It’s not about coffee any more — what matters is comfort

Caffeine, social life and work blend into one cup in Jakarta.
Nowadays, Jakarta’s cafés serve not only caffeine, but also as comfortable places for people to balance their social and working lives.
People like to go to cafés to meet friends and loved ones, but also bring their paperwork and spend hours there in corners where people can still detect their social presence.
They also bring their clients to score deals, hold meetings and even English lessons.
Thea Rizkia was among a group who recently held regular English conversation classes at a Starbucks café in the city.
“We met there because the place was so comfortable,” the 27-year-old working mother said.
One of their sessions would last up to two hours. Everyone bought at least one cup of coffee during the sessions.
Thea had stopped attending the classes last year when she became pregnant.
But it’s likely that it’s not just Thea who goes to cafés not for coffee but for the comfy venues they offer.
More people and communities are using cafés as meeting points
where they can gather, mingle and discuss everything, said Yogi D. Sumule, the owner of Coffewar, a café in Kemang.
“Many communities come to my place. These people like to spend hours in my café,” said Yogi, who sometimes has to keep his  café open until dawn to satisfy his clients’ needs.
“They came in a group, bought one cup and spent hours there.”

Believing that these groups will be good for business, many café owners have tried to maximize their service to lure customers.
Bakoel Koffie café provides special rooms for group meetings.
Bakoel Koffie owner Syenny Chatrine Widjaja said the provision of the meeting rooms  was in response to the changing function of cafés in Jakarta from places to drink coffee to social venues.
“We are among the first coffee chains that provides free wi-fi for customers,” Syenny claimed, adding this service was subsequently offered by Starbucks and Coffee Bean, which previously charged customers for the service.
“It’s a just goodwill from us,” she said.
Clients responded positively to this gesture, but sometimes they misuse it.
Yogi said he had seen a group once taking advantage of the hospitality at his friend’s café.
“They came in a group, bought one drink and spent hours there,” Yogi said, relieved he had never had such customers at his own café.
It is undeniable that the ubiquitous Jakarta cafés with their comfortable sofas, soothing music and free wi-fi  have become havens  not just for social gatherings and business.
The mobile office concept — where people can avoid offices and instead work online from cafés — is now on the rise among people in the city thanks to changing work habits and the availability of free wi-fi connections at cafés.
One person who had made a café her “second office” was civil servant Kartika Winta Aprilliany, 27.
“The place is less stressful than any office. I like to spend hours here and do my work here,” Kartika said.