Starlings, Indonesia’s bicycle coffee sellers, peddle the streets of Jakarta

(AP) — Bicycles roam the streets of Indonesia’s capital with dozens of plastic sachets of coffee and other packaged drinks dangling from their handlebars. Tied in the back are large thermos bottles with hot water, an ice box, and equipment for making coffee.

The bicycle coffee sellers are known as Starlings, an abbreviation of Starbucks Keliling, or mobile Starbucks, although they have no connection to the giant global coffee company. They sell coffee on sidewalks, in parks, and at construction sites. From dawn to midnight, Starlings are always available, making them one of the most popular coffee suppliers in the country.

A 'Starling' bicycle coffee seller, an abbreviation for Starbucks Keliling or mobile Starbucks, rests on the ground beside his bike in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

Sander, a 50-year-old 'Starling' bicycle coffee seller, serves a customer in Jakarta, Indonesia Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

Starbucks Indonesia did not respond to a request for comment on the use of its name.

Indonesia, the world’s third-largest coffee producer, has a coffee culture that is unevenly distributed, with richer customers purchasing their brews from upscale coffee shops and poorer residents buying instant coffee from Starlings for less than half the price.

A 'Starling' bicycle coffee seller right, waits for customers in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

A 'Starling' bicycle coffee seller, an abbreviation for Starbucks Keliling or mobile Starbucks, walks down the stairs of his boarding house in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, Nov. 1, 2024.(AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

Overall, 79% of Indonesians are coffee drinkers, and most have at least one cup a day, according to Snapcart, an Indonesian research agency.

From his small room in a settlement known as Starling Village because of the large number of Starling riders living there, Syaiful, a coffee supplier, can sell more than 1,000 sachets of coffee and other packaged drinks per day to hundreds of Starling riders. Continuing his father’s legacy, he also equips sellers with bicycles and equipment.

Saiful, a supplier of coffee for 'Starling' bicycle coffee sellers, hands a box of instant coffee to an assistant at his shop in Jakarta, Indonesia in Jakarta, Indonesia Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

Saiful looks out from his shop in Jakarta, Indonesia in Jakarta, Indonesia Friday, Nov. 1, 2024.(AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

One vendor, 50-year-old Sander from East Java, has been selling beverages for a decade. He has witnessed how Jakarta’s coffee culture has evolved with mobile sellers replacing traditional kiosks. Despite competition, Sander sells about 65 cups of drinks a day, earning 4,000 rupiah ($0.25) per cup.