Edward Tirtanata did not start in coffee. He began in his father's coal business, which was hard going and unprofitable. He then launched a tea brand called Lewis & Carroll, but its strategy was flawed and he turned to coffee.
In 2017 he opened the first Kopi Kenangan outlet in Kuningan, Jakarta, with James Prananto and Cynthia Chaerunnisa. Raising the Rp 150 million for it was hard and the plan took six months. The outlet sold 700 cups on day one. The signature drink, Kopi Kenangan Mantan, is a palm sugar coffee made with fresh milk.
Growth was fast. The chain had more than 230 outlets within two years. Barclays took a stake in 2018 and KKR in 2019. In May 2020 a further round was led by Barclays, with Warburg Pincus, CVC and others taking part. In April 2022 it opened 26 outlets in 13 cities in one week, a MURI record, and by the end of 2022 it was opening about one store a day.
Abroad the brand trades as Kenangan Coffee. It reached Malaysia in 2022, Singapore in 2023 and the Philippines in 2024, when it had more than 900 outlets. Sydney followed in 2025, the year it reached 1,000 stores, and Taipei in 2026.