Kampung Kopi Luwak, Harum Liberika Tembus Ke Mancanegara

The gates of the Luwak Coffee Village are located in Prangat Baru Village, Kutai Kartanegara Regency, East Kalimantan. (ANTARA)

SAMARINDA - The aroma of LIberika coffee, which is typical of spreading in the air, mixes with birds and forest asians of Kalimantan in the midst of rhibun trees of Prangat Baru Village, Marangkayu District, Kutai Kartanegara Regency.

Di kawasan itu terhampar sebuah perkebungan kopi yang tak biasa. Di situ Kampung Kopi Luwak, sebuah destinasi agrowisata yang membinakkan kematihan kopi dengan proses nasal, lahir dan berkembang.

The story of the Luwak Coffee Village begins with four coffee trees brought by a transmigrant from Lamongan in 1986. Ahmad Hassim Albarkati, a manager of the Luwak Coffee Village, reminisced about the story of his father named Rindoni, the head of the Prabu Elbow Farmers Group, who started everything.

"Initially only four coffee trees were brought by a friend of his father from Java," said Hassim in memory.

Slowly but surely, the coffee trees grew and bear fruit. Liberika coffee that was harvested was originally only for family consumption. In the 2000s, Rindani and her family then began to rarely buy coffee outside. They eat their own harvest coffee.

The turning point occurred in 2012. A visitor who tasted their coffee realized a different unique taste. "He said the coffee was delicious, different. It turned out that after being asked to my father, this coffee was indeed the result of his own garden," said Hassim.

The uniqueness of coffee taste turned out to come from a natural process involving luwak. The nokturnal animal eats LIberika-type coffee fruit, and coffee beans that come out with the dirt have a distinctive taste.

"In the past we didn't know that palm coffee was valuable. After there were visitors who told us, then we realized," Hassim explained.

Since then, palm coffee has become the prima donna. "People prefer palm coffee instead," said Hassim.

Luwak Coffee in Kopi Luwak Village is different from palm coffee in general. Here the process is processed organically. Wild luwak animals choose their own coffee fruit in the garden. They collect coffee beans from dirt under trees.

The existence of the Luwak Coffee Village attracted the attention of the Regent of Kutai Kartanegara Edi Damansyah in 2019. At that time, the Regent was inaugurating the land in the village and resting in the coffee garden belonging to the Hassim family. Impressed by the taste of coffee presented, the Regent encouraged the formation of farmer groups.

With the support of Pertamina Hulu, East Kalimantan through the corporate social responsibility (CSR) program, farmer groups were formed. "We discussed, what is a good name? Luwak Coffee Village. It seems that there is only one in Indonesia," said Hassim.

Luwak Coffee Village is growing rapidly. In 2021, they won the Gold Proper award from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.

"We received an award because we were considered successful in empowering the community and preserving the environment," said Hassim proudly.

The reputation of Kampung Kopi Luwak is increasing. Tourists from various regions, even abroad, come to enjoy palm coffee and feel the beautiful rural atmosphere.

"There are already visitors from international tourists, including Brazil, Spain and the Netherlands," said Hassim.

Kampung Kopi Luwak is also the destination for comparative studies and visits from various agencies. "Many have come to learn about lieberika coffee cultivation and the natural process of uwak coffee," said Hassim.

The reliability of the Luwak Coffee Village lies in three things, including the type of liquidika coffee, the natural process with wild uwak, and the natural rural atmosphere.

"Liberika coffee in East Kalimantan is only here. It feels unique, a combination of robusta and Arabica," said Hassim.