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In a recent survey by elite travel company, Kuoni, Bali officially took the top spot for the world’s best holiday destination, beating out typical favorites like Hawaii and the Maldives. The reasons are manifold. Bali not only has beautiful beaches, but also an award-winning gastronomic culture as well as off-the-beaten gourmet adventures for honeymooners with a discerning palate. You might associate culinary travel with wine, cheese, or a Michelin-starred trail, but for many, it’s the unbeatable aroma of their favorite roast coffee bean that really tugs at their heartstrings. If you and your loved one bond over coffee and wish to immerse yourself in Bali’s rich coffee culture, then read on!
Visit the Cantik Coffee Plantation
Bali is home to a host of lush coffee plantations, but one of the best and most splurge-worthy is the Cantik Coffee Plantation, located in Temen village (Gianyar Regency). The latter is actually owned by a small cooperative of rural farmers, where the soil is fertile and therefore ideal for planting coffee trees and a plethora of spices. Here, you can see how coffee is grown, harvested, and manufactured and enjoy a wonderful tasting experience. One must-try coffee is the famous Luwak coffee—which fetches some of the highest prices in the world owing to the way it is produced. Ripe coffee berries are ingested by Asian palm civets, and the digested beans are later collected. Within the animal’s digestive system, the beans ferment, thus lending them a unique flavor. At the Cantik plantation, coffee is produced in a sustainable, ethical way that is kind to the animals.
The Wanagiri Coffee Plantation
Another highly renowned plantation is Wanagiri, which is a small, family-run plantation located in the northern hills of Bali. The family members produce Kopi Luwak from wild Luwak beans rather than caged animals, spending hours finding, cleaning, and manufacturing coffee. Each stage is carefully undertaken by hand, which results in a slightly higher price for the coffee made. Many honeymooners make this plantation a must-see stop during their stay in the north. This part of Bali is home to a plethora of treehouses vacationers can rent if they are after an ultra-romantic, private experience. Imagine sleeping in a thatched roof and natural wood construction amidst swaying palm trees, with views of the lush vegetation beyond and the clearest of starry night skies. Popular treehouses for honeymooners such as the Wavi Eco Tree House, are around 49 minutes by car, so start off early to ensure you see the majesty of the plantation in the early hours of the morning!
Take a Coffee Brewing Class
Accessing excellent coffee is only just the start of knowing how to enjoy excellent coffee during your honeymoon and when you get back home! If you and your loved one enjoy whipping up gourmet meals and surprising each other with a steaming hot cup of coffee in the morning, why not take a coffee brewing class? There is a host of coffee-tasting and brewing class opportunities in Ubud, where you can expect to discover coffee’s nuances and the subtle differences that different brewing methods can provide. At these classes, you are typically gifted with a bag of roasted coffee, so you can take it back to the hotel and wake up to fantastic coffee for the duration of your honeymoon!
Roasting and Barista Classes
If you wish to get a bit deeper into the coffee-making process and you’d like to learn how to roast beans Balinese style, then you can do a roasting class together. The machines used in these workshops are typically standard, meaning you can use the techniques back home and work as a coffee roaster anywhere in the world. Meanwhile, if you and your new spouse would love to open your own coffee shop back home, then you can go on a day barista camp, where you can learn everything from the right bean for specific coffee styles to how to make a perfectly foamed latte.
Bali is a paradise for lovers of fine coffee. For one, it is where one of the world’s most coveted coffees, Kopi Luwak, is made. It is also a gorgeous honeymoon destination where you can enjoy coffee tastings, classes, and even specialized lessons on how to excel as a barista back home!
