A New Dawn
There is another choice
Alkhan Danny
3/2/20262 min read
Alright folks,
The first article for us is kind of a big thing, and we had a long conversation about what to write. One of us mentioned that writing one’s first article has an eerily similar feeling to writing a letter to your high school crush(es); nerve-wracking– worries started to cloud our thoughts like;
Is this too corny?
Is this long enough?
Will they actually read it?
This went on for quite a while until we finally realised the thoughts would stay around no matter what we write anyway, so…
Let’s rewind for a bit.
In the last quarter of 2025, we managed to make ourselves presentable enough (ironed shirts and boot straps, y’know what I mean?) to finally say hi to everyone at our premier cupping! It was terribly difficult for us to maintain our composure when our friend Zoe offered to lend us San Remo’s showroom to use for that wonderful evening (Zoe, if you’re reading this, we love ya). The best part, of course, was meeting with YOU lot – and let us tell you why, in all seriousness.
The four of us met on a fateful and wonderful cupping night at a well-established coffee shop (if you know…). On nights far too many to count in the last two years, we talked on and on about our nation’s wealth of coffee heritage as one of the biggest, oldest, and arguably finest coffee producers in the world. These conversations would often derail into discourse about the pride we have for our coffee, and the prejudice our coffee suffers that seems to cling firmly to the global coffee scene. Bonded by frustrations and a hesitantly optimistic outlook on what the future may hold, we shared a simple dream: to honor our coffee heritage and break the prejudice around it.
As much as we’re confident about what we have to offer, it is no use denying that subtle uncertainty about what people think, what YOU think, especially when one of our main motives has something to do with prejudice. That being said, the colossal wave of relief we felt after our first cupping was something else; I don’t think we’ll get tired of hearing the ‘oohs ’ and ‘aahs’ anytime soon.
Moreover, it felt surreal for us to see Indonesian coffee being put on the same table as other well-known origins – especially when it is not the usual Sumatran or Sulawesi you’d somewhat easily find on retail shelves.
Despite everything we said, we never wanted to take the spotlight from other countries, nor do we want to say that we are better.
We just want to say that there is another choice.