Bobho: The Tattooed Barista Girl is Getting Serious About Coffee

Saat masih kerja di salah satu grup majalah yang letaknya persis di samping Tanamera Coffee, saya cukup kaget melihat sosok wanita berambut hitam, bercampur merah dan hijau, dengan tato di seluruh tangannya. “Siapa tuh Ga? Barista baru?” tanya saya kepada Muhammad Aga, head barista Tanamera pada pertengahan Februari lalu. “Iya, ex-barista X (salah satu cafe ternama di Jakarta), tapi tastenya oke kok,” jawab Aga.

Barista sangar namun ramah ini bernama Debora Ayu Ibrahim, atau biasa dipanggil Bobho. Ia sempat menanyakan nama saya, sebelum sempat menjawab, ia menyambar, “gue panggil lo Yoko aja yah?” Wah seenaknya aja nih anak, kata saya dalam hati. Tapi tidak apa-apalah, ketika orang mengatakan saya mirip Yoko (tokoh utama Return of the Condor Heroes) yang diperankan oleh orang seganteng Andy Lau, rasanya saya malah harus bangga. Berikut ini adalah pembicaraan saya dengan Bobho mengenai latar belakang dan pengalamannya bekerja di sebuah coffee shop yang serius:

Sebelum jadi barista, Anda sibuk apa saja?

Sebelumnya saya sempat kerja di retail custom T-Shirt, kemudian kerja di sebuah distro di daerah Tebet. Saya sempat bekerja di bidang saham juga, padahal saya kuliah jurusan Broadcast.

Wah agak ngawur juga yah? Terus bagaimana ceritanya Anda bisa jadi barista?

Sebelumnya saya pernah interview hingga 5 kali di salah satu coffee shop paling ternama. Sebetulnya saya sudah diterima, tinggal serah terima seragam dan apron, tapi setelah mengaku saya memiliki tato, saya tidak jadi diterima. Memang peraturan perusahannya begitu. Saya sudah membuat tato sejak lulus SMA, pada 2008. Kemudian saya melamar di suatu perusahaan promotor musik, tapi sedang tidak ada slot kosong. Kebetulan, mereka (perusahaan yang juga bergerak di bidang F&B) sedang mencari barista. Akhirnya saya diterima di coffee shop tersebut sebagai opening team, setelah mencoba menjadi barista, ternyata asyik juga. Awalnya saya tidak tahu apa-apa tentang kopi, tapi di sana saya diajari manual brew, cold brew, syphon, membuat espresso, dsb.

  

Itu teknisnya kan? Apa lagi yang Anda dapat di sana?

Sebenarnya di sana saya tidak mendapatkan pengetahuan tentang kopi karena tidak ada waktu. Outletnya selalu sibuk setiap hari. Di Tanamera, saya belajar cara bikin kopi yang benar secara lebih spesifik dan detail, mulai dari latte art, frothing susu, pengetahuan tentang kopi. Banyak sekali sih bedanya, jomplang banget. Sebelumnya saya tahunya kopi itu pahit saja, entah dibuat untuk espresso atau milk based lainnya. Di sini, setiap pagi kami melakukan coffee tasting sehingga saya mulai bisa merasakan flavor-flavor kopi. Selain itu lingkungan di Tanamera juga mendukung karena ada coffee roaster, lalu tidak ada gap dengan pelanggan.

Memangnya dulu ada gap seperti apa?

Dulu kami hanya boleh ngobrol di counter saja, ketika pelanggan memesan kopi, selebihnya tidak boleh. Mungkin maksud perusahaan, “untuk apa lo lama-lama ngobrol sama pelanggan? Sedangkan kerjaanlo masih banyak.” Kurang friendly lah istilahnya.

Dari sisi segmentasi pelanggan, apakah di Tanamera beda jauh dengan tempat Anda sebelumnya?

Bedalah kak, di sini kebanyakan orang yang datang memang suka dan mengerti soal kopi. Sementara di tempat lama, pelanggan lebih ingin nongkrong, mereka biasa pesan ice blended. Tadinya saya biasa ngopi di salah satu cafe ternama, menurut saya rasanya sudah enaklah. Di tempat lama, saya memang merasa kopinya lebih enak. Tapi ketika masuk ke Tanamera, saya langsung merasa, “terus yang saya minum kemarin itu apa yah?” Bukan bermaksud menjelek-jelekkan, tapi bedanya jauh sekali.

  

Saya curiga Anda diterima di sini justru karena memiliki tato. (FYI, Aga juga penggemar tato, ia memiliki tato di tangannya, dan mungkin di bagian tubuh lainnya)

Pertamanya sih begitu, memang Aga ingin mencari barista perempuan yang bertato. Ia sempat melihat saya di tempat kerja lama saya bersama Ibu Dini (pemilik Tanamera). Lalu tanpa saya sadari, ternyata mereka sedang melakukan interview. Katanya sih, Ibu Dini suka karena saya ngomong terus.

Sebagai barista, bagaimana Anda tahu jika Anda sudah melakukan pekerjaan anda dengan baik?

Ketika kopi yang saya buat sesuai dengan rasa kopi itu seharusnya. Contohnya, ketika saya membuat manual brew, tasting note seharusnya adalah orange, strawberry, nutty atau chocolaty. Ketika saya selesai membuat, sharing ke pelanggan, dan mereka merasakan note tersebut, saya merasa saya sudah melakukan pekerjaan saya dengan baik.

  

Sejauh ini, apakah Anda sudah memiliki minat khusus, mungkin latte art atau manual brew misalnya?

Masih belom sih. Tapi Aga mendorong saya untuk ikut kompetisi tahun depan, mau latte art atau manual brew, terserah saja, tapi saya harus mengerti soal kopi dari sekarang. Masih belum nyampelah kak, saya tidak mikir ke situ deh.

Bagaimana dengan profil kopi favorit Anda?

Tasting note maksudnya? Kalo saya sih memang tidak terlalu suka acid, seperti orang Indonesia kebanyakan. Saya suka kopi yang yang light, sweet tapi clean aftertaste, contohnya Aceh Gayo. Awalnya memang agak acid, tapi kan setelah itu aftertastenya clean. Saya juga suka manual brew yang dicampur es batu, ternyata enak loh. Paling tidak menurut saya, mungkin saya sok tahu atau gimana, tapi rasanya lebih light, jadi tambah asyik, enak gitu.

When I was still working at a magazine group, located next to Tanamera Coffee, I was quite surprised by the presence of a woman with black, red, green hair, with tattoo all over her arms. “Who’s that? A new barista?” I asked Muhammad Aga, the head barista of Tanamera on the middle of February. “Yes, she was ex-barista X (one of popular coffee shops in Jakarta), but she has good taste,” Aga answered.

The slightly scary, but actually friendly barista is Debora Ayu Ibrahim, aka Bobho. She also asked my name, but before I replied, she said, “let me call you Yoko, okay?” What the..... but then I thought it’s actually a good thing. When people said that you look like Yoko (the main character of Return of the Condor Heroes), starred by handsome actor like Andy Lau, you take that as compliment. Here is my interview with Bobho about her background and her new experience working in a serious coffee shop:

Before you become a barista, what were you doing?

I was working in retail custom T-shirt company, and then in a distro in Tebet. I’ve worked in stock also, even though I majored in Broadcast.

Well, it’s quite out of track, isn’t it? How did you finally become a barista?

I’ve been interviewed 5 times in one of the most popular coffee shops. Actually, I already got the job, I just need to get the uniform and apron, but after telling them that I have tattoo, they turned me down. They don’t allow employees with tattoo. I got the tattoo since I graduated from high school, in 2008. Then I applied for a music promotor company, but there’s no vacancy. Instead, they (the company is also doing F&B business) need barista. Finally I got the job in that coffee shop as opening team. After a while, I the job as a barista, even though I didn’t have any knowledge about coffee beforehand. I learned basic manual brew, cold brew, syphon and making espresso, etc.

That’s the technical part right? What else you’ve got there?

Actually, I didn’t get too much knowledge on coffee because there’s no time. The outlet was very busy every day. In Tanamera, I learn how to make coffee in more detailed, specific ways, from latte art, milk frothing, to other knowledge about coffee. The difference is night and day. Before working here, I only knew coffee is bitter, either for espresso or any other milk-based coffee. In here, every morning we do the coffee tasting so I can start to taste different flavors and tasting notes. The environment is also better for learning, in fact we have a coffee roaster here, there’s also no gap between baristas and customers.

What sort of gaps did you have back then?

We were only allowed to talk to customers in the counter, that’s when they ordered their coffee, other than that, you can’t. The company was like, “what’s the point of chatting with customers while you have other jobs to do.” Not too friendly, I guess.

From the customer segmentation, how far is the difference between Tanamera’s customers and your previous workplace?

Very different, in here most of the customers are coffee lovers who know about coffee. Meanwhile, at previous place, the customers just wanted to hang out, most of the times they ordered ice blended drinks. I was used to the taste of one of the most popular coffee shops’ coffee, I thought theirs was good enough. And then, in my previous place, it was better. Now, I’m like, “what was I drinking all this time?” I don’t mean to badmouth anybody, but the difference is that huge.

You know, I suspect you got the job here because you have tattoo. (FYI, Aga also a tattoo fan, he also got tattoo on his hands, and possibly in other parts of his body)

It’s true. Aga wanted a female barista with tattoo. He came to my previous workplace with Mrs. Dini (the owner of Tanamera). Unknowingly, the chat was actually an interview. Some people said that Mrs. Dini liked me because I was very talkative.

As a barista, how can you tell that you’ve done a good job?

When I brew the coffee like it should be. For instance, when I make manual brew, the ideal tasting notes should be whether orange, strawberry, nutty, or chocolaty. When I finished brewing and the customers tasted those notes, I felt I’ve done a good job.

 Have you developed any specific interests in coffee? You know, latte art or manual brew perhaps?

Actually, not yet. But Aga pushes me to get into competition next year, whether it’s latte art competition or manual brew, any competitions, but I got to learn more about coffee from now on. I don’t think I’m there yet, I haven’t think much about it.

What’s your favorite coffee taste profile?

The tasting notes? I don’t enjoy acid that much, just like most of Indonesians. I like light, sweet coffee with clean aftertaste, such as Aceh Gayo. I know it’s acidic in the beginining, but it has that beautiful, clean aftertaste. I also like to put ice cube in manual brew coffee, it’s nice you know. At least to me, it feels lighter, nicer, very tasty.