Kahwa daun: traditional knowledge of a coffee leaf herbal tea from West Sumatera, Indonesia

Abstract

BackgroundKahwa daun is a herbal tea made from coffee leaves produced by people in West Sumatera, Indonesia. It has an aroma, flavor, and appearance similar to coffee. There is no existing literature describing the traditional production method of kahwa daun. In this article, production techniques, moisture content, and the yield of the product are explored. MethodDescriptive qualitative research method was used to explore production techniques. Discussion, observation, in-depth interviews, and documentation were conducted in three districts in West Sumatera to collect primary data. Gravimetric method is used to determine the moisture content. ResultProcessing of fresh coffee leaves into kahwa daun includes collection of raw materials, drying, packaging, and storage. Kahwa daun usually was made from robusta coffee leaves. The result showed that there were three main production techniques for kahwa daun in the province which include pendiangan (traditional drying above the cooking fire), smoking, and toasting in a handheld frame over a low heat. All techniques were different from the techniques usually used to produce herbal teas. The moisture content of kahwa daun was 3.6–7.6% (wb), and the yield of the product was 10–20%. ConclusionKahwa daun processing differs from both usual herbal tea production methods and commercial coffee leaf tea production. The efficacy and potential of kahwa daun as a health drink still require further research.