SAWO COFFEE AND ROASTERY BANDUNG

the cute little cup of tea

Hello, friends. How're you doing? 

I really hope you're doing okay and great. I know it is impossible to stay sane and completely unbothered by the fact we're living in the middle of a Covid-19 pandemic but really I wish the best for you and your family's wellbeing during this hard time.

Today marks the 53rd day of me not going to school and the 9th day of social distancing. I was supposed to go back to Jakarta last week but they decided to prolong the holiday as a precautionary measure to avoid the spread of coronavirus. How do I feel? Mostly I'm just bored or feel nothing I guess. Some days I woke up in the middle of the night feeling anxious about how's life gonna be tomorrow. Honestly, I worried a lot about my parents and grandparents but the rest, I was just sleepy all the time. There has been so much to talk about life during Covid, sure I'll write that in a separate post but today let's just think about happy places instead of grieving bad days.

simple outdoor seating with a carpet of gravel stones

As one of the hottest tourist spots in Bandung, Jalan Braga lives in this beautiful charm that never fails to attract more and more people to come there. It's like the street remains the same when in fact, it changed a lot. Sometimes it's so hard to keep up with these rapid changes in Bandung but as a birthplace to new-found concepts and ideas, I actually wasn't surprised because this is what this city is all about. Sawo is the change I notice the most when I went back to Braga last month. Located across Starbucks Braga, the coffeeshop stands under the roof of a 2-floor white building with its delicate interior design. The concept is so different from coffee shops nearby like Toko Kopi Djawa or Upnormal which is so determined to preserve the original shape of the building (which is fine). Sawo took a big move as a newcomer to the coffee game as there were already multiple options of coffee stops in Braga. Even though they're still young, Sawo is always packed with teenagers especially on the weekend.

the indoor area is quite big but there are only 25-30 chairs inside

I ordered Lemongrass and Ginger Tea the first time I went there (probably because I watched too much TV the day before. 4 weeks ago, our health minister said Indonesia won't be affected by coronavirus as we're accustomed to drinking herbal tea and jamu which established a strong immune system. He also denied research coming from a Harvard epidemiologist who said coronavirus has possibly hit the country by the time he released the study *facepalm* --yeah look at us now, 4 weeks after, we're struggling sooo hard with 10% death rate--). Anyway, because I came a bit early to the shop (it was only 9 or 10 in the morning), I sat on a hot seat where there is a table for two with an electricity socket. They had amazing mixtape, which I think is as important as how good the coffee tastes, along with fast internet connection (most important important). The only problem I found is the electricity socket, unfortunately, couldn't hold the weight of my bulky laptop charger. I need to prop the charger up so it could function as usual but I could not hang long so I decided to use the remaining battery. 

Pain au Chocolat

One day I came again there and ordered Iced Sea Salt Chocolate and a butter croissant because I haven't had anything for breakfast. I had zero expectation to both drink and meal but I got to admit, it was -so far- one of the most perfect combinations to indulge in the morning. The croissant was warm and moist it almost impossible to believe that there's a perfect croissant like this in a local coffee shop. The chocolate wasn't that sweet like St*rb*cks' signature chocolate because it was made of 59% dark chocolate and the hint of sea salt made a little twist to the taste. It feels ... so comfortable to drink this one. They had various options of coffee ranging from espresso-based to manual-brewed ones. They also had this Es Kopi Sawo and Es Kopi Aren in their kopi-susu range. As someone who doesn't drink coffee, I usually choose between manual-brew tea or ice chocolate.

coffee stations with a small display of bakery and cakes

They have a couple types of tea leaves but what excited me more was they have multiple choices of chocolate drinks. There are Milk Chocolate, West Java 60%, Sulawesi 72%, and Sea Salt 59% available. The percentage is the amount of pure cocoa contained in the drink: the higher the number the bitter it'll taste. I am so happy to find this kind of option because rarely I saw something like this, especially in a local coffee shop before.

what Sawo had but other coffee shops didn't: well-thought furniture and simple-cut wall decors

Besides its great beverages and food, Sawo is a comfortable nest for those who just wanted to talk over coffee and also to college students who seek a cozy place to study (except on weekend). The indoor area is quite big but they have very limited seats inside. I don't know what's the reason but other coffee shop managers (like me, for example, hahaha) maybe will add 3 or 4 extra tables with extra 8 chairs (business-wise.....). Yet at the same time, the lack of chairs and tables clearly made the room broader so both customers and crews were comfortable to walk around. 

The relaxed mood was built by well-thought choices of furniture, wall decor, indoor plants, and warm lighting set-up. Its sleek interior design captivated people to utilize this place as an Instagram-approved coffee destination. I won't deny, people come to instagrammable places these days! This place usually packed by the weekend so make sure you come early if you want to try the place out.

Sawo on Saturday night

Sawo Coffee and Roastery Bandung
Jl. Braga No. 76
Bandung

Verdict
Pros
1. Big space, prime location, comfortable ambiance

2. Great F&B

3. Electricity sockets available (sockets couldn't hold the weight of bulky charger laptops, recharge your laptop first if you  don't want to take any risks of not being able to use the socket properly/ask the crew to help you out)

4. Affordable

5. Good and nice service from the crews

Cons

1. No parking space for cars and limited parking space for motorcycles (park your car in the mall across the cafe)

2. Limited seats, packed and quite loud on the weekend

3. Gravel stones in the outdoor area made it's quite dusty outside, be careful if the dust gets into your cups/plates