think archipelago V8 Nov 2014

65%
export percentage out of
Indonesia’s total 150,000 tons
of tea production each year
There are 11 major tea-producing
provinces in Indonesia that contribute
to the country’s seventh place in the
world’s biggest tea exporters. At the
top spot of these provinces is West
Java with nearly ten thousand hectares
of lands in total for tea plantations.
The province’s green scenery dominated
by plantation in relatively high
altitude is a correct assumption. But
some are off-limits to the public, as
they belonged to a privately-invested
lands. But given its large size, it is
quite impossible to hide it from
travellers sight. This one, for
instance, is situated on the outskirts
of the province’s capital city,
Bandung. It hides behind Setu
Patenggang, a natural spot popular for
its sulfuric lake on a white crater at
the top of an inactive volcanic
mountain, Mount Patuha. By continuing
the uphill tracks beyond the crowded
meeting point at the entrance of the
sightseeing place, the stony path leads
to the remainings of what used to be a
lush West Java forest, before it
shrinks to its current condition to
make way for expanding population and
the living space. Beyond these trees is
an abrupt change of scenery.