Finding the best souvenirs is always a challenge, especially if you are unable to speak the language. You may end up walking around for hours at a time and still miss the best places and souvenir shops.
We have created a list of top souvenirs to bring home to your family and friends from Jakarta. We hope that you can make use of this list or at the very least obtain such much needed resources or ideas from it.
“Pohon barang”, wooden crafts
A lot of pretty and unique wooden crafts of cat or frog motif and wooden masks of Barong, which is a mythological creature in Bali, are available for tourists to purchase. Especially the ones with cat motif are popular as they are called “pet angels.”
“Ata” crafts
“Ata” is a plant found in Indonesia and hand-knitted crafts are made from dried Ata. There are different types of crafts such as bags and baskets. They are now so popular to be exhibited at department stores in Japan.
The carefully hand-knitted bags are very sophisticated, and they will be a perfect accessory for summer.
Beads crafts
They are more affordable and popular among women. There are a variety of products such as bracelets, necklaces, pouches and more.
Batik and Ikat
Indonesia offers beautiful fabrics such as Ikat, a traditional weaving, or Batik, a wax-resist textile. A variety of products using these fabrics include handkerchiefs, scarfs, tablecloths, or pillow covers. A batik dress is also available.
Jamu
Jamu is traditional medicine in Indonesia, which are 100% made from natural herbs. Different effects such as body treatment, bust treatment, diet, or odor prevention are expected, and they are regularly used by Indonesian women.
Kopi Luwak (Civet Coffee)
Kopi Luwak or Civet Coffee is one of the most expensive and least produced kinds of coffee. It is obtained from the coffee beans eaten by an Asian Palm Civet, passed through its digestive tract and then defecated. The beans maintain their form and are then cleaned, roasted and grounded. The result is a very aromatic coffee with much less bitterness. The enzymes from civet’s digestive tract make shorter peptides and more free amino acids. Kopi Luwak is produced on the Indonesian islands of Java, Bali and Sulawesi. The coffee beans for Kopi Luwak are of different varieties, so the coffee can vary in taste, however, all Luwak coffees have a shared aroma profile and lack bitterness. Being the most expensive coffee in the world, Kopi Luwak is sold for between $100 and $600 per pound.