2002 red wine from Portuguese. I forgot the name. Never mind. According to the wine expert at my house which is my Dad, the wine tasted not so good.

Two hours before we went to the New Year, I walked down to a house of a closed-family at the same neighborhood. They invited me to come to taste the Durian fruit from their plantation. Of course, I did not say no to the invitation. The Durian is something I really like, especially that a rumor has it that the color of the Durian is orange. Really, eh?

After having a chit-chat with the house-owners, and after drooling for so long thinking about the Durian, finally I ate the Durian with another guest in the house.

I saw two not-so-big Durians, which were placed at the garage, with different size. The owner of the house, the very nice lady, let us eat the Durian, but asked kindly if we only took the bigger one as she wanted to keep the other one for her son who was out for New Year’s Party. Yes, Madam!

When we opened the Durian, yes, the color of the fruit is orange to golden yellow. The smell of the Durian was not so strong. My nose said that the Durian smelled so nice and smooth. When the fruit reached my tongue, it tasted so nice. Just like the smell, it tasted so smooth, not so sweet, but not so bitter. This Durian is the kind that most people will love to eat, even those who do not really like Durian. It is all because most people can accept the smell and the taste. Other Durians seem too strong both in smell and taste that can make you guys feel drunk before you eat the fruit.

What amazed me was that my hands were Durian-smell-free. Yep, this Durian did not leave its trace in my hands just like other Durians.

Before closing all the happiness on that day, I sent an SMS to the son of the lady who gave me the Durian. What was the message? Well, I wished him all the good prayers for the year of 2007 and a bit complaining why his Mother kept one Durian for him while I was drooling to eat it hehehe. He can eat the Durian everyday, right? Later in the afternoon, he sent me the Durian that I saw the night before. Oh lala. (Thanx, buddy). That was the best gift at the first day in 2007. Hope that I keep receiving good gift this year and forever. Amen.

I shared the last Durian with my Mom and my Dad. My Dad said that the Durian is Bronze Durian from Pontianak (West Kalimantan) if he was not mistaken. And yes, he said that the Durian was yummy.

OK, any Durian out there for me?

Malam Tahun Baru: Makan Malam & Durian Tembaga Dari Pontianak

Selamat Tahun Baru 2007 !!!

Ada yang ngerayain malam tahun baru kah? Pasti ada ya.

Kalau aku sendiri awalnya sih hanya mau pulang ke rumah Papa dan Mama di Cibubur dan makan malam dan nge-wine bareng mereka. Entah kenapa di sepanjang hari di tanggal 31 Desember 2006 itu ternyata banyak sekali telpon yang masuk ke telpon genggamku yang ngajakin pesta secara mendadak. Sayangnya, semua ajakan tersebut harus kutolak karena sudah terlanjur janji sama Papa dan Mama untuk makan malam bareng. Yup, tetap pada rencana, apalagi ini janjiannya sama orang tua gitu loh. (Maap ya, teman-teman. Makanya, kalau mau ngajak aku ke suatu acara, mbok ya dari jauh-jauh hari gitu. Loh kok? He he he).

Ketika pulang ke rumah, ternyata Mamaku udah masakin Semur Ayam, Opor Ayam, Ketupat, Lontong, Sayur Rebung yang ada santannya (maap, namanya lupa), dan Lasagna. Ternyata, ada juga bintang tamu lain yang mendadak datang menyemarakkan meja makan kami. Tetangga sebelah ternyata mengirimkan Sate Ayam dari Cilacap. Wah, semuanya enak deh. Bener-bener makan malam menyambut tahun baru yang menyenangkan dan mengenyangkan. Makan malam kali ini ditutup dengan red wine tahun 2002 dari Portugal. Maap, aku lupa namanya. Ah, lagian juga ternyata wine nya ini rasanya kurang enak. Ini menurut sang wine master di rumahku ya alias Papaku.

Dua jam sebelum detik-detik menuju tahun 2007, aku pun melangkahkan kaki bergabung ke rumah salah satu keluarga dekat yang tinggal di kompleks yang sama. Ngapainkah? Hmm, aku ternyata diundang untuk makan durian hasil dari kebon mereka. Wah, yang ini gak boleh dilewatkan ya. Durian gitu loh. Apalagi aku udah denger gossip tentang durian ini yang katanya warnanya lain daripada yang lain, alias orange. Oh ya, masak sih?

Ketika sampai di rumah yang dituju, akunya sih ngobrol-ngobrol dulu sama Om dan Tante, beserta keluarga. Rada malu-malu kucing juga sih, soalnya mulut ini udah berliur-liur pengen makan duriannya. Kira-kira 45 menit sebelum detik-detik tahun baru datang, keinginan untuk makan durian itu sudah tak tertahankan lagi. Aku pun langsung permisi sama Om dan Tante untuk segera membantai sang durian yang diletakkan di garasi. Aku juga menculik salah satu tamu di sana untuk nemenin aku makan durian.

Ketika sampai di garasi, aku melihat 2 buah durian yang ukurannya gak terlalu besar dengan ukuran yang berbeda. Sang Tante yang baik hati itu pun langsung mempersilahkan kita untuk menyerbu durian, dengan catatan kita hanya boleh menyentuh durian yang ukurannya agak gedean dikit, karena yang satunya lagi di sisain untuk anak si Tante yang lagi pesta tahun baru di belantara kota Jakarta. Oke deh, Tante, perintahnya siap kita laksanakan!

Ketika dibuka, memang ajaib duriannya. Warna dagingnya itu loh, orange agak-agak menuju kuning emas, bok! Ketika di cium, baunya durian ini tidak begitu menyengat, malah cenderung wangi. Ketika durian itu mendarat di mulutku, rasanya pun sesuai dengan baunya, tidak terlalu manis dan tidak terlalu pahit. Kelihatannya durian ini bisa menjadi favorit bagi semua kalangan, baik yang suka durian maupun yang agak-agak benci tapi rindu sama durian. Ini semua karena bau dan rasanya mungkin bisa diterima oleh semua pihak. Kalau durian yang lain khan bau dan rasanya kuat banget, sehingga bisa bikin orang mabok sebelum makan. Oh ya, pasti para pecinta durian akan kesel kalau tangannya bau durian. Ternyata durian ini tidak begitu banyak meninggalkan jejaknya di tanganku. Jadi, tanganku bebas dari BB alias Bau Buah-durian (he he he, maksa ya).

Sebelum mengakhiri hari itu, aku pun melayangkan SMS ke anak si Tante untuk ngucapin selamat tahun baru, dan juga rada mengeluh. Ngapain juga durian yang satu lagi di sisain buat dia, bukannya dia udah sering tuh makan durian hasil kebon sendiri he he he. Ternyata, agak siangan dikit, ada paket untukku yang isinya sebuah durian yang kulihat malam sebelumnya. Waduh, jadi malu nih, tapi seneng juga sih. Ini kado terbaik di awal tahun. (Terima kasih, ya, temanku yang baik hati). Mudah-mudahan, di sepanjang tahun ini dan seterusnya, selalu ada kado terbaik untukku. Amin.

Paket durian ini pun sukses di bantai bertiga (aku, Papaku, dan Mamaku). Papaku bilang, kalo gak salah, durian ini namanya Durian Tembaga yang memang berasal dari Pontianak. Dan memang, beliau bilang rasanya enak. Nyam nyam nyam.

Ayo, siapa yang mau ngasi aku durian lagi?

Salam nge-duren,

Astrid Amalia

FESTIVAL MINANG

Minggu lalu, temennya Mama ngajakin aku ke Festival Minang di Taman Mini Indonesia Indah. Tentu saja aku gak bisa nolak, ini festival makanan loh, dan yang ngajak juga wanita yang baik hati dan tidak sombong. He he he.

TMII waktu itu penuh sesak, apalagi itu hari Minggu, dan long weekend pula karena besoknya umat Kristiani merayakan Hari Natal. (Selamat Natal ya).

Keluarga besar, pasangan yang lagi jatuh cinta, sekumpulan anak muda…semuanya pada kumpul di sana.

Festivalnya sendiri diadakan di areal Sumatra Barat dengan mengumpulkan hampir semua restauran Padang di Jakarta. Aku kok kurang puas ya dengan festivalnya. Para pesertanya kok cuma memamerkan makanannya tanpa menjual makanan tersebut, padahal aku udah ngiler-ngiler tuh pengen nyobain makanannya he he he. Temennya Mamaku juga sudah menyarankan ke para peserta agar mereka menjual makanannya juga kalau ada festival semacam ini diadakan lagi di TMII. Yah, aku sih cuma berharap agar festival selanjutnya akan lebih baik dari yang ini.

Di festival ini, tentu saja aku foto-foto apa aja yang aku anggap menarik perhatian mataku, mulai dari makanannya, bangunannya, dan segala sesuatu yang lucu-lucu.

Selamat menikmati miniaturnya Kota Padang !!

MINANG FESTIVAL

Last week, a friend of my Mom asked me to go out with her to the Minang Festival in Indonesian Miniature Park (Taman Mini Indonesia Indah). How could I say no to a food festival, especially from a nice woman like her?

The park was crowded as usual; especially the day was the Sunday before the Christmas Day. (Merry Christmas to you all). Big families, two people in romance, and group of teenager…they gathered in the park.

The festival was held in West Sumatra area. It gathered almost all Padang Restaurants in Jakarta. Minang or Padang is the ethnic group from West Sumatra. I was not satisfied enough with the festival itself. The participants only showed off the food without selling them, while I was drooling and hoping to taste the food he he he. A friend of my Mom had suggested them to sell the food too the next time the park holds the festival again. Well, I just hope that the next festival will be so much better than this one.

At the festival, I took some pictures that attracted my eyes, from the food to the premises, and other funny things.

Enjoy Minang !!