JAKARTA – The atmosphere of the Jamu Bukti Mentjos shop on Jalan Salemba Tengah, Central Jakarta, was not too crowded when I visited on Tuesday (24/8), night. Understandably, the capital city is still in an atmosphere of social restrictions in the context of handling Covid-19.

There were four customers sitting casually at two separate tables, chatting while sipping the herbs on the table. The shop space adopts the concept of a cafe room, where tables and chairs are arranged in groups. The atmosphere was complemented by music from old songs that emanated from out of nowhere.

The cafe room is not too wide, about 5 square meters. The shop area is actually wider than that, but currently one of the main rooms where customers are being renovated, so it can't be used.

I went straight to the corner of the customer service section, asking what types of drinks are the most common and suitable for “beginners” or people who are not used to drinking herbal medicine. The waiter staff then handed out product brochures and made several drink offers.

I chose a drink with the label Ginger Lemon, the reason is because lemon is quite familiar to me. This drink has a slightly sweet, slightly bitter, and warm taste, quite easily accepted by my tongue.

In the brochure paper, there are more than 50 types of drinks or herbal ingredients. There are Anton-Anton Muda for pregnant women, Galian Putri for body health as well as beauty, Satria for men's health and vitality, Simanis for alleviating diabetes, Sibatu for kidney disease, and many others.

I sat on one of the chairs while glaring at the explanation of the efficacy of the ingredients in the brochure. And not long after, Horatius Romuli, the third generation owner of the Bukti Mentjos, came over to me. Yep, we have an appointment to chat about the legendary of Jamu Bukti Mentjos.

"Well, if it's ginger, steeping ginger, it's good for the body, it's also for keeping the immune system stable," said Romuli after seeing the drink I ordered.

That's how I started the conversation with Romuli. He is currently around 62 years old, but still looks fresh and vibrant. He explained, in general, traditional ingredients have a function as a body immune guard. In addition, it also stores other specific properties, such as digestion, anti-inflammatory, appetite enhancer, and various other properties.

However, among all the functions of herbal medicine, the main function is as a health guarding herb. For this reason, people drink herbal medicine regularly, regardless of whether they are sick or not.

“Jamu is the first to maintain health. To be healthy, so as not to be sick. The second is new treatment," he said.

While Romuli was talking, another customer had just arrived. And I just realized the two previous customers had left the shop. Romuli informed that during the current PPKM period, customers at the Evidence Mentjos shop were only allowed to drink on the spot for 20 minutes.

Talking about customers, the customers of the Jamu Bukti Mentjos shop seem to come from all ages. Those who came that night, some seemed to be under the age of 30, but some were nearing old age. Romuli said his customers ranged from the elderly, millennials, teenagers to toddlers.

“There are two types of customers here. First, those who came in search of medicine. Second, those who come to consult on their complaints and then make the ingredients,” said Romuli.

For example, someone comes with digestive complaints, we mix the ingredients. For example, we have more than 30 ingredients for digestive health. In the potion there can be turmeric, ginger, bitter, kencur, temulawak. Each shop can have the same ingredients, but the ingredients are different,” he added.

Romuli itself usually acts as a person who serves consulting customers. He has extensive knowledge of the treatment of diseases as far as herbal medicine is concerned.

Our chat continues and extends to various topics. Two new customers came, this time saying hello, to which Romuli immediately responded with a friendly welcome. They seem to be loyal customers.

As a herbal medicine shop that has been around for more than half a century, of course there are many loyal customers. In fact, not some of them are hereditary customers. According to Romuli, not a few of his customers met their soul mates at the herbal medicine shop.

“There were about four couples, whom he met at the Jamu Bukti Mentjos shop. Some of them were brought by his grandmother, now he is bringing his grandson here,” said Romuli.

Customers who come to the Jamu Bukti Mentjos Shop also come from various professional backgrounds, ranging from employees, daily workers, civil servants to government officials, including loyal customers. In fact, the Governor of DKI Jakarta, Anies Baswedan, also visited the Jamu Bukti Mentjos recently.

The Journey of Three Generations

Jamu Bukti Mentjos shop, which since 2000 has been developed into a cafe concept, is one—if not the only—legendary herbal medicine shop in the Capital City. This shop has been around since the 1950s by Tan Som Nio. That name is none other than Romuli's grandmother.

Tan Som Nio moved from Solo to Jakarta and opened a herbal medicine shop, initially he named it Jamu Bukti. “Bukti” is a word uttered by Tan Som Nio's friends and neighbors in Solo. He was adept at concocting herbal medicine when he was in Solo, and often made it to treat his sick neighbors.

Most of the potions made by Tan Som Nio proved to be effective, so people called the ingredients "Bukti". That name was used when Tan Som Nio opened a shop in the same location as the current one.

In front of the shop, which at that time was still a simple hut, there is a market and garden which the local people call Mentjong Market (because of its sloping position at the intersection). From there, the word 'mentjong' was also attached to the Jamu Bukti. Over time, the Jamu Bukti (at) Mentjong turned into Jamu Bukti Mentjos.

Since the 1950s, the Jamu Bukti Mentjos shop has become a place that Jakarta residents often go to. Although in the early days the customers who came were not so crowded, Tan Som Nio continued to develop his shop, while serving loyal customers wholeheartedly.

Tan Som Nio managed Jamu Bukti Mentjos shop until 1970, before being transferred to his son, Tuty Marikangen with her husband Paul Romuli. The two of them were none other than the parents of Horatius Romuli.

Under the management of Tuty and her husband, Jamu Bukti Mentjos shop is growing. The shop building which was previously a hut has also been updated into a permanent building which is quite neat and spacious. They developed variations of new ingredients, using the recipe book that Tan Som Nio had left behind.

In the late 1990s, the management of the Jamu Bukti Mentjos shop moved to Romuli. Meanwhile the state of the shop is growing and has a wider range of customers. In the Romuli era, which means the third generation, the concept of the shop is growing in a more modern direction.

Including, the use of the Gojek and Grab applications for selling herbal medicines online. The transformation occurred simultaneously with the development of online delivery services in Indonesia after 2010.

Not only that, Jamu Bukti Mentjos also managed to attract loyal customers from various regions in Indonesia. Romuli utilizes expedition services, regularly sending ingredients both in liquid and powder form to Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan to eastern Indonesia.

Now, Romuli runs the shop together with his son and daughter-in-law—the fourth generation of the family that owns Jamu Bukti Mentjos.

Source: https://www.validnews.id/kultura/menyesap-jamu-legendaris-di-jantung-ibu-kota