Help Anita & Biel open their new coffeeshop!

Watch our video now: https://youtu.be/3hlmsm_M_tg.

Hi, I’m Val.

My partner, Kate, and I live in Ubud, Bali. Last year, we discovered a coffee shop called UCC, Ubud Coffee Culture.

UCC is owned and managed by Anita and Biel, two absolutely lovely Indonesians who are originally from the neighboring island of Java.

We instantly fell in love with everything about UCC! The genuine, warm, and welcoming ambiance created by Anita and Biel made us feel great! We could have spent hours and hours there, sharing stories with them, talking about our lives, enjoying the simplicity of being around them and their authentically warm hospitality. It felt as if we were having coffee in their living room!

They made it easy and fun for us to casually interact with other customers from all walks of life-locals, ex-pats, and tourists alike. Such an interesting mix of people gathered in a small but super cozy place! The air was filled with a delicious fragrance of coffee being brewed all day, every day. Sheer bliss!

The homey feeling and atmosphere wasn’t the only thing we loved right from the start. UCC’s coffee was truly the best coffee we had ever tasted, in 7 years of living on the island. We kid you not! Our favorite one is their latte prepared with their own home-made condensed milk! OMG!… Absolute divine nectar in a cup!

Right from day one, Biel’s passion for coffee was infectiously contagious! He loves, loves, loooooves talking about coffee, and is a true walking-talking Wikipedia (and natural teacher!) when it comes to coffee. With every conversation, we would learn something more about coffee and how complex it truly is. And we would never get enough of listening to his incredible coffee-fuelled stories.

Did I mention that the couple sources the best available coffee beans from farmers they personally know across Indonesia and have visited? And that Biel roasts his coffee himself?!

With every visit, we got to know Anita and Biel a bit more. And we could feel our love for them growing with every talk (and coffee!). Soon, we were introduced to their beautiful daughter Kayla (13) and with Anita being pregnant at the time, our conversations would also evolve around Kayla’s soon-to-be kid brother. The family was elated and all three were smiling from ear to ear in happy expectation of the baby boy!

And then one day, we got to meet their newborn. His name is Atta and he looks just like a miniature version of the Buddha! It felt so endearing to witness the love shared amidst this beautiful family and as time passed, we got closer and closer. Being very fond of babies, Kate and I would often have coffee with Atta on our lap … what a delightful combo that was!

Every time we would visit Anita and Biel, we would feel so uplifted and so joyful. And we would head back home after long talks (and a few lattes),  and notice our renewed sense of calm and harmony. Our hearts filled with love for them, and for their kids. We felt grateful for the special sense of togetherness and warmth they infuse into their coffee shop!

Kate would always order a kilo of coffee to bring back home, and UCC’s special ‘House Blend’ has since become her absolute go-to coffee! No other coffee has entered our home since then!

We even raved about our coffee with a friend of ours in the US, and sent her UCC’s coffee all the way from Bali to Arizona, just to share the love (and taste!).

Everything was going well for UCC and for this adorable family. Both on a personal and on a professional level.

And then … Covid happened. And Bali closed its borders to tourism. Suddenly, everything here came to a halt. The thousands of tourists who were still on the island at the time left within a couple of weeks. Although we never had a proper lockdown imposed on us, many businesses closed their doors-some just temporarily, some for good.

Within a few days, Ubud went from a noisy, hustling bustling top tourist destination to looking like a ghost town… The silence felt very awkward and the empty streets looked very strange, to say the least. From time to time, one could see a small group of monkeys from Monkey Forest,  roaming the streets, looking for the bananas that they used to receive from tourists…

Through that rough time though, and against all odds, UCC remained open. Anita and Biel faced the pandemic bravely and did their best to maintain a minimum level of activity within UCC as best they could… All the while never losing the warmth and love they shared with their patrons and friends.

But after 9 months of trying, giving it their best intentions and a whole lotta love, there were just not enough customers coming in, for them to be able to survive with that level of income. They were now living off their small savings and that would not last forever…

It was time to take a brave, bold, but difficult decision.

The day Anita and Biel told us that they had no other option but to close down UCC, Kate and I felt deeply saddened and in shock…. We were going to lose our favorite cafe/hang-out place in Ubud, but more than anything, we were going to lose our dear new friends, our Indonesian family!

In hindsight, I believe that in life, everything happens for a reason. Even though that reason often comes in the most unexpected way, leaving a bittersweet aftertaste taste in our hearts…

For Anita’s family, Covid brought them the reason they needed - she calls it their “trigger” - for them to stop postponing a decision they had long been waiting to take. The couple has a family obligation they have needed to address in Yogyakarta (Java) and the time had come for them to finally step up and take responsibility for that obligation.

In many ways, Covid was also a blessing in disguise for Biel’s family. He and Anita will now be able to take care of his elderly Dad and family's gravesite. Unlike our Western cultures, children in Indonesia have been raised in a long tradition and known responsibility of taking care of their elderly when the time comes.

The second “bonus” of moving to Java, is that Kayla will now be able to be enrolled in a much better school than the one she was attending in Bali, and she is thrilled about that! Biel and Anita are big on giving their kids the best possible education, and Yogya being the “heart of Universities” in Indonesia, there is no better place for their teenager.

Through all the sadness and disappointment, we could hear how excited Biel and his wife were getting about pursuing their common passion for coffee in a new coffee place in the heart of Yogya. They shared their dreams and vision with us. We felt the excitement and looked forward to visiting and experiencing it in person.

The cost of living is much cheaper than in Bali, according to our friends, so that’s another good thing about this mega move of theirs.

I call it a ‘mega move’ because, as I am writing this, two large trucks - jam-packed with all their stuff, both personal items and everything that was in UCC (furniture and all) - drove from Ubud to Yogyakarta. We are happy to report that all their belongings have now safely arrived at their family home in the city.

Before the time came to say good-bye to our beloved family, Kate and I decided that we wanted to do something special for them.

We knew that their savings had started to melt away over the course of the last months. And Anita and Biel had shared with humble vulnerability, their worries, and fears about not being able to afford to pay rent upfront for their new place.

They also felt quite concerned about having to invest in a lot more to make their dream possible: more chairs, tables, sofas, but also kitchenware. Sure, they had stuff brought over from UCC but that cafe was super tiny, and it would never be enough for their new coffee business they were aiming for in Yogyakarta.

That’s when we came up with the idea of a crowdfunding campaign. Kate and I talked about this with them, because we had to have them fully on board to make this happen. To say that they were deeply, deeply touched and surprised by our offer to help, is an understatement. Their emotion and sense of relief that help was potentially on the way, was palpable.

Initially, it took a bit of convincing though, as the couple - up to that point - was firmly standing on a promise they had long ago made to each other: they were never going to ask for help, they were going to make it “on their own two feet”, as Anita explained to us.

We told our friends that this was NOT them asking for help; this was us offering to help. That’s very different. They humbly and gratefully accepted and this is how this video came about.

It was quite improvised and a bit rushed, as they had so much to do in their last days in Ubud before leaving for Java. But in the end, we did it and here it is:  https://youtu.be/3hlmsm_M_tg.

The funds we intend to collect through this campaign will serve the following goals:

- Pay at least one-year rent upfront for the new place (*)  (they are currently looking for a venue but they are familiar with the prices around town, for the kind of rental they are looking for)
- Pay for possible renovation expenses in their new business
- Invest in the right amount of tables, chairs, stools, sofas, counters, …
- Purchase the necessary kitchenware (as they will also offer a food menu)
- Buy enough cups, mugs, coffee pots, cutlery, glasses, pitchers, bowls, plates, …
- Be able to decorate the place to make it their own and enhance the attractiveness

Obviously, we also want to provide them with a small “cushion” so that they don’t have to feel mega stressed about not making ends meet and still be able to put food on the table and provide for their family’s essential needs, during the first few months of opening their new business. Keep in mind that their youngest, Atta is not even a year old.

(*) In Indonesia, it’s a common practice to pay upfront, as it enables the future tenants to negotiate a much better rental price, hence our friends need that lump of money before they can start.

With our campaign, our goal is to not just collect money. As explained in the video, Biel and Anita’s values around community and togetherness are strong and play a key role in their vision.

Our friends would LOVE to receive small packages from all around the world, containing second hand (or new) items that they will make great use of. A few examples are cups, saucers, mugs, sugar pots, cutlery, kitchen towels, … Anything you can think of that would be useful in a coffee shop/cafe. They look so excitingly forward to unpacking these special and personal gifts shipped from around the globe.

Here’s the address of their home that you can ship your contribution to:

Anita Andriati & Ainun ‘Biel’ Nabiel
Jl.Gedong Kuning Gang Arimbi JG III No. 33A
Banguntapan Bantul 55198
Java - Indonesia

What would make this extra special, is that you would take a photo/selfie of you holding up your gift, with a sign that says:
Sent with love from (insert country) by (insert your name).


Kindly also add the following hashtag: #forbielandanitawithlove.

We cannot express enough how grateful we are for all the funds and special gifts Anita and Biel will receive from you all. Thank you for all your moral support and love that will be sent their way.

We hope that through this video, we’re able to convey just how special this family is and how absolutely deserving they are to live their dreams and bring their gifts and passions to the world!

With much love to you all,


Val and Kate
Ubud, Bali