He placed the golden-yellow trumpet on a framed board. It looks like a used trumpet because the mouthpiece tip is no longer there. Jaya Merta Gunawan is indeed a fan of antiques. The interior of the Jaya Coffee Roasters shop is decorated with unique and old items.
This coffee shop consists of two rooms, which are not too big. One room is a coffee place; it contains a bar table in one corner, and the rest of the room is lined with tables and chairs. The other, is a roastery room, with two large roasting machines, each with a capacity of 5 kg. The aroma of coffee has become the hallmark of this place.
Jaya, as he is known, was quite relaxed that afternoon. Wearing a t-shirt and shorts, he was still busy arranging his new collection of antiques.
“Initially, as a body-building athlete, I drank coffee every time I wanted to exercise,” he said, opening the story of how he first got into the habit of drinking coffee.
As a sports education student on campus, Jaya gained knowledge about how to maintain a healthy body. One of them is about the importance of good nutritional intake. The caffeine content of coffee is a substance that helps speed up the metabolic process.
“I drink coffee every time I want to practice precutting in the gym,” he said. This really helps him build muscle more optimally by lifting weights that require extra energy.
After four years of college, even though he holds a Bachelor of Sports Education, Jaya Merta Gunawan is more interested in studying coffee than becoming a teacher.
Coffee is one of his passions, besides sports. In 2015, he chose to work at The Daun Café, a coffee shop and roastery in the Canggu area, North Kuta.
There, he learned a lot about coffee from Bli Gede, the manager of the coffee shop. Bli Gede is a figure who has contributed to bringing him deeper into the world of coffee.
The size of the frame seems a bit too big, making it a bit confusing to position the antique trumpet. But he was still busy pacing.
“At that time, there weren’t many coffee training places, let alone schools for baristas,” he said, continuing his casual conversation that afternoon.
Jaya Merta Gunawan doesn’t want to half-heartedly delve into coffee. 2017 He decided to take a three-day course at Caswell’s Coffee, in Jakarta. One of the few coffee training places available at that time.
“I paid a lot for the course there. But it’s no problem for me to get good coffee knowledge,” he said firmly.
Armed with the knowledge and experience gained from work and training, Jaya ventured into running a roastery business. Jaya Coffee Roasters—that’s what he called it.
At that time, I didn’t even have a roasting machine. I was still roasting at other people’s places. Initially supplying roasted beans to several coffee shops owned by friends and relatives.
Seeing the growing development of coffee shops, Jaya Coffee Roasters had the courage to buy a roasting machine. Orders for roasted beans are increasing.
Apart from that, Jaya is also often asked to help friends and provide training about coffee. Initially, he trained baristas in his friends’ coffee shops, then several tourism campuses asked him to become a trainer.
Here he began to realize that his studies at the sports teacher education faculty were not in vain. In fact, he can stand in front of the class as a teacher. Now, coffee training has become one of his business services.
Seeing his persistence in running a roastery business, Bli Gede invited him to collaborate in opening a coffee shop and roastery. Renting a kiosk in the Nyuh Kuning of Ubud. They divide tasks. Bli Gede is in charge of the coffee shop, while Jaya is in charge of the roastery.
The coffee business apparently looks very promising. Jaya collaborated with another friend to open a coffee shop they called “Chill and Jamming” in the Monkey Forest area. It is one of the busiest tourism areas in Ubud.
However, the business journey that seemed so promising was hit by a tough test. In early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world. All his businesses stopped and suffered losses.
“I sold all the coffee equipment. “There was only one coffee machine and roasting machine left,” he recalled.
He moved the roasting machine and coffee machine to a warehouse where he stored coffee beans, which he had rented for a long time. Meanwhile, it is impossible for him to extend the lease on his coffee shop kiosk when almost all economic activities have stopped.
At the beginning of the pandemic, Jaya was afraid to do activities outside, let alone run a roastery business. Her first child was only 3 months old. The COVID-19 virus is currently in full swing, and of course Jaya doesn’t want to take risks that endanger her family.
The COVID-19 pandemic seems to have frozen the whole world. But, unexpectedly, there are several coffee shops in the Canggu and Ubud areas that are still operating cautiously. There are often raids by security forces to prevent the spread of this dangerous virus.
Jaya dared to run his roastery, even to serve very small orders. He also functions his roaster place as a coffee shop.
“Every day there are orders, even if they are only two to three kilograms of roasted beans,” he said, recalling the test of patience he experienced.
He has to commute from Ubud to Canggu using a motorbike to deliver orders for coffee beans. He has to be smart in finding routes to avoid road blockades here and there.
It’s really not easy. But he tried to face all these difficulties with all the effort he could.
He modeled his hardworking mentality and never back down in the face of difficulties from his business mentor, who was none other than his older cousin, Jaens Supputera. Even when the pandemic was in full swing, the mentor was still able to sell chili sauce throughout Indonesia.
Jaens Supputera is not a chili sauce seller. He is the owner of the Jaens Spa business in the Pengosekan area, Ubud. However, during the pandemic, he nimbly and creatively switched to selling chili sauce. His creativity and tenacity are an inspiration for Jaya Merta Gunawan.
When the pandemic is over and the economy begins to recover, Jaya Coffee Roasters will have more freedom to run its coffee roastery business.
In fact, in 2023, the business will continue to grow. Now he owns three coffee shop businesses. Whether he built it himself, acquired another party’s shop, or started a collaborative business with his relatives, The entire business employs 15 employees.
Jaya Merta Gunawan believes that the prospects for the coffee business in Ubud, Bali, are still very prospective. According to him, apart from the massive growth of shops in Ubud, many restaurants are now adding coffee to their menus.
“In the past, coffee in restaurants was served simply; now they tend to start to be more serious about making coffee menus,” he said.
That means the need for roasted beans will also continue to increase. Jaya has started targeting that in the next five years it will be able to build a factory for a larger coffee roastery.
He hopes that in the future, the location of his roastery factory can be used as an outlet for various coffees from all over Indonesia not only Balinese Coffee. Become a place for education and socialization about Indonesian coffee.
“I want to be able to introduce various types of Indonesian coffee to foreign guests who come,” he said, closing the afternoon’s casual chat.
What started as Jaya Merta Gunawan’s habit of sipping coffee in the gym has now turned into a successful coffee roastery business.
Follow Jaya Coffee Roasters Instagram @jayacoffeeroasters
