You Must Try This Popular Kopi Joss from Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Indonesia is land of various ethnicity and cultures. This includes the way Indonesian serve coffee. Since Indonesian cultures are so diverse, you can find many different traditional hot and iced coffee beverages while gallivanting around the country.

Each region has produced a unique yet creative way to make coffee drinks. The distinctive methods of life of the local community caused this. Moreover, each island of Indonesia is famous as a major coffee producer. For example, Sumatra island is known for its Robusta coffee from Bengkulu and Mandheling coffee from North Sumatra. Kopi Luwak from Sumatra and Java islands is the most popular and expensive.

Many locals and foreigners favour several Indonesian coffee drinks. If you are an avid coffee lover and plan to visit Yogyakarta City, we recommend these hot and iced coffee beverages popular in the city. Take the chance to have a taste!

What is Kopi Joss?

The Indonesian word for coffee is “kopi.” Hence, we will call this hot coffee drink by its original name. This hot coffee is a unique drink from Yogyakarta, Indonesia. This is not your usual coffee because Kopi Joss uses literal charcoal as one of the ingredients. This is the traditional Java method of serving hot coffee.

This charcoal coffee (the non-native’s term for the coffee) is started by pouring boiling water straight into the coffee grounds in a glass. Sometimes, people choose to add sugar or condensed milk to the glass. Then, burnt charcoal is added on top of the coffee.

You can find this coffee in many local food stalls in every crook of Yogyakarta City, especially at Tugu Muda, Malioboro, and Yogyakarta Station. Local food stalls in Yogyakarta refer to the wheelbarrow pushed by people, or simple food stands called angkringan. These food stalls are usually open during the night until dawn. The price for each cup is only IDR 5,000.

Who Invented This Coffee Drink?

An order started the invention of this charcoal coffee from the machinist at Tugu Station. The first food stall that made this coffee was Angkringan Lik Man in the late 1980s. A machinist then asked for a hot coffee drink by boiling the water in a can or klotok.

Then, Lik Man (the owner) made the coffee and served it straight away. However, he added burnt charcoal because he thought it would cook the coffee more cooked by adding it. To his surprise, the machinist loved this coffee.

Afterwards, Link Man started to offer this coffee drink to others. Many people liked the coffee due to its unique way of serving. To this day, this Yogyakarta coffee has become one of the most famous traditions in the region, even in Indonesia.

The Health Benefits

Ever since Kopi Joss received massive attention, many argued that this way of serving coffee could be fatal to someone’s health. However, this Yogyakarta coffee has several benefits for improving health.
Activated charcoal is very effective in cleansing the body of many toxins. It has many health benefits, such as reducing abdominal cramps, flatulence, and bloating. In addition, activated charcoal can restore body condition when suffering from a cold. Moreover, the coffee drink can warm the body from the cold temperature of Yogyakarta during the night!

The diversity of Indonesia culture has brought many innovative ways for the locals to create something new, especially in coffee. A random order from a customer in Yogyakarta created the unique coffee drink we know today.