‘Garuda Street? Are you serious?!’ And that’s exactly what I said to my coffee expert friend, Mr Daniel Kauranny, about the whereabouts of the latest, most serious coffee shop in Bandung. Long story short, I stumbled upon a beautiful place with fabulous people behind the bar. Instantly falling in love with it, I then quoted Cikopi, ‘Akhirnya kota Bandung punya cafe yang layak jadi kebanggaan urang salembur!’
You might wonder why Garuda Street becomes the highlight of my standfirst. Garuda Street is tucked away far from the entertainment zones of Bandung, notably like Dago or Riau Streets, and to find Noah’s Barn located on that particular street invites questions. Not only that, it’s also because of the fact that I found no other modern, minimalist F&B establishments other than this one heading to that direction (except the kamikaze Harris Hotel around Holis area). But the reason why will be known after I met the owners, Mr Henky ‘Hank’ Suhendro and Mr Guido Mariotti.
It’s already 9 pm and several customers were still around. I asked them first whether they don’t mind for a couple more of late customers. They said cheerfully that we’re more than welcomed even though usually the shop closes at 9 pm. After seated on their bar, of course the usual question arose, ‘How do you know about this place?’ Simply I said that I knew it from my friend, @danieldeka. Then interesting conversations about coffee overflowed all of a sudden.
Not forgetting my purpose there, I simply asked for a cup of double long black to be made from the monstrous Synesso Hydra. Guido made a long black and a hot cappuccino for me. As for my wife, an iced cappuccino. Still at a learning phase, I simply let Guido chose the beans for me and for that he picked Anomali’s Black Pearl. The result was devastatingly delicious. The long black tasted like a deus ex machine – all the goodness that came from beans combined with the coolest machine I’ve ever encountered. Guido stopped processing it manually at the 35th second and the result was a full body coffee that covers my taste buds wholly, quite strong, but with an acidic finish especially when you hit the bottom level of the cup.
As for the cappuccino, I felt that both of them were quite formidable but perhaps owing to the bean type and how Guido brewed it, I’d still prefer to have it black – more because of my personal preference. From now on, I learn more that if you want your coffee tastes like you want it then you have decide for it yourself and share it with the barista. While you’re at it, try to have it the classic way.
The cake acted nicely as the accompaniment of the coffee. I believe my wife had the double chocolate cake and she finished it all by herself without asking me to join! How outrageous! By the way, she liked it and that adds the score for Noah’s Barn.
Aside from the Hydra, Noah’s Barn also has their manual brew bar that consists of Kalita wave, syphon, French press, and the unique cold drip and woodneck. Now now, wait a second. The stories about these machinations will come next okay.
My last question for them was, ‘Why Garuda Street?’ Hank replied that it’s because the joint is owned by them. Hopefully there will be more to come around this area and Noah’s Barn should be proud be part of the transformation when the time comes. Then we parted way for now and promised to return again for more adventure. Hank told me to let them know when I will visit the place again so that they’ll prepare a cold drip coffee, which I’m looking forward so much!
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NOAH’S BARN COFFEENERY
Halal-friendly
Some menu suitable for vegetarians
Wi-fi available
Address: Jalan Laksamana Nurtanio (Garuda) no. 39, Bandung – Indonesia
Opening Hours: Mon-Sat 9 am – 9 pm, Sun 12 pm – 9 pm
RSVP: N/A
BB Pin: N/A
Email: hi@noahsbarn.com
Website: http://noahsbarn.com
Facebook: noahsbarncoffee
Twitter: @noahsbarn
Atmosphere: A homey small cafe suitable for writing anytime of the day.
Ambiance: Conversational.
Service: You’ll be in good hands. The owners take care of you personally!
Pricing: Around IDR 30,000 – IDR 75,000 for two.
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RIAN FARISA 