Kopi Bayang: Bali’s First Coffee Shop Run by Blind Baristas

DENPASAR, KOMPAS.com - Coffee shops are booming in Bali, especially in the island’s capital, Denpasar, where young people can spend hours chatting over a cup.

But Kopi Bayang has taken a different path. Unlike most cafés, it is run entirely by people with visual impairments, making it the first coffee shop in Bali staffed by blind baristas.

The team may lack sight, but not creativity. That spirit inspired I Made Jery Juliawan and his friends to open the shop on Yeh Gangga I Street in Palem Residence, Gubug village, Tabanan Regency, west of Denpasar.

“The idea started from a desire to create new opportunities in business, especially for friends in the blind community,” Jery said on Wednesday, August 13, 2025.

From Theater to Coffee

Jery and his fellow baristas are part of the Teratai Community (Kostra), a local group originally focused on literature and theater. Over time, some members developed an interest in coffee brewing, leading to the creation of Kopi Bayang, which still includes Kostra members, though not everyone in the arts group shares the coffee passion.

Kopi Bayang was conceived in October 2022 and first launched on December 3, 2022, to coincide with International Day of Persons with Disabilities. At that time, they had no permanent location and only appeared at community events.

On August 8, 2025, they opened their first physical café in Tabanan, offering an open bar concept, customers can brew their coffee alongside the baristas and engage in conversation.

“When customers come here, we don’t want them to just buy coffee. We invite them to brew it with us and interact directly with blind baristas,” Jery explained.

He hopes visitors come for the coffee itself, not out of pity.

Brewing Without Sight

Currently, three baristas: Jery, Mudra, and Iwan, run both the café and the Kopi Bayang Community. They began formal barista training in early 2022, making numerous adjustments to adapt techniques for the visually impaired.

Measuring water and coffee, or handling cash, required tailored methods. Some baristas gauge water volume by counting the turns of a kettle; others rely on tactile orientation of tools and workspace.

“Because we can’t see, we imagine and feel. We brew from the heart,” Jery said.

The Menu

For now, Kopi Bayang focuses exclusively on coffee: manual brew filter methods, espresso-based drinks, and two house specialties, Kopi Bayang Classic and Kopi Bayang Suren.

Their goal: to prove that great coffee is about skill, not sight.