Kedai Filosofi Kopi

Reminiscing our 9th grade Indonesian language class where Dewi Lestari's (Dee) 'Filosofi Kopi' anthology became a mandatory reading for everyone in the class. With +Marsya Anindita who also attended the same class as I did, we decided to visit Kedai Filosofi Kopi for the sake of the memory of the book and our little class back then. Neither of us, however, had watched the movie, but we still remember pieces of the stories. Right after lunch at HolyRibs! we drove away to the vicinity of Blok M Square. Entering the coffee shop that was pretty packed at the time, we finally got seated on the high stool facing the road after getting our order upon the counter.

Espresso (IDR 20.000)

The espresso is served on a very little portion, it doesn't even fill more than half of the little cup they had served it in. Along with the espresso is a glass of cold mineral water to neutralize the acidity of the coffee. Upon receiving our order by the counter, the waiter made sure that my friend was used to drinking coffee because "the espresso will be so bitter". I think that is what she expects, going into a coffee shop and ordering a decent cup of coffee. The problem is that tone of the staff at the time were pretty condescending, added with the fact that they had us waiting for quite a bit on the counter and later took our orders without any greetings and all. Talk about hospitality.

Red Velvet (IDR 35.000)

Naturally I picked out the non-coffee order, this time opting out for their Red Velvet. It is always interesting to try out red velvet-flavored things because the only thing that distinguish them is the chocolatey flavor and that the title itself is vague in my opinion. Filosofi Kopi's particular beverage was served on a lidded paper cup and it tasted very similarly to Milo. The color was really red, but all the flavor I got was chocolate milk; not very surprising since 'red velvet' in concept is really unclear, but I was expecting something a little more unique than this. 

Despite its interior not being like what I expected - a warm, woody, dimmed ambiance, the decór of the shop itself was very interesting. Even on the window seats the decor was comfortable, especially because we visit it at day time so natural lighting became a good friend. The decal on the window (which I just found out is a newer addition to the store decór) is a unique design and I sort of regretted not getting a whole picture of the 'PENCERITA' decal. The actual order itself were pretty good and its well priced, but I don't think it is very special. There were no cards given to us to explain the meaning of our coffee choice as what were told by the books :(

I definitely enjoyed my visiting Filosofi Kopi for the experience, it was indeed a pretty little coffee shop. The menu was pretty straightforward, but coming in with expectations over the book it does not really met. Try coming here and get a lot of beautiful shots, everyone here came for that same reason that you'll get used to being the background of a few Instagram pictures (especially if you were seated by the windows like I did!). The one main thing to note is that they need to improve their service. Although the appearance of Rio Dewanto in this cafe is highly unlikely, if you come in for the vibe, you'll be one happy customer.

Kedai Filosofi Kopi

Jl. Melawai 6 No. 25

Kebayoran Baru

South Jakarta