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Those rumours about a South Indian family being judged by the coffee it serves are the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth
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The right food with the right coffee.
THERE MUST be moments when you really wish you could shake the hand of your olfactory senses. Many might think the hero among senses is the taste bud, but when it's coffee time (which is anytime), a taste bud is but a faithful sidekick to our olfactory super hero. Admit it. Every morning, when you groggily pick up a cup of heaven, you sigh a thank-you to "whoever invented coffee".
When you ride past one of the many coffee shops in the city, you can't help but slow down to relish the aroma of freshly ground coffee. I have often observed that the parking slot near one of those small coffee-grinding stores is always taken. And the vehicle owner is most probably the one standing there with his nose in the store, wearing a beatific grin. Oh, anything for a whiff...
Those rumours you hear about a South Indian family being judged by the coffee it serves — well, let's just say, that's the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
Says Devashree, a regular at the India Coffee House on M.G. Road and a big fan of her ajji's brew: "If you dare offer tea to guests in a South Indian home, they immediately decide that your life has been corrupted by North Indian ways. If you don't drink coffee at least once a day, it's sacrilege!"
So citizens, listen up! Making a strong lota of coffee, pouring it into the tumbler from an appropriate height so the froth stops just at the rim and quaffing it piping hot — this art must be mastered. It is tradition, and there is no escape.
Coffee is something we've grown up with and never known completely about. Most of our coffee education would be that
1. Brewed coffee is better than instant;
2. Decaf tastes worse than regular; and
3. The more coffee powder one heaps into the filter, the stronger the coffee.
Armed with just this knowledge, we wonder why coffee in the Baristas, Café Coffee Days, MTRs and amma's home always tastes better than ours, no matter what the "instant filter coffee" commercials would have us believe. It's all about the hand that makes the coffee. And that skilful hand is called the barista. (Yes, the coffee chain is named after that brewmaster, not vice-versa)
If we can get a cup of coffee just by walking into our kitchen, how are the coffee shops in the city doing such brisk business? The ones sitting at the open-air outlets are trying to make the most of the superb it-might-rain-now weather. Coffee houses know that when a customer walks in their door, they better do more than just give him a fabulous drink.
Brotin Banerjee of Barista checking out his cuppa.
Barista, the Italian coffee chain, has added some attitude to coffee. It prides itself on making speciality coffee made from the best beans across the world and roasted in Venice. Plus, they make sure you don't just gulp down your coffee and run right out the door. "It's nice that we can spend loads of time sitting with friends, playing scrabble or pictionary," says Akansha, a customer at the HMV House Barista, "It's not just about the coffee. The service is also excellent."
But what about the menu? "Oh well, I love coffee any way they make it... " gushes Pradeep, a PR executive who meets most of his clients at Barista, "I'm sure I'd get the Italian names in the menu all wrong if I tried to pronounce them, so I either order a plain old cold coffee or point to the yummy-looking drink the guy at the next table is having. It works all the time!"
Do you think any good business would not try getting you to buy more? Presto! Cookies, sandwiches, veggie rolls, pastries, pasta... grub to complement your cuppa. So a visit to the café needn't be post or pre-meals. It can be for lunch or dinner too.
India Coffee House regulars turn up their noses at the new fangled ideas of multinational café chains. As you walk into through the familiar doors, a waiter who seems to have grown old in his colonial uniform (complete with turban) tells you that service is available upstairs too. He must've served my grandfather also, you think... he would definitely know how to make a good cup of coffee. "The coffee they serve — it wakes me right up! And I love the cheese toast and omelette," says Dinkar, a children's books publisher.
Whether you are protesting the advent of MNCs or embracing them, coffee is a gratifying obsession. It doesn't really matter if it is years of experience or an imported machine that makes sure you get the right amount of caffeine. It all just boils down to the memory of the flavour that lingers long after the coffee has been downed.
ROHINI MOHAN
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