Kopi Kita: Cozy Coffee Shop in Sintang, West Kalimantan
By: Chill Pills
Tags: Sintang, Coffee Culture, Coffee Shop, Traveling

Kopi Kita: Cozy Coffee Shop in Sintang, West Kalimantan

The three days I spent in Sintang in last March 2020 is worth sharing. For anybody who was already in Sintang Where did you guys spend your time there?

I was working as a researcher back then. It was for field research for a month in one of a village in Sintang. Before the field research as an Anthropologist, I should have a permission letter. Therefore I decided to stay there for a night. My team leader booked me one nice room in Myhome Hotel. It was a quite nice room. Unfortunately, I had so little time to enjoy the hotel services because I was arrived late at night and had to go in the early morning. Why Myhome? The location of the hotel is in the middle of the city so I could go to the official government offices easily or walking. But no-no! Don’t walk! The daily temperature in Sintang is quite high (daily average 33 to 35 degrees Celcius). But the fact that besides the hotel there is a famous coffee shop (Amink Coffee) is one reason to be happy too. The coffee shop has a very good coffee and it was trending place back then. I could see people in range age come there to do a meeting or hanging out!

I was helped by one of my friend’s friend, Randy. He was a nice man! Thanks, Bro, I hope we meet again soon, especially if you plan to visit Jogja! He drove me around the city and bring me to the government office with his scooter — Yes public transportation is a bit difficult to find in Sintang if you want to go short distances, it would be preferable to rent a scooter yourself but it’s pricey. The most special thanks, of course, I would give to him because he took me to this special coffee shop called Kopi Kita!

Unlike Amink Coffee, Kopi Kita is cozier. Amink Coffee was much more like this trendy coffee shop while Kopi Kita is the simple and cheaper one. Most of the visitors I saw were men in a group whether they talk about politics, playing a game, or just smoking, I found it was very fun to be around (I mean you could listen to what people are talking and doing in there). Randy took me there because I need to work on my permission letter and they provided a good wi-fi connection (very fast and free).

Randy ordered me a cup of kopi saring and pisang selai. Kopi Saring was made in a special technique. They brew the coffee with hot water in a teapot which has a long neck (what is it called?) and then filter it before pouring the coffee in the tiny cup. Wow! The coffee was very bitter and they added way too much sugar! Pisang Selai itself is fried banana with sweet srikaya jam. Randy said it was the most common combination people eat there in Sintang. Well, I loved it very much but not the sugar. I think it’s better to have the less sugar Kopi Saring and a plate of Pisang Selai.

Unfortunately, Indonesian bureaucracy is not that easy so I should stay in Sintang two more days (or fortunately, because I had the chance to spend the next whole day in Kopi Kita!)

These was the pictures I took during my second visit in Kopi Kita.

In my second visit, I was alone because Randy had to work. Without him, I was a bit handicapped (hehe just kidding). I took an online ojek (O-Jack) because it provides a flexible trip, but once again, pricey. And I spend half a day in Kopi Kita waiting for my friend whose house I would spend the night finished working. You know what, Kopi Kita was a great place to wait because of the coffee, place, and wifi. I could work on my research for the half-day there!