Indonesia has always been a dominant player in coffee production, but it really hasn’t been until the recent handful of years that it’s made a splash in the Western part of the world. I still think there’s a lack of true visibility and education with Indonesian coffee, but it’s refreshing to see that even behemoths like Starbucks have been sourcing beans from Sumatra and Komodo islands and random coffee shops I stumble into in New York City and Pittsburgh have been carrying grounds of Java born and bred in the massive archipelago.

Gobs and gobs of coffee shops abound in Indonesia, from polished oooh-la-la establishments to gritty under-the-tent roadside purveyors. On a recent trip to Jogjakarta in Central Java, my husband and I dropped into Kopi Klotok, a popular café surrounded by lush rice paddies on the outskirts of the city. With New Year’s Eve looming ahead, professionals and students on holiday raided the place to savor every last drop of this traditional coffee. It’s a modest concept: the barista boils 2 cups of water with 2 teaspoons of coffee and 2 teaspoons of sugar; you know the coffee is ready to sip when you hear a sound rattling out of the kettle that literally goes, “klotok, klotok, klotok, ” hence the explanation behind its namesake. It exudes a strong taste and finishes off with a caramel-like flavor. Like many Indonesian coffee houses, your cup of Joe is served in a thick glass, comes with a lid and sits on an antique style saucer.

It’s not just the rounds of coffee that keep patrons pouring in. The Javanese fare at Kopi Klotok draws in enthusiasts as well. Unfortunately, our late-day visit meant the café was depleted of its supply of  well-lauded Sayur Lodeh, classic vegetables stewed in spicy coconut milk. We managed to get our hands, however, on an order of sweet and golden banana fritters, brought to us on a vintage-style floral plate. In fact, all of Kopi Klotok harbors a throwback look and feel, especially with the “Joglo,” the name given to the main building of a property. Its airy patio and soaring ceiling outfitted in heavy wooden planks definitely confirm you’re reveling in an authentic Javanese experience.

What made this afternoon extra charming was the line-up of hip scenesters downing their kopi and munching on their banana fritters by the verdant rice paddies and swaying palm trees. It conveyed a dichotomy of old and new. Does such a fetching seating arrangement exist at a Starbucks?