Smells of Black Lintong Coffee

It was still 7 AM in the morning. My grandmother made a thick black hot sweetish coffee and bought some fried sweet bananas and “nasi pulut” for my grandfather. My grandfather would have a big tin cup for himself, and was he relaxing in front of their house, he was also creating his hand-made cigarettes, using special paper, tobacco, and sealed it with his saliva (If you are Dutch, you might already use to do this).This was a morning ceremonial in my grandmother and grandfather house.

In Batak Toba language, grandfather is called “Opung Baoa” (read: Oppung Bawa) and grandmother is called “Opung Boru” (read: Oppung Boru). Batak Toba is the name of ethnic that mainly lives in Tapanuli, highland area of North Sumatera province.

Enticed by the good smell of the traditional coffee, I also have a big tin cup of coffee for myself every time I visited my Opung’s house. I always remember the smell, the atmosfer, the relaxing breeze, and how I love to visit my Opung’s house for the sake of this ceremony.

Coffee can not be separated from Bataknese people. You might have heard about coffee Lintong or Mandheling, which the name of areas in North Sumatera. Coffee plantation can be found in Lake Toba region, namely Lintong Nihuta, Dairi-Sidikalang, Siborongborong, Dolok Sanggul, and Seribu Dolok, to the southwest of Medan.

In Siborong-borong, you can find many farmers sell their coffees every Monday. Monday is market day in Siborong-borong. Most people around the region will go there either as a seller, buyer, or simply just traveling around. This is one of entertainment there.

If rice is the main food, then coffee is one of the main beverages here.

Note: A farmer is depulping coffee in Lintong Nihuta, North Sumatra, using low tech tool.

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