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Coffee Shop as a Workspace in Bandung

Agus Sudono

Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia

Keyword: Coffee shop, productive, Bandung

Abstract: The function of coffee shop in Indonesia was originally a gathering place and casual conversation. Lately,

coffee shops have another function, which is a place to work. People come to the coffee shop not only to

enjoy free time, but to use it for productive activities. Activities such as meetings, working on projects, or

doing assignments for students are common things that are easily found in coffee shops. This study aims to

review the readiness of coffee shops in Bandung to face the culture of productive coffee drinking. The

research method used is the mix method. Data collection is done by survey and observation techniques.

There are 25 coffee shops surveyed to meet the needs of research data. The type of coffee shop that was

sampled was a local brand coffee shop. This is based on another mission of this research, which is to build a

local brand that has a competitive advantage. The results showed that basically the majority of coffee shops

in Bandung were eligible for productive activities. However, there are still quite a lot of aspects that need to

be improved to enhance its conduciveness. Layout of the shop, level of price, availability of parking area,

level of privacy, and availability of prayer room are aspects that are less prepared. While the quality of

internet network, quality of coffee, level of cleanliness, atmosphere of coffee shop, and barista hospitality

are strong aspects.

1 INTRODUCTION

According to (Walton 2015), Indonesia is the fourth

largest coffee producing country in the world. While

Brazil, Vietnam and Colombia respectively became

the three biggest coffee producing countries in the

world. Indonesia is known as a country that

produces various types of coffee of the highest

quality.

As a country with abundant coffee yields,

Indonesia has an interesting fact. In general,

Indonesian people do not know coffee well.

Likewise with the way they enjoy coffee. The

majority consume coffee that is available at the

grocery store which incidentally provides flavored

ready-to-eat coffee. Some older people usually enjoy

black coffee. There is one national coffee brand that

is very well known as a producer of black coffee.

However, the average consumer does not really care

and know the type of coffee, as well as the quality.

The common understanding is that black coffee must

be brewed with educating water and added sugar as

a sweetener. Furthermore, the types of coffee

available in these stores are basically of doubtful

quality. Moreover, there are many other additives

that make the content and quality of coffee even

more questionable.

Referring to (Turner 2018), Starbucks

experienced a failure when expanding in Australia.

There are several reasons including the quality of

Starbucks coffee considered to not meet the

expectations of Australians. Besides that fanaticism

in local brands has managed to repel from the

country. Although Australia is not known as a coffee

producing country, in reality Australians have a

more developed coffee culture, where they are

influenced by Italian and Greek immigrants who for

centuries have transmitted their coffee culture which

prefers espresso, mochiato, and long black. As in

most other countries Starbucks does not offer such

menus so Starbucks fails to conquer the Australian

market. This condition is in contradiction with

Indonesia. As a coffee producing country,

Indonesians do not yet have an advanced coffee

culture. Franchises like Starbucks and The Coffee

which offer "light" coffee are highly developed in

Indonesia.

In the last decade a new phenomenon emerged.

The younger generation in Indonesia is getting to

know coffee better. They are aware of the potential

152

Sudono, A.

Coffee Shop as a Workspace in Bandung.

DOI: 10.5220/0010212701520154

In Proceedings of the 1st NHI Tourism Forum (NTF 2019) - Enhancing Innovation in Gastronomic for Millennials, pages 152-154

ISBN: 978-989-758-495-4

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of Indonesian coffee that should be utilized to gain

new added value. The impact appears local coffee

shops and roasteries in various regions, especially in

big cities. Coffee shops are generally popular with

young people to gather. However, recently coffee

shops have another function, which is a place to

work. In a small survey conducted, at least 30% of

coffee shop visitors came for productive activities

such as meetings, work on assignments, work on

projects, or business discussions.

The shift in function of coffee shops is a social

phenomenon that arises because of a process of

synchronizing needs that also continues to change

following other social phenomena (Verma 2013).

Whereas (Bookman 2013) describes in Canada

coffee brands and coffee consumption patterns

indicate a certain social class. So the coffee brand

has a clear segment. This is actually based on local

culture that has continued to occur for generations.

Based on secondary data obtained through

google.com search, this phenomenon is generally

captured by coffee shop business people. They adapt

to facilitate the needs of consumers who come for

productive activities.

This study seeks to uncover what aspects are the

critical points of the coffee shop that is used for

work. Furthermore, the purpose of this study is to

determine the extent of the coffee shop portrait in

Bandung in terms of its readiness to become a place

of work.

2 LITERATURE REVIEW

Cafe as a "third place" at the University of Indonesia

has become an interesting phenomenon that shows a

new culture (Lukito and Xenia 2018). The cafe

which is basically a place to eat turned out to be

socio-culturally able to double as a unique place

used for interaction between the UI academic

community. In the process the interactions that occur

become very diverse, ranging from mild greetings

while eating to inter-cultural discussions and more

serious productive activities such as project work.

Meanwhile in Japan coffee has become a strong

culture (Grinshpun 2014). However, this

development has deconstructed the relationship

between coffee, culture and consumption in Japan.

In the past drinking coffee became a serious ritual as

was the tea drinking ritual. Nowadays young

Japanese generation are more relaxed in enjoying

coffee. Various activities can be done at the coffee

shop while enjoying coffee. This phenomenon

shows that cultural shifts and needs continue to

occur. Japan with its character as a nation that holds

fast the culture also experiences the same thing.

(Jeffrey et al. 2018) illustrate that enjoying

coffee in a coffee shop is not limited to consumption

activities. Practicing social skills is another thing

that is interesting and is considered productive even

though it does not need to be taken seriously.

Likewise, the activity of compiling a project is

considered very suitable to be carried out together

with enjoying coffee. Coffee can act as a friend who

is always suitable in any activity. In practice the

place becomes an important factor. Enjoying coffee

at home or in the office is considered quite

mainstream and creates less exciting atmosphere.

Some people feel that the coffee shop is the perfect

place to bridge this new need.

(Pollock 2000) describes the activity of drinking

coffee, especially in coffee shops in the past

considered only suitable for middle to upper class in

India. Coffee is also not a popular drink in India. But

over time coffee has slowly become more popular,

although still in limited circles. Various activities

can be done while enjoying coffee.

The literature states that that coffee culture

continues to develop in various countries. Local

culture has a strong influence on the procedure, time

and place to enjoy coffee. But there is a straight line

that occurs in all cases. The coffee culture continues

to grow and is increasingly accepted by the wider

community. Many activities related to coffee that

can be done are created. Productive activities that

were initially considered very serious turned out to

be done at the same time by enjoying coffee in an

unusual place, namely the coffee shop.

3 RESEARCH METHOD

This research was carried out through a series of

stages as follows:

 Identify the number and character of coffee

shops in the city of Bandung

 Choose 25 local coffee shops to be used as

research samples

 Develop research instruments whose contents

are a series of supporting attributes for the

coffee shop to become a workplace

 Observed 25 coffee shops in Bandung.

Observation activities carried out directly and

search through the internet.

 Tabulate data to see trends

 Make conclusions

Coffee Shop as a Workspace in Bandung

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The attributes compiled as an indicator of the coffee

shop as a workplace refer to (Meerwarth, Trotter,

and Briody 2008) and (Jeffrey et al. 2018). The

following attributes are arranged: quality of internet

access, availability of power outlets, suitability of

layout, availability and comfort of chairs and tables,

cleanliness, quality of coffee, quality and variety of

menus, suitability of the atmosphere, noise level,

availability of parking areas, prices, staff hospitality,

availability places of worship, and availability of

smoking areas.

4 RESULT AND DISCUSSION

The results of research conducted at 25 coffee

shops in the city of Bandung showed some

interesting findings. Basically, all coffee shops

surveyed have understood that coffee shops must

have flexibility. Starting from the activity of

enjoying coffee as its main function, gathering and

chatting, a place to wait, discuss business, do school

work, to compile project proposals. The carrying

capacity provided by the coffee shop can also be

said to be good, meaning that productive activities

are very likely to be carried out especially in some

coffee shops. There is also a coffee shop that

specifically named the shop with the name "working

space". This is a very clear sign that the coffee shop

manager understands that the needs of the workplace

are not just in the office, school or at home. The

target market for this segment is also quite large. In

the pre-survey survey of 80 people, at least 30% of

them went to the coffee shop for productive

activities. This means that the market is quite

attractive and is believed to continue to grow along

with technological developments where work can be

done anywhere, not necessarily at the office.

Based on the indicators that have been compiled,

found several aspects of the coffee shop in Bandung

that are considered to have a positive value, meaning

that the value is good in supporting a decent coffee

shop called the workplace. These factors include the

quality of internet network, quality of coffee, level

of cleanliness, atmosphere of coffee shop, and

barista hospitality. The internet is considered the

best factor that coffee shops in Bandung can provide

in supporting productive activities. It is interesting to

see the fact that the quality of coffee is even

surpassed by the quality of the internet network.

This shows that coffee shop visitors have good skills

in knowing and assessing the quality of coffee.

While the factors considered weak include

Layout of the Shop, level of price, availability of

parking areas, level of privacy, and availability of

prayer rooms. Aspects that are a weakness of a

coffee shop in Bandung is a picture of the needs of

consumers who have not been able to properly meet

the coffee shop. Of course there are always

weaknesses in every business, and knowing

weaknesses will be very helpful not only for the

business, but also to increase customer satisfaction.

Research is still limited to 25 coffee shops in the

city of Bandung. If you see a coffee shop population

that exceeds 100 outlets, of course, research in

greater scope is needed. Future studies are expected

to be able to reach more adequate respondents also

reveal other findings that have not been explored in

this study

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