Just when I thought a lot of hilly areas are banking on their coffee plantation, there’s one area, a few kms of Kelud mountain which keeps its coffee plantain wild and hasn’t reached its fullest potential.

Coffee plantations in this area thrive naturally surrounded amidst pineapple farms which is the main commodity for this area. This area that I am talking about is a place called Sugihwaras district where it serves as the gate to explore Mt. Kelud in Kediri East Java.

There’s no exact location to see this but as long as you stop by the sign of Welcome to Mt. Kelud, you will already see pineapple and luscious coffee plantations.

It was my first time exploring this district that is located 3 hours drive from my hometown. I did not expect much because it was cloudy and my dad didn’t mention anything about coffee. All he told me was about the pineapple farm and the durian that are famous in this area. We were about to check out this area just so I know what’s in there. Considering it was nearby, I just said yes but as soon as our car reached the welcome gate, I started spotting coffee plantations without any fences.

It was unlike the pineapple that was growing on people’s yards and was protected but the coffee was just there, that you can even pluck a few and that should be fine. It didn’t seem like people care much about it despite how they thrive naturally.

I was thinking that the place could have been even more awesome if there was a coffee education center and people were taught all things coffee. Considering that other areas have done it, I am sure that the coffee here produces a unique taste as they are surrounded by pineapple plantation.

A lot of them are also located in the middle or sometimes nestled among pineapples. Eventually, my dad stopped at a random spot just so I could take a closer look at this coffea.

The flowers were pretty and the coffee cherries were in different colors; some red, some green. My mom convinced me that they taste sweet so I ended up trying 2 of them and got 4 beans.

They indeed taste very sweet and my mom added that it’s probably why civet’s love them.

My dad who has been here a lot of times & grew up in the area, told me that during certain times, the aroma from these coffees are really good. He told me that we should come next time early in the morning to get the best smell from them. Unlike a place in Wonosalam, a district just an hour drive from my hometown, they were already banking on their coffee and their coffee is at least everywhere in the city and is a tourist destination other than its durian farm. In the past, I visited the area and tasted a coffee with notes of jackfruit which was intriguing. It’s just sad that around this district there’s almost 0 cafes and coffee shops offering locally grown coffee. Around the area there were just a bunch of empty buildings and stores that my dad said were closed down because of Covid. But my mom added that from the last time both of them visited the area, it looks like some work is ongoing to restore the area that serves as a gate to see Mt. Kelud.

After we stopped to check the coffee plantation, we were also stopping by an area called “Mysterious Road”.

It was rumored to have some kind of magnet where if you stop your car, the car will still move. It’s just insane but experts mentioned it was purely an illusion and such roads also exist in other countries.. Though at the time, I remember it was quite a sensation and even my school friends talked about it. Long story short, now it’s not as sensational as before and when I tried with my dad, nothing happened to our car. So, there it was,myth debunked and there was no magnet surrounding the area. They even have this how-to try it in a big banner as the road stretches about 200 meters.

It was an interesting visit especially, it was my first time exploring this hilly areas.And the wild coffee plantation was sure enough making it more interesting. If you're on your way to visit Mt. Kelud in East Java, this area shouldn't be missed and you must stop to check out this wild coffee plantation by the road side.