We are now becoming more enthusiastic than ever with the art of drinking tea and coffee. I personally still find it fascinating to see some who are willing to go any length for the ultimate pleasure. As someone who enjoys both coffee and tea, here are my thoughts on why we should keep up with the trend based on my observation as a foodie and a global citizen.

Coffee is the talk of the town. Single origin batches from certain estates that produce high quality coffee are highly prized. Albeit some coffee shops would argue about the profitability in the long run when dealing only with single origins, it seems that individual drinkers are too enthusiastic to bother about that. It’s always a hype whenever we encounter geisha beans for example at a local coffee shop and certainly it attracts everyone! At the end of the day, a small batch of this rare find would end up somewhere in the hands of a true aficionado.

While coffee is still pretty much the talk of the town, Jakarta is also celebrating more appearances of tea houses as well. A few years ago, they had seen better days but the age of discerned foodies has arrived and revive the business. Foreign brands have been introducing their products here for quite some time to ride on the momentum. Interestingly, Indonesians brace the competition by also presenting tea more properly this time. Aside from familiarizing people with the concept of drinking tea as an art, we are also exposed with literally limitless variants of tea from all over the world.

Nowadays, coffee aficionados would invest their money on hand grinders, expensive espresso machines, or the popular manual brewing gadgets. Not surprisingly, tea lovers would also do the same to achieve that perfect cup. From learning the techniques to collecting different types of tea from different countries; they would also spend more on cups, affordable electric kettles, and up to the rare, decorative tea pots from all over the world!

One important thing to highlight here is certainly not about how expensive our gadgets should be to appreciate the finer things. Even for starters, you can already enjoy so much from the most affordable gadgets you can spend for now. A word of advice, befriend the experts and you will know what to buy first and why.

In addition to that; classes, competitions, and conferences make us feel more connected with the whole industry. We get to know more about the diversity of the products, the experts who set the examples, about the farmers and how we should appreciate their hard work, and many more. Certainly we can always start with the know-how to maximizing its potential fully in our cups.

I suppose at this point, we might want to agree that the colorful world of tea and coffee is not just about its geeky side or how methodical we should be for perfection. There’s always the sunnier side about it and that is about having fun with it, exploring the endless possibilities, and spending the extra dime for the best beans or the gadget of your dream!