Makassar – Coffee has been a favorite in South Sulawesi (Sulsel) since the 17th century. Coffee was so valuable that two kingdoms fought over coffee.
The spread of coffee in South Sulawesi cannot be separated from the Dutch East Indies forced cultivation program in the 19th century. But long before this time, war coffee has been going on for decades in South Sulawesi.
Also read: Delicious and cheap local coffee can be enjoyed at this legendary coffee shop
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In 1830, the Governor General of the Dutch East Indies, Johannes van den Bosch implemented the Cultuurstelsel rule. This regulation required every colonial area of the Dutch Kingdom to grow export commodities, especially pepper, cloves, indigo, including coffee.
 Photo: iStock |
Coffee in South Sulawesi actually arrived around the 17th century through Arab traders who landed in Sulawesi and was developed in the Toraja and Gowa regions. For the general public, the most famous ‘black gold’ beans in South Sulawesi are from Tana Toraja with Arabica coffee.
Coffee brewer and owner of Warung Kopi Toraja, Sulaeman Miting tells about the development of coffee which also has a dark story in it. Sulaeman called it a ‘coffee war’, long before the practice of forced cultivation by the Dutch East Indies government.
“This coffee war occurred around the 1800s. Not in the sense of a price war, but also a real war related to coffee,” said Sulaeman when talking to detikcom, Thursday (23/8/2018).
 Photo: iStock |
Long before the arrival of the Dutch East Indies, the first coffee beans were brought by Islamic traders who landed in Sulawesi and then brought to the Tana Toraja and Enrekang areas around the 1600s.
Coffee This type of Arabica was developed by local people and is referred to as an energy drink by local authorities. Torajan people call coffee by its local name, namely ‘Kaa.’
Meanwhile, Arab traders called coffee Kawa and the origin of this coffee was brought by the Arabs from Ethiopia, whose region of origin was called Qawfa.
Because of its properties and fragrant aroma, local rulers, especially from the Luwu Kingdom, are said to have developed this coffee. They work together with area owners in Tana Toraja to secure coffee distribution and trade channels. The first areas where coffee grows are in Sadan and Pulu-pulu.
 Photo: iStock |
“So when people pass through their area, there is a kind of retribution for everyone. Naturally, the merchants are closely connected with the local authorities to guard the route of their coffee from the coffee center,” he explained.
At that time there were two royal camps that had coffee as their main trade. The first camp is the Sidenreng Kingdom, Soppeng. The second camp is the Luwu and Bone kingdoms.
“These two camps were the origins of the war. Because it was caused by control of coffee, it was called the coffee war,” he said.
These two groups each controlled coffee trade and distribution routes, which were divided into two routes, namely the West route belonging to the Sindenreng kingdom, and the East route belonging to the Luwuk kingdom.
Until then the Luwuk trade route was quiet because the Sindenreng kingdom formed a market which made the trade route to the Luwu kingdom quiet.
“This trigger is what caused the first attack regarding lane seizure coffee,” said Sulaeman.
Also read: Kopi Kultur, a fun stop for local coffee lovers
Also watch ‘Enjoying a Cup of Coffee at the Laskar Pelangi Museum’:
[Gambas:Video 20detik]
(sob/adr)
