Lately, we’re witnessing third-wave coffee shops slowing down their stomps across the city and steering in a different direction. Guten Morgen is known as one of the early purveyors of specialty coffee in the city who just last year built their secondary brand Kopi Selamat Pagi for quick-fix seekers. After establishing its first home in Kumulo BSD, the second Kopi Selamat Pagi now resides in Tomang and just a stone’s throw away from the mothership, where it hones in on coffee-to-go and homey grubs that reminisce on home and familiarity.
Upon entering the three-story establishment, you walk into a small elevated warteg joint or kedai (aptly named Kedai Selamat Pagi), before climbing up to the top floor to the glasshouse-designed coffee bar that overlooks the Tomang locale. It’s a compact space designed after the founder’s family trip to the southern Italian region of Puglia, where their culture of congregating and sharing was replicated in this airy rooftop. Despite the sweltering heat, the rooftop seating corners a limited but cosy space where guests can enjoy the sun and the breeze while their coffee is brewing.
Just like their forerunner, Kopi Selamat Pagi pridefully sources their coffee from local coffee farms and took their time to develop and create their menus, such as their signature Kopi Selamat Pagi and best-selling Kopi Sore Sore, the latter is a blend of coffee and aromatic tea leaves sourced from a local market. Fresher and trendier offerings, like the strong Es Kopi Jeli Opa and the less caffeinated Es Kopi Jeli Oma, with coffee jelly of their own creation, are up for grabs here too.
While Selamat Pagi and Guten Morgen differ in concept, both places still anchor on the close-knitted feeling of kinship and family. Kedai Selamat Pagi serves Eastern Javanese soul food cooked using Kenny’s homemade family recipes, like the Javanese style Lontong Cap Go Meh, and Nasi Campur with options such as their flavorful ayam bumbu Bali and nus item pedas.
For the grab-n-go concept they’ve gone for, Selamat Pagi ticks all the boxes of a convenient neighbourhood coffee joint. Regardless of how you choose to have your coffee in a quick pinch or linger back for a while, there’s a true pleasure in finding a trusted cuppa for every morning routine. Quick-fix or not, specialty coffee is staying.