Of pride and taste buds: Indonesians flock to local coffee chains due to lower prices, special offerings

JAKARTA – Like many others living in Indonesia, office worker Asri Samsuddin starts his day with a cup of coffee, which he buys from the Plaza Indonesia mall near his workplace in central Jakarta.

But instead of going to one of the two Starbucks outlets or The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf coffee shop there, Mr Asri picks up a hot cafe latte from local chain Kopi Kenangan. “One of these from Starbucks costs more than two of the same here – and with change to spare,” he said.