Page 86 - EBOOK_Jamu: The Ancient Indonesian Art of Herbal Healing

Given the right conditions, what can go wrong? Quite a lot, apparently.
Active ingredients are only present at certain stages in a plant’s growth cycle. At
times the ingredients can be too strong or too weak. Roots and leaves also vary
in taste depending on whether the rhizome is cultivated, or grown in the wild.
Temperature, altitude and soil conditions are all very important factors in plant
growth, and some jamu simply need plants or herbs that are grown in certain
conditions if they are to be effective.
Take kencur. Make Jamu Beras Kencur with kencur from Central Java and

it tastes delicious. Buy kencur around Jakarta, where soil is normally red rather
than black and it can taste tart. On the other hand, try kencur from a market on
Batam Island near Singapore, and you will find it so small, young and bitter that
you will never want to repeat the experience again. Anyone who has tried
removing skin from these tiny and knobbly, kencur rhizomes will confirm the
job has nervous breakdown potential.

The Economic and the Botanic Gardens
The colonial Dutch were quick to realize there was money to be made if they
could standardize and improve the quality of Indonesia’s natural resources. In
the early 1800s, they established two research centres at Bogor, in the hills south
of Jakarta, where climate, altitude and soil provided perfect growing conditions.
These twin pillars, the Economic and the Botanical Gardens had one