Reducing the Domination of Imported Machines

KOMPAS/RADITYA HELABUMI

A worker produces a coffee machine at the Kopikohlie workshop in Kebon Jeruk in Jakarta on Monday (14/5/2018).

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Armed with creativity, many people in this country have successfully been able to produce a variety of innovative coffee machines. Their products have begun to enliven the coffee machine market in the country. It is all possible due to one reason: imported machines are very expensive.

Upset with the high price of an imported espresso machine, Irawan Halim, a retired technician in for a coffee shop chain, created a manual machine. The machine, named Redpresso, is made from an orange squeezer modified with a pressure system.

With additional tubes and presses, the manual espresso can be easily operated. Put coffee powder inro a tube, add hot water and then press. In a second, a cup of espresso coffee is ready to be enjoyed.

On the top of the cup, the "krema" (coffee emulsion) appears quite thick.

Halim also makes milk foam manually. He was inspired by a moka pot that is used to brew coffee. In order to be able to function as a foam maker, the moka pot is modified with a pressure system. The pipe funnel is made longer to make the pouring process easier.

If you want to make a cup of coffee, moka pots are heated until the pressure is strong enough. After that, hot steam is flown into the milk cup with foams. When the foam gets thicker, the milk is then poured into espresso. Now, a cappuccino is ready.

Though simple, Halim\'s findings are essential and inexpensive. The tool does not need to be connected to electricity because it is run manually. The price is only Rp 6 million a pair, much cheaper than the imported one, which could cost up to Rp 100 million.

Noor Asif, 45, a resident of the Kasihan district in Bantul regency has also created an espresso machine, called Black Answerd. Besides being operated without high pressure, this machine can be also used as a milk steamer. "Only with one tool, we can have two functions at once," said Asif.

Thanks to social media, the tool is becoming known. Buyers come. A single Black Answerd machine is priced at Rp 3 million, including the filter and coffee powder compactor. Since early 2017, nearly 200 machines have been sold throughout Indonesia. Black Answerd has attracted buyers from the United States and Australia.

Franky Angkawijaya makes a more sophisticated coffee machine. The owner of a barista school sells an espresso machine under the Asterion brand. Asterion is an espresso machine that combines two types of engine concepts: manual and semi-automatic. With a number of feature sets, the machine can produce an espresso with a consistency of thickness. The coffee machine with two functions is claimed to be the first in the world.

Roasting machine

Innovation is not only just in the production of espresso machines. Two local producers have marketed their roasting machines in a number of regions in the country and even abroad. With their roasting machines, Johny Rahadi and William Edison have made Indonesia known worldwide. They are produced also due the high price of imported roasting machines.

The roasting machine Johny made is sold under the Uncle John brand. The price is 50 percent less than leading imported products. The quality is good. "Please compare it with the imported machine. Also compare the taste of the coffee. It has the same quality," he said.

Meanwhile, William, who started his business in 2010, named his roasting machine W600. "At first I wanted to open a coffee shop, but there was a lack of capital. I wanted to have a roaster but it was expensive because it was an imported product," said the graduate of the Institute of Information Technology and Computers (Stikom) in Bali.

William then asked Andryas alias Apang, his cousin, who has a workshop in Jakarta, to work together. They made a prototype of a roasting machine, using liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) fuel. After a number of experiments, they were able to produce two types of roasting machines with respective capacities of 300 grams and 1 kilogram.

When the machines were promoted through social media at the end of 2012, many people bought them. Now, William also makes roasting machines, with capacities of 3 kilograms, 6 kilograms, and 12 kilograms. "I have also received orders for mini coffee roasting machine from Switzerland, some European countries, also Malaysia and Singapore," he said.

The success of William and Johny in penetrating overseas markets broke the Indonesian myth that it is known only as a producer of coffee beans. They created technology that has so far been dominated by advanced industrial countries in Europe and East Asia.

Not only that, this country also has a village that produces a huller, a coffee peeling machine. The business has survived for three generations. Edi Sarbin, 49, is the third generation in the huller production business in Pagar Alam, South Sumatra.

He inherited the ability of his grandfather, Kamid, who worked as a mechanic on Dutch plantations in Pagar Alam during the Dutch colonial era.

The turnover from the coffee huller production is fairly large, with a total transaction value of up to Rp 500 million a month. A 5 horsepower (PK) coffee huller machine with a capacity of 100 kilograms per hour is priced at Rp 4.2 million. The 30 PK machines are sold for Rp 18 million per unit. The prices do not include the engines that run the machines.

The work of “the children” of this nation can reduce the dominance of imported machinery products. Creating products that can be accepted by the market is something that can be boasted about. The machines are part of a technological revolution that has changed the coffee culture in this country.

(CHE/NIT/GER/RAM/COK/GRE/ITA)