In Meulaboh, the capital of Aceh province, Sumatra island, Indonesia, there is a famous drink that attracts locals and tourists. It is upside down coffee, or Kupi Khop.
Kupi Khop consists of coarsely ground robusta coffee brewed in a cup, which is then inverted on a glass saucer. A plastic straw is then used to gradually drain the coffee from the cup without spilling it uncontrollably. Another way of enjoying it, often used by locals, is to bring the entire saucer to your mouth and sip. The drink is sold throughout Indonesia for $2-$3 a cup.
Kupi Khop is coffee served in an upside down cup on a glass saucer.
If you find yourself in West Coast Aceh, Indonesia, you owe it to yourself to try a cup of Kupi Khop coffee. The unique serving method alone makes it worth a try, because even if you don’t enjoy the coffee, you can at least share it on Instagram or whatever other social media platform you like.
In Meulaboh Aceh West, the famous Kupi Khop is located in Suak Ribee. This coffee has been around for decades.
Kupi Khop comes in two varieties: black and brown. The coffee used to make Kupi Khop is robusta, which is very black. The owner uses ground coffee mixed with hot water. So when the cup is turned upside down, the water in the cup flows out slowly, instead of overflowing uncontrollably. Diners can drink Kupi Khop cold or hot, black or brown.
Another way of enjoying it, often used by locals, is to bring the whole plate to your mouth and sip.
This way of drinking coffee has ancient origins, invented by fishermen in Aceh. At that time, when thermoses were not yet available, people came up with a way to keep their coffee warm for as long as possible while fishing.
They put a plate on the coffee cup to make the water cool longer. But every time they brought it to their mouths, they had to remove the lid, which was inconvenient, so they came up with a way to turn the cup upside down and each time they took a sip, they just had to bring the whole cup and plate to their mouths and enjoy. Turning the coffee cup upside down also helped fishermen avoid dust, insects and other impurities... flying inside, spoiling the drink. Kupi Khop exists to this day and has become one of Meulaboh's specialties.
It is also said that the Kupi Khop presentation was inspired by the hat of a local national hero - Teuku Umar. This method dates back to the colonial period or when Teuku Umar was a guerrilla.
Coffee shops have come up with all sorts of promotional methods to gain a foothold in the competition, but Kupi Khop has the edge in advertising. It has been officially declared an Intangible Cultural Heritage (WBT) of West Aceh Regency and its history can be traced back centuries.
The drink is now sold across the country, costing between $2 and $3 a cup.
So how do you drink coffee upside down? Lifting the cup off the saucer will only cause the coffee to spill out and make a mess. That’s where the straw comes in. It’s usually slid under the rim of the upside down cup when the drink is brought to the table, but locals have learned to slide it under the cup without lifting it off the saucer.
Once the straw is in place, all you have to do is blow gently into the straw, increasing the pressure inside the cup and causing the coffee to flow out. When a puddle forms around the cup, simply use the straw to sip the liquid. Then, just repeat the process as many times as needed. This way, the coffee stays warm for longer, just like it did hundreds of years ago.
