We call it 'filtered coffee,' which refers to the process of repeatedly filtering the coffee. Which is processed in two dipper containers and a special fabric filter bag used to hold the roasted coffee beans. Then it is filled with boiling water and continued to be heated with boiled water vapor from another container below it.
The filtering procedure needs to be done several times by lifting the filter as high as possible before pouring it into the cup filled with sugar, depending on your request and whether you want to use sugar or not.
The concoction can produce 20 cups of coffee, said a barista at the Fadlon coffee shop. Per cup costs, IDR5,000 is equivalent to $0.33. The price varies from a number of coffee shops in Aceh, but the range is not much different.
I was at the Fadlon coffee shop. It is a simple coffee shop in Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province in Sumatra, Indonesia. The coffee shop represents the style of traditional coffee shops in the inland of Aceh, with its distinctive DURALEX Picardie Tumbler Clear 250ml cups. Coffee shops like this do not prioritize attractive interior designs but rather focus on maintaining the delicious taste of their coffee.
Fadlon Coffee Shop is open for 24 hours but only serves customers until 2:00 am. We can stay there until the coffee shop begins serving customers again at 7:00 am. The coffee shop never closes because it only has walls made of thin interwoven wood, which is about 1.20 centimeters high.
The wall clock of the coffee shop is past midnight, I am accompanied by my colleague @Safar01. It's great to be able to sit in a coffee shop with half a cup of h ot coffee to lose track of time.
What am I doing at the coffee shop?
Well, I consider a coffee shop as my office, I have felt such comfort since 2013. Wherever I travel in the Aceh region, I always choose a coffee shop to work with my laptop. Things like this have become commonplace in Aceh since 2005, a situation that has become a new tradition after the tsunami disaster hit Aceh in December 2004. At that time, many international donor agency volunteers were forced to choose to work in coffee shops because the distance between the offices and the tsunami-affected rehabilitation and reconstruction site prevented them from returning to the office. Until now, it has become the demand of coffee shop owners in Aceh to provide power outlets for consumers who use laptops, these facilities can also be used free of charge to charge cameras and smartphone batteries. I think this is relevant to the times.
What's my signature drink at the coffee shop? Pancong and SP.
Both are mostly ordered by coffee connoisseurs at coffee shops in Aceh. "Pancong" coffee, is the popular term for coffee that contains half a cup. You just have to tell the waiter "Pancong!", and then you will be served a half cup of coffee, and the other half on top is coffee foam 🙂.
If you order "SP", then you will be served a mixture of coffee mixed with a little milk that also contains half a cup. These two terms are only popular in the Banda Aceh region, the north coast and east coast of Aceh.
I choose to order half a cup of coffee so I can always enjoy hot coffee for my next order. Occasionally, I down three half-filled cups.
Don't hesitate when ordering to say "SP" and "Pancong" at a coffee shop in Aceh. Ordering one of the two menus will raise the opinion of the coffee shop waiters as local people.
I took these pics on August 1, 2023. Taken with Sony Alpha 7 III camera + Sony FE 50mm F1.8 lens and Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM lens + E-Mount Metabones adapter.
Thank You
Irfan M Nur (
