A serious competitor
Though it is highly subjective and if you’re my regular reader, you definitely know my biases. But today, I am trying to be as objective as possible reviewing this local Indonesian coffee retail, Fore Coffee. This coffee retail was born just a year before the pandemic. Fast coffee chains were popping out and they were all competing to crush the giant retail, Starbucks. Well, so far not one local coffee retailer has made it. A lot of them are short-lived and the quality was not consistent at all. One of the major problems was, their options were not as close to what Starbucks has until Fore came into the market. With this local coffee retail in the market, they are serious competitors to Starbucks for several reasons in which I will be discussing in this post. This will also provides an answer to @apsu question the other day,
“If Starbucks will expand in Indonesia, what if it'll stir up the competition and some small premium cafe's will pop up to provide something even better? Let's hope so at least.”
A background and comparison
Fore coffee is certainly premium priced coffee, as compared to most local brands, their coffee starts from 1.21$ up to $3.5. Although when compared to Starbucks, they are slightly a dollar cheaper. This is unlike most local retail coffee that are often just around $2 at max. Fore also offers two sizes, large and small with a wide range of milk selections just like Starbucks. They sell almost the exact same menu but with a twist. For example, instead of simple caramel macchiato they sell caramel praline macchiato. They have some Indonesian selections that are quite popular as well such as Aren and pandan flavors. Their non-coffee and tea selections are also far from basic retail coffee. They have plenty of options that accommodate non-coffee drinkers and even refresher, that once again, is similar to Starbucks. Another thing that makes them similar to Starbucks is their Deli. Much like Starbucks, Fore sells croissant and panini sandwiches. They have selections that also includes meatless for vegan in which unlike starbucks that does it seasonal, Fore has it as their fixed menu. Apart from that, they also have an application, like Starbucks, that lets customers order from their app with rewards and vouchers attached. Finally, as a company itself, they also vow to be an eco-friendly company and make efforts in their product to minimize the use of plastics even in their delivery order.
Taste Test and Their Coffee
I know that I am probably late jumping into this coffee. First, I was skeptical and even before buying, I thought a dozen times. I even asked my housemate if she’s ever tried it and she told me that it’s mediocre at its best as she’s not a coffee drinker either. She mentioned that it tasted just like other local retail for their coffee. Second, after hearing that I have my doubts. I despised many local chains for their inconsistency and the coffee that isn't present in the cup. Most of them are watered down coffee and worse, bad coffee at that. After a few considerations, I finally tried it. I chose the coffee that I am very familiar with, caramel macchiato. In my mind, if they do great caramel macchiato, they win me over as not many places are actually selling this drink. So I got myself A Large hot Caramel Macchiato Praline and a Beef Cheese Panini.
As you can see from the pictures above, their cup is so well-designed and looks luxurious. It has embossed coffee trees on its cup with their company logo. To keep the coffee from spilling, the lid has a secure closing and also a cardboard that keeps the coffee secure. Instead of a simple holder, theirs is more secured and during the delivery they won’t be spilling everywhere. Delivery in In Indonesia is done with a motorbike. So, hats off to these guys for never spilling my coffee.
After my first sip, I was actually surprised. I wondered what kind of coffee they use. The coffee itself has a soft aftertaste of mint but since I was ordering a praline, it also has mocha, a nutty aftertaste.Apparently, they are sourcing their coffee from three best coffee producers in Indonesia, Flores, Bali and Aceh. These three have different characteristics but I certainly enjoy Flores and Aceh coffee which are known to Indonesian coffee lovers and served in most high-end cafes and places where they actually care about their coffee quality. So, their coffee received my approval. After drinking the coffee, you can also feel the caffeine kick and it’s not watered down with milk, sugar, and the syrup. It was just done right. I have to admit, they win me over and I might order more from this place.
When it comes to their deli, Their panini, especially the bread, wasn't great. The bread crumbles easily and I can imagine they added too much flour into it. Although the fillings and the meat were quite delicious. That makes it, overall , forgivable. If compared to Starbucks Panini, Fore tastes much fresher and has more flavor. The only problem is that Fore needs to fix their bread. Overall my latest verdict is that this place can even outperform Starbucks when it comes to coffee. Although this is my first and has some flaws in my judgment because Starbucks is known for its consistency. So, I’ll have to let you know if they are still consistent in making the coffee.
Finally...
Starbucks should step up its game, as now Fore enters the competition. Although from what I know through the app, they are opening more stores and expanding their claws in more major cities across Java. Recently they are also opening another Reserve in the city. It’s relatively new and I hope it’s as good as the one that I visited in Bali. Stay tuned for that too!