Coffee. It may be who does not know this one drink. Drinks that are brewed from coffee beans that have been processed from roasting until mashed into powder. There are two varieties of coffee that are known to the general public, namely Robusta and Arabica.
Etymologically, coffee comes from the Arabic language: qahwah which means strength, because it was originally used as a high-energy food. From this word continues to change the meaning, to change into koffie in Dutch. This word is then absorbed in Indonesian.
As a beverage that is popular among people, coffee has many variants and flavors. In fact, the baristas (coffee mixers) continue to innovate to create the best taste they have. These innovations make coffee status doubtful. In fact, the coffee beans themselves come from halal plants, but because there is processing that is carried out on them coffee can be doubted halal. Therefore the question arises, where and what are the critical points of halal coffee?
Executive Director of The Assessment Institute for Foods, Drugs, and Cosmetics Indonesia Council of Ulama (LPPOM MUI), Ir. Muti Arintawati, M.Sc., explained that from the coffee itself, there are at least three types of coffee today: pure coffee, sachet coffee, and coffee in cafes.
First, pure coffee. This coffee is certainly 100% coffee from roasted coffee beans until it is ground without any additional ingredients. And of course, this makes the price expensive. The halal status in this coffee lies in the sangrainya process which is mixed with other ingredients, for example butterfat.
The critical point of butter is the source of the animal itself. Butter must come from halal animals and the slaughter process in accordance with Islamic law. If an animal fat component (mostly cow fat) is used, it must be equipped with a valid halal certificate.
In addition to materials, the use of facilities in the roasting process itself must be considered. Facilities must be free from contamination of non-halal and unclean materials. And whether these facilities are used together or alternately with other products that are not halal.
The second, ground coffee. One of them is coffee in the form of sachets. Coffee has been mixed with other main ingredients, such as sugar, milk, and creamer. In addition, this ready-to-drink coffee involves supporting materials such as emulsifiers and flavor that need to be considered halal.
Sugar
Granulated sugar is made from sugar cane or beet. Because it comes from plants, of course, the main raw material for sugar is halal. The process of making sugar consists of several stages, starting from the process of extraction, purification, evaporation, crystallization, to drying. In the stages of this process, the opportunity for the use of auxiliary materials such as enzymes and activated charcoal whose sources can come from illegitimate materials can contaminate sugar.
Milk
One thing that must be observed, milk on the market today is mostly in the form of processing. This means that the milk has undergone a processing process that involves additives and process aids.
Creamer
Base creamer derived from plants, for example, corn oil or its derivatives as well as coconut and its derivatives. Both of these ingredients are plant ingredients that are clearly halal if they are pure extracts without the addition of other ingredients.
Emulsifier
Sources of emulsifier ingredients can come from animal and vegetable materials. If it comes from animal ingredients, then of course it must be ascertained to come from halal animals. Examples of emulsifiers derived from vegetable materials, namely plant lecithin, become critical if there are additional ingredients such as the phospholipase enzyme. It should be noted that the source of the enzyme and the production media if the enzyme is derived from microbial
Flavor
Flavors can be divided into 2 types, namely synthetic and natural flavors. The flavor that uses certain scents that are similar to illicit goods (pork and liquor) is not permitted.
Flavor constituents can be obtained from chemical, plant, or animal synthetic compounds. When extracted from animals or based on animal amino acids, it must be ensured that the flavor comes from share slaughtered halal animals.
Third, coffee is offered in cafes. In terms of ingredients, there is more coffee in the cafe, so the critical point becomes complex, such as espresso coffee, dark coffee, fewer critical points. In addition there is a coffee latte, cappuccino which is more complicated than espresso because it uses other ingredients such as milk and others; this additional material that needs to be considered halal.
For cafes, only a few have been certified as halal MUI, therefore the public is urged to always be critical in paying attention to the ingredients used in coffee in the cafe. (YS)
