Diversity at an Aceh coffee shop

A group of young adults surrounded a two-meter-long table under a mango tree, in a coffee shop yard. They leaned back in their chairs. Some people chatted and others stared at the phone. On the table were half-finished coffee cups, packets of cigarettes, and small dishes of cakes.

he place where the young people gathered was Solong Premium, a coffee shop in the Beurawe area, Banda Aceh City. Inside the shop, the black-painted wooden tables are neatly arranged. Some are filled, others are empty.

Large coffee shops in the area include Cut Nun, Cut Zen, Check Yuke, and Romen. So many, in the Lambhuk area, coffee stalls adjacent to the distance. The average stall is open from morning until midnight.

The owner, Haji Nawawi (58), called the effort was pioneered since 1974 by his parents, Haji Muhammad. The word "Solong" is taken from the name of the Chinese who had hired his father.

Taste-taste, coffee shop in Aceh can not be separated from the influence of citizens of Chinese descent.

Instantly seated, culinary observers can realize the similarity of filtering techniques in Aceh coffee shops with ethnic Chinese coffee shops, Kopitiam - scattered along the Malacca Straits, such as in Singapore, Penang, Malacca, Batam, Pekanbaru, and Medan.

Both are using a cone-shaped filter to filter coffee. It is highly probable that the technique was introduced by Chinese citizens to the Acehnese.