Nowadays, wherever you go in the world, it seems like cafés and coffee shops can be found at almost every corner of a city. Many people get their daily cup of Joe out of necessity (or should I say addiction?) thanks to the caffeine kick that helps them stay on top of their game for the whole day. Others, like me, occasionally jump on the bandwagon because the smell of freshly brewed coffee is just too irresistible. However, despite its popularity, coffee is not the most widely consumed drink globally. Tea is.
I don’t know how it is in your part of the world, but looking back, I realized how much tea has been a part of my life since I was little. I still remember how it was customary to serve tea to guests visiting one’s house, and because of this everyone always made sure they stocked up enough tea just in case someone would suddenly knock on their door and come over. My holidays were often filled with admiring dozens of tea packaging mockups my late uncle created for the tea company he used to work for as a graphic designer. Back then, he still did every single design by hand, using oil paints with colors that ran the gamut.
There are more than 100,000 hectares (almost 250,000 acres) of tea plantations in Indonesia which are spread mainly across Java and Sumatra. However, I find Indonesian tea leaves not nearly as popular overseas as its coffee beans. Of all tea-producing provinces in the country, West Java contributes the lion’s share to the national tea production since it is home to more than three quarters of all tea plantations in Indonesia. And for most of my life, I’ve lived in or near this province! So, there really was no excuse for me not to set foot in one of its many tea estates. (In the past I only drove by them every time I went to Puncak or other parts of the province.)
However, my maiden trip to a tea plantation happened not in West Java, but more than 3,000 kilometers away across the Indian Ocean during the Spice Odyssey seven years ago. On the way from the town of Anachal in Kerala to the city of Madurai in Tamil Nadu, the taxi driver who took me and James briefly stopped at a tea plantation near the border of the two Indian states. The weather was far from ideal, though, and we only stayed for a few minutes since it was still a long way to our destination. But earlier this year, just a couple of weeks after his first trip to Puncak, James proposed the idea of going back there to properly visit a tea plantation. He suggested a hike to Mount Kencana, which I immediately agreed, for it was the exact same location I looked up months earlier when I was researching places to go hiking around this part of West Java.
The promise of a magnificent view of Mount Gede and Mount Pangrango – both are more than 3,000 meters high and can be visible from Jakarta on clear days – from the hiking trail was the main reason why we chose it, apart from the supposedly picturesque tea plantations blanketing the entire place. In mid-April, we went to Puncak for the second time this year with our minds fixated on the Mount Kencana hiking trail. Going at the end of the rainy season meant we had to be content with whatever weather the heavens threw at us. At the start of the hike, the hilltops were still covered in thick fog, although luckily the majestic peaks of Gede and Pangrago were still discernible. The fog actually reminded me of how Puncak used to look like decades ago when I was a kid. So, despite the prospect of not-so-ideal weather, it did bring back some fond memories from a time when I was too young to appreciate the beauty of this part of Java.
Thick fog up on the hills
Layers of West Java’s peaks
Most people apparently opted for driving down the narrow path, past the last village on the slopes of Mount Kencana, to the farthest point that a car could possibly go. But I decided to park mine just off the main road right at the trailhead, and walked from there. While doing the former must be a lot more convenient and less strenuous, as soon as we turned to the back of a ridge, overlooking the undulating tea plantations and the forest beyond them, we were convinced that we made a decision that suited us better. It was here the noise from the main road, a constant hum thanks to the incessant traffic, suddenly disappeared. All we heard was just a soothing calmness.
Before my eyes was a vista so beautiful it reminded me of the photos of Tuscany I’ve seen in magazines.
“It looks like Tuscany,” James broke the silence as we both marveled at the view while taking shots of this beauty. He just confirmed what I had in my mind.
We continued walking as the sun slowly emerged from behind the hills, showering this landscape with its warmth. In this vast expanse of tea plantations, a few patches were brimming with activities: the local workers diligently plucking the buds of each plant and occasionally chatting with their friends, while others collected the harvest and wrapped them in throw-pillow-sized bundles. Those who saw us gave us a wide and warm smile as we smiled at them and said hello – I found some of them so good-looking they could be models. While the hike itself was quite pleasant – the peaks of the two volcanoes (Gede and Pangrango) were visible at some points from the trail – and not too arduous, it’s encounters like this that make a trip even more memorable.
Two and a half hours since starting the hike – with a lot of stops to take photos – we were nearing the end of the tea plantations before the land gave way to the steep inclination toward the summit of Mount Kencana, 1,803 meters above sea level. At this elevation, the tea trees were almost completely denuded and trimmed, but this is a common practice to keep the plants low which allows easy harvesting. Eventually the leaves will reappear and in no time, workers will return to pluck the buds – the best part of a tea tree – and the cycle repeats.
At the very end of the trail is a set of stairs made of wood to help visitors reach the summit of Mount Kencana. However, since by this time the peaks of the two volcanoes were already completely covered by clouds, we decided not to go further and headed down instead. No regrets though, for we were already so elated with the fact that we finally made a proper visit to a working tea plantation – a spectacular one, no less. Now, every time I go to the supermarket and go to the tea section, I will always remember that day when I was surrounded by tea trees as far as the eye can see.
Have you had a cup of tea today?
Tea fields as far as the eye can see
One last look at the view that took my breath away