# Kopi Tubruk

Source: https://dailyextraction.com/methods/kopi-tubruk/
Last updated: 2026-10-19

> Kopi tubruk is Indonesia's everyday coffee. Put about two teaspoons of ground coffee and sugar to taste in a glass, pour in very hot water, just off the boil (about 93–96°C), and stir. Leave it 2 to 5 minutes while the grounds sink, then drink it, stopping before the grounds. Water that isn't hot enough leaves grounds floating.

## At a glance

- Ratio: About 2 tsp per glass
- Grind: Fine
- Water temperature: 93–96°C, just off the boil
- Brew time: about 4:00
- Category: Boiled & Traditional (Immersion)
- Difficulty: Beginner
- Origin: Indonesia
- Also known as: Indonesian grounds coffee, tubruk, kopi tubruk Java, kopi selem

## Steps

1. **Coffee and sugar in the glass**: Put about two teaspoons of ground coffee and sugar to taste in a heatproof glass.
2. **Pour boiling water**: Pour in very hot water, just off the boil, about 93–96°C. Water that isn't hot enough leaves grounds floating.
3. **Stir**: Stir to dissolve the sugar and wet the coffee.
4. **Let it settle**: Leave it for 2 to 5 minutes while the coffee steeps and the grounds sink to the bottom. A gentle tap of the glass on the table helps them settle.
5. **Drink**: Sip it slowly, and stop before the layer of grounds at the bottom.

**Kopi tubruk** is Indonesia's everyday coffee, and one of the simplest anywhere: **ground coffee and sugar** in a glass, topped with **very hot water**, stirred and left until the grounds **sink**. There's no pot and no filter. *Tubruk* is Javanese for "collision", and Tugu Hotels calls it **"mud coffee"**, because of the grounds at the bottom of the glass. It's drunk across Indonesia, particularly on **Java** and **Bali**, where it's known as *kopi selem*, "black coffee". Here's how to make it.

## The short version

- **About two teaspoons of ground coffee** per glass, with sugar to taste.
- **Very hot water**, just off the boil (about 93–96°C), poured on top.
- **Stir, then wait** 2 to 5 minutes for the grounds to sink.
- **Sip slowly** and stop before the grounds.
- **Not hot enough**, and the grounds float.



## How does kopi tubruk work?

It's **immersion** brewing in the cup itself. The boiling water "cooks" the coffee as it steeps, and as the grounds become saturated, they **sink to the bottom**. You drink the clear coffee above them. It works best with water that's **really hot**: The Jakarta Post notes that water from a dispenser often isn't hot enough to cook the grounds, which then stay **floating on the surface**. A furious boil isn't ideal either: Tugu Hotels warns that it can give an acidic cup, and both Nescafé Indonesia and a coffee competition judge quoted by Kompas suggest **92 to 96°C**.

## How much coffee and sugar?

The Jakarta Post describes **two teaspoons of ground coffee** per glass, with **sugar to taste**; Tugu Hotels uses two teaspoons of coffee and one of sugar. If you'd rather weigh it, Kompas gives **1:15**, for example **10 g of coffee to 150 ml of water**, and Nescafé Indonesia a stronger **15 g to a 140 ml cup**. The sugar goes in **before** the water, so it dissolves as the coffee brews.

For **kopi susu**, add sweetened condensed milk. Many Indonesians drink kopi tubruk with sweet snacks such as *pisang goreng*, fried banana.

## What grind size should I use?

**Opinions differ.** Wikipedia describes **finely ground** coffee, and Nescafé Indonesia notes that fine grounds **settle more easily**, while coarse grounds can stay on the surface. Some prefer a coarser grind: baristas quoted by Kompas recommend **medium**, like granulated sugar, warning that too fine turns bitter and too coarse sour. The Tugu Hotels blog notes that fans of fine grinds accept a little more silt in exchange for a stronger flavour. Start **fine** and adjust.

![Chart of coffee grind sizes from extra fine to extra coarse, with fine highlighted for kopi tubruk](https://dailyextraction.com/diagrams/grind-size.svg#fine "Kopi tubruk usually uses a fine grind.")

## How do you make kopi tubruk, step by step?

1. **Put about two teaspoons of coffee** and sugar to taste in a heatproof glass.
2. **Pour in very hot water**, just off the boil, about 93–96°C.
3. **Stir** to dissolve the sugar.
4. **Leave it 2 to 5 minutes** while the grounds sink. Some people tap the glass on the table to help them settle, and Kompas suggests skimming off any grounds still floating.
5. **Sip slowly**, stopping before the grounds.

Brew mode on this page times the settling for you.

## Where does kopi tubruk come from?

The Jakarta Post and Wikipedia say kopi tubruk is thought to have come from a similar recipe brought to Indonesia by **traders from the Middle East**, which is why it's so close to [Turkish coffee](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/turkish-coffee/). The Jakarta Post adds that in villages it was traditionally seen as a **male privilege**, though more and more women now drink it too.

## Kopi tubruk vs other unfiltered coffee

| | Kopi tubruk | [Turkish coffee](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/turkish-coffee/) | [Cowboy coffee](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/cowboy-coffee/) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Made in | The glass | A cezve | A pot |
| Grind | Usually fine | Powder | Coarse |
| Heat | Very hot water poured on | Heated slowly to a foam | Water just off the boil |
| Grounds | Sink in the glass | Settle in the cup | Left in the pot |

*General guidance only. Use a heatproof glass, take care with boiling water, and let it cool a little before drinking.*

## Kopi tubruk vs other methods

- **[Kopi joss](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/kopi-joss/):** Yogyakarta's coffee with a burning lump of charcoal.
- **[Kopi sock](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/kopi-sock/):** Malaysian and Singaporean coffee strained through cloth.
- **[Turkish coffee](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/turkish-coffee/):** powder-fine coffee heated in a cezve.
- **[Vietnamese phin](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/vietnamese-phin/):** Southeast Asian coffee through a metal drip filter.

Explore every boiled method in the [boiled chapter](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/boiled/).

## Words used in this guide

- [Immersion vs percolation](https://dailyextraction.com/glossary/immersion-vs-percolation/): Immersion brewing steeps all the coffee in all the water at once, as a French press does.
- [Steeping](https://dailyextraction.com/glossary/steeping/): Steeping is leaving ground coffee to sit in water so its flavour dissolves out, as in a French press or cold brew.
- [Fines](https://dailyextraction.com/glossary/fines/): Fines are the very small, dust-like particles that every grinder produces alongside the main grind.

## FAQs

### What is kopi tubruk?

Indonesia's traditional everyday coffee: ground coffee and sugar in a glass, topped with boiling water and left until the grounds sink. It's unfiltered, like a very simple Turkish coffee.

### What grind is used for kopi tubruk?

Opinions differ. Wikipedia describes finely ground coffee, and fine grounds sink more easily, while baristas quoted by Kompas recommend a medium grind, like granulated sugar. Too coarse and grounds can float on the surface.

### Why do the grounds float on my kopi tubruk?

Usually the water isn't hot enough. The Jakarta Post notes that water from dispensers often isn't hot enough to "cook" the grounds, so they stay on top. Use water just off the boil, about 93–96°C.

### Does kopi tubruk have sugar?

Usually, and it's added before the water, so it dissolves as it brews. Use as much as you like, or none.

### Kopi tubruk vs Turkish coffee?

Both are unfiltered, with the grounds left in the cup. Turkish coffee is powder-fine and heated in a cezve until it foams; kopi tubruk is simply steeped in a glass with boiling water.

## Sources

- [Kopi tubruk](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kopi_tubruk)
- [Enjoying local "mud coffee"](https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2008/05/10/enjoying-local-039mud-coffee039.html)
- [Kopi tubruk, freshly ground of heaven](https://blog.tuguhotels.com/kopi-tubruk-freshly-ground-of-heaven/)
- [Craving kopi tubruk](https://nescafe.com/id/en-id/coffee-culture/coffee-lifestyle/craving-kopi-tubruk)
- [Suka ngopi? Ini cara benar membuat kopi tubruk](https://travel.kompas.com/read/2017/08/18/154605227/suka-ngopi-ini-cara-benar-membuat-kopi-tubruk?page=all)
- [Kopi tubruk](https://www.coffees.gr/kopi-tubruk/?sl=en)