I love to drink coffee. When I go to sleep at night, the last thought that would come to my mind is that as soon as I wake up, after a short prayer and meditation to the universe, I will then have my coffee meditation.

I love my coffee done this way: boil one and a third mug of water, then drop two tea spoon scoops of coffee, leave to boil some more. Pour it through a sieve into one of my favourite mugs (depending on my mood: when restless, I use my celadon green mug; when listless, I use my orange Harris Hotel mug; when angry, I use my white with blue clams mug; when peaceful and in Batutumonga, I use my Scottish friend’s “You can’t beat the system” mug-please see picture!). To complete off the flavour, I put a tea spoonful of sweet condensed milk straight out of a can! I have to admit, though, that most of the time, Irah, my maid prepares my coffee this way. Step by step, according to my order.

Unfortunately, even though Toraja is famous for its Arabica and Robusta coffee, I haven’t found any cafe, warung (side walk food stalls) or restaurant in the whole Toraja that makes passable coffee, let alone a to die for coffee. Most of the time, the coffee beans or coffee powder is burnt to a black consistency that tastes like charcoal. Then a lot of sugar is stirred in. I have a headache of sugar overdose simply by taking a sip! It’s really different from Aceh, which is also famous for its coffee. Over there, they know how to boil the coffee then ‘pull’ the coffee, by pouring from its boiling hot bronze container thirty centimetre away to a heated cup. Now and then, they will put some marijuana leaves, or so the locals tell me. I believe them, because after a cup of Acehnese coffee, instead of being perked up, you will feel more relaxed or even sleepy. Worse, you will want more and more coffee.