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Agence France-Presse

Qurrata Ayuni owns what she claims is the only woman-run cafe in the capital of Indonesia’s most conservative province.
The 28-year-old opened Morning Mama in 2023 to create a space that caters to women in Banda Aceh, known as the city of 1,001 coffee shops.
She and her baristas provide an alternative to rowdy, smoke-filled male haunts. “I thought why not open a place that is comfortable for women?” she said.
While the province has long been known as the site of the world’s deadliest tsunami and a decades-long separatist insurgency, Aceh’s draw for visitors is often the coffee.












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The traditional sanger latte, mixed with condensed milk, is a popular staple.
Aceh’s strong connection to coffee started hundreds of years ago with Dutch colonial rulers. Now, in its lush highlands, farmers cultivate coffee beans known around the world for their high quality.
Aceh still draws attention for its ultraconservative values, including by-laws that require Muslim women to wear hijabs.
While women are not banned from working in the only region in Muslim-majority Indonesia to impose Islamic law, running a coffee shop is seen as a man’s job.
“It’s extremely difficult for women in Aceh to pursue education or a career, facing not only legal restrictions but also social bullying,” said Andreas Harsono of international non-governmental organisation Human Rights Watch.

Despite widespread criticism, public whipping remains a common punishment for a range of offences in the province, including gambling, alcohol consumption and relations outside marriage.
Independent career paths are mostly viewed as out of reach for Aceh’s young women, but Qurrata was undeterred.
Qurrata, who owns her cafe without a business partner, saw a demand for a space for women to work or meet friends.
She and her team of baristas pour fresh coffee to mostly hijab-wearing customers, with children’s books and menstruation pads available for use nearby.
“There’s no cigarette smoke, it’s not noisy, it’s really cosy,” she said, adding that some men also have coffees at her shop. “It’s a statement that women can own businesses, make decisions and lead. Now is the time for change.”

The entrepreneur says women are stepping up, pointing to at least 1,000 applying for a barista job.
“I want to offer them the chance to change the course of their lives,” she said.
Caca, a 23-year-old barista, said it was a “really cool job” rare in Aceh.
The cafe’s regulars hail Morning Mama as a spot where women can be themselves.
“I feel more connection if I ask something from a woman barista,” said 21-year-old student Meulu Alina. “I don’t feel any nervousness. It’s more like talking with your sister.”

Before starting her business, Qurrata overcame the loss of her parents at the age of eight in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which killed more than 200,000 people.
Her village near Banda Aceh was destroyed, but she survived and was raised by her aunt and uncle.
Qurrata said she wants to channel her grief into helping other women. “It’s a platform to help others find their own resilience, much like I did,” she said.
Photography jobs allowed her to build savings and confidence; she took a leap into business after her uncle encouraged her and helped financially. Other women were still “afraid to start”, she said, for fear men will say bad things.
“People here tend to believe that women should stay at home,” she said. But “the older generation understands that times have changed”.

The owner of popular Aceh coffee shop Solong, Haji Nawawi, said he would not employ women but residents had accepted them making coffee elsewhere, calling it “normal” as values “from outside” Aceh had entered the province.
Qurrata employs five women alongside two men.
Revenue fluctuates, but Qurrata says her ultimate aim is to inspire other women.
“Women are capable of so much more than we’re often given credit for. We can be leaders, creators and innovators,” she said. “So don’t just sit back. Don’t be afraid.”


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Food and Drinks

Cafe owned and run by women, for women, in Indonesia’s most conservative province, Aceh

Qurrata Ayuni (centre), owner of Morning Mama, a coffee shop in Indonesia’s conservative Aceh province, with two of her staff. The cafe creates a space for women in a city where coffee shops have long catered to men. Photo: AFP

Morning Mama owner Qurrata Ayuni at her cafe in Banda Aceh. She says it is the sole woman-run cafe in the capital of Aceh province. Photo: AFP

Qurrata makes a coffee at her cafe. Qurrata saw a demand for a space for women to work or meet friends. Photo: AFP

A barista receives orders at Morning Mama. Photo: AFP

Qurrata (right) makes a coffee. The cafe’s regulars hail Morning Mama as a spot where women can be themselves. Photo: AFP

Vietnam’s coffee entrepreneurs open stylish cafes to serve Generation Z

A cup of coffee at Thai Cafe, in Hanoi, Vietnam. Photo: AFP

Owner Nguyen Duc Hieu making coffee at Thai Café, in Hanoi. Young entrepreneurs are changing Vietnam’s coffee culture. Photo: AFP

Customers with their coffees at Thai Café, in Hanoi. Photo: AFP

A customer outside the Toka Coffee Stand, in Hanoi. Photo: AFP

Coffee house owner Nguyen Thi Hue making a drink during an interview at her cafe in Hanoi. Photo: Nguyen Thi Hue

An employee makes coffee for a customer at Thai Cafe in Hanoi. Photo: AFP

A worker roasts coffee beans at Thai Café’s production facility in Hanoi. Photo: AFP

Coffee beans being roasted at Thai Café’s production facility. Photo: AFP

A worker collects roasted coffee beans at Thai Café’s production facility. Photo: AFP

Why the world needs more varieties of coffee, as Starbucks trials new arabica beans

Researchers are developing new coffee varieties to benefit farrmers and drinkers. Photo: Shutterstock

A woman laps up the aroma of coffee. Research is under way to develop new coffee varieties to benefit farmers and drinkers. Photo: Shutterstock

World Coffee Research (WRC) chief executive Jennifer “Vern” Long. Photo: WCR

Long says as things stand, the global coffee industry doesn’t properly benefit farmers in Central and South America, Africa and Southeast Asia. Photo: Shutterstock

A farmer harvests coffee berries. Long says she wants to see coffee beans from a broader region of the world. Photo: Shutterstock

An H1 hybrid plant at Flor Amarilla Research farm, in El Salvador, that produces one of the four new arabica coffee bean varieties developed by the WCR. Photo: WCR

Customers queue outside a tarbucks in Italy. The coffee chain has implemented the WCR’s new arabica coffee varieties to test their performance. Photo: Shutterstock

Hong Kong noodle history and the different noodle styles explained

Shrimp roe thick noodle lo mien from Kwan Kee Bamboo Noodle in Hong Kong. Photo: Llewellyn Cheung

Roast goose with lai fun rice noodles from Yung Kee in Hong Kong. Learn about the different kinds of noodles served in the city, how they are traditionally made, and the foods they are typically paired with. Photo: Llewellyn Cheung

Wheat noodles originate in Northern China, while rice noodles have Southern Chinese origins, says Dr Siu Yan-ho, a lecturer in Chinese language and literature at Baptist University. 

Marco Li Ka-chi of Kwan Kee Bamboo Noodle balancing on a bamboo pole to make noodles. Photo: Llewellyn Cheung

Shrimp roe thick noodle lo mien at Kwan Kee Bamboo Noodle. Photo: Llewellyn Cheung

 Cheung Wing Kee started making noodles in the 1950s, producing small quantities using labour-intensive methods.

Roast goose with lai fun rice noodles. The thicker, neutral-tasting noodles are perfect for absorbing the flavours from the roast goose and broth. Photo: Llewellyn Cheung

Lifestyle

Food & Drink

News

Asia

Southeast Asia

‘Now is the time for change,’ says owner of cafe in conservative Aceh province, where running a coffee shop is seen as a man’s job


‘Now is the time for change,’ says owner of cafe in conservative Aceh province, where running a coffee shop is seen as a man’s job.


Gender

Women and gender

Indonesia