Martin Tan

Cerita Koffie Succeeded in Utilizing Urban Coffee Business

When we talk about coffee, we would describe them differently. Some would say that coffee is their productivity companion while others would say that coffee is art. In Liburan Bareng Yuk (LBY) virtual event held by UPH on May 28th, 2020 to fill high school students’ summer vacation, a young coffee start-up businessman is invited as guest. Yes, he is Martin, owner of Cerita Koffie, who also happens to be UPH’s Hotel Management alumni cohort 2015. Starting his own coffee business surprisingly started because Martin did not make it into UPH’s Gastronomy club during his study years. His failure did not discourage him from participating in other cooking competitions until he finally gained the opportunity to be a part-time barista at a coffeeshop in Gading Serpong area. From then on, Martin found out that coffee is fun to learn. November 2019 – it is the marking date of Martin’s very own coffeeshop named Cerita Koffie. Located at Alam Sutrera, Cerita Koffie carry “Every Cup Tells A Story” as its tagline. His experience in being a barista gave Martin the capability of making a specialty coffee, coffees with original flavors, which include Americano, Cappuccino, Latte, and Manual Brew. Martin acquires this vantage point where he sees the decreasing demand in specialty coffee due to its higher selling price. With that knowledge in hand, Martin thought about how he could create coffee with a relatively economic price, as it is trending in Indonesia. As a result, Martin’s coffee chain succeeded in opening 8 shops across Indonesia. Martin’s success in expanding his business is not separated from the knowledge he gained from learning at UPH’s Hotel Management. A lot of skills he learnt at university is applied for his business today, starting from making a widely liked product from test panels and many more. Up to this very day, Martin uses this panel test to develop his menu. As an alumnus and one who has started his own business, Martin further gives tips and tricks for those who wanted to start their own business. First, what kind of business do you want to open? Do you want a high-end coffeeshop with grand décor and nice seating or do you want a coffeeshop with a take-away model like Cerita Koffie? Second, one has got to have their signature menu, a unique dish that differs their coffeeshop from others. Third, get your capital – you can get 50:50 capital from an investor for starters. Through his experience, Martin hoped that his story can inspire this webinar participants as well as youth in general to not be afraid to have a dream. Of course, building a business requires knowledge, starting from choosing the right major like UPH’s Faculty of Tourism that has generate hundreds of successful graduates participating in culinary. Find out more at www.uph.edu!