Teh Gonda - Bringing the Local Product to the Next Level

Gonda tea is a drink made from a typical plant from Bongan Village, namely Gonda. This drink was discovered by I Nengah Makir, the chairman of the POKDARWIS of Bongan village. The Gonda plant in Javanese is called Gondo or in English, it is called chikenspike, which belongs to the Sphenocleaceae family. Young plant height is ranging from 10 - 15 cm and older plants are ranging from 70 - 120 cm (Permadi, 2015). Gonda plant has a smooth (without any hair) and light-dark green stem. Its shape is round - faceted, hollow, and grows upright. Branches consist of primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary branches. It has a single leaf, smooth leaf surface, pinnate leaf bones, elongated leaf shape. It also has a taproot, white - brown, and fibrous root state.

In Bongan Village, Gonda is planted with a single planting system (monoculture), and the method of growing Gonda is by sowing, seeding, slaughtering, and preparing special land that has been prepared and after it reaches 15cm, it can be moved to a special place that has been provided.

Gonda is harvested very differently from types of plants such as kale which are harvested several times. Gonda is harvested by cutting the base of the stem with a sickle. Gonda can be harvested when they are 14 days old. The processing of the Gonda plant into Gonda tea begins with the boiling process. Gonda are boiled for about 3 minutes at the temperature of 80 degrees Celsius. After that, the Gonda that has been boiled is cooled first. Then Gonda is dried in the sun until it is dry. When it is dry, Gonda is ground to make it into smaller pieces. After grinding, Gonda tea can be packaged in paper packaging/standing pouches and can be traded. Gonda tea is a home industry made by residents of Bongan village by utilizing the residents' agricultural produce. This product is the innovation of the POKDARWIS chairman.