In collaboration with Omakafé, a three-course, non-alcoholic coffee experience rooted in Indonesian heritage is available at The Lounge throughout October 2026.
Some journeys begin with a single bean. This October, InterContinental Jakarta Pondok Indah welcomes The Champion’s Brew, a barista takeover at The Lounge by Georgius Audrey Teja, known as Odi, the 2025 World Coffee in Good Spirits Champion, in collaboration with Omakafé.
The experience follows Omakafé’s philosophy of being rooted: carrying Indonesia’s heritage wherever it travels. Audrey has created a three-course coffee omakase, developed exclusively for The Lounge and entirely non-alcoholic. As with any omakase, guests are not meant to know too much in advance. Each course starts from something familiar and arrives somewhere unexpected.
The journey begins, quite literally, at the root. The first course is built on an Indonesian root better known to perfumers than to baristas, turned into a syrup and brightened with citrus. Coffee takes the place of soda. The result looks like a classic evening highball but carries no spirit, only the scent of the earth it came from.
The second course is a memory. It is inspired by one of Indonesia’s most beloved traditional sweets, and anyone who grew up with klepon will recognise it at once: pandan, coconut and dark palm sweetness. What they will not expect is how it arrives. The drink is served perfectly clear and asks to be tasted before it is believed.
The journey ends where many Indonesian evenings do, with something warm. The third course reimagines wedang, the comforting spiced drink of home. Espresso, pandan and ginger sit hot beneath a cool crown of coconut cream, finished with nutmeg, so warmth and coolness meet in a single sip.
The setting is part of the story. Beneath the chandelier at lobby level, The Lounge has long been where travellers arrive, and the city gathers. For one month, it becomes the place where Indonesian heritage, carried across journeys, finds a home in the heart of South Jakarta.
For Audrey, a drink is never only about taste. “I believe coffee has a profound ability to communicate ideas, emotions and narratives,” he said. “Every course here starts from something Indonesians already know, a root, a sweet, a warm drink from home, and asks them to meet it again for the first time.”
Alongside his work with Omakafé’s beverage experience team, Audrey is a Research and Development Specialist at So So Good Coffee Company. His craft combines creativity, sustainability and storytelling.
For InterContinental Jakarta Pondok Indah, hosting The Champion’s Brew is a quiet homecoming. A champion who has taken Indonesian coffee to the world stage now brings it back to the heart of South Jakarta. It is served where it belongs, in a room built for arrivals at The Lounge.
Audrey will be at The Lounge in person on Thursday, 1st of October 2026, from 2 PM, to open the collaboration and meet guests. The Champion’s Brew continues through the 31st of October 2026.
Reservations may be arranged through the Reservations team at +62 21 3950 7355 or by email at reservation.icjakarta@ihg.com.