Storm In A Cafe Cup!

Tea bars might be in vogue in London, but India is in the grip of a coffee revolution. Never before has a cuppa coffee tasted this sexy. TANUJ GARG got five friends to sip on the drink that�s taken India by storm!

A LOT is brewing in the coffee bar business. The mushrooming of coffee parlours across the length and breadth of the country�s major cities is gradually adding to the aura of coffee. Barista, which is the Starbucks of India, has been instrumental in re-awakening the dormant coffee culture which, in turn, has swept in a seachange in coffee attitude.

On a wet Saturday morning, I invited five close friends to the plush Barista near Bombay�s Prithvi Theatre. Getting them to show up at such short notice was not an arduous task, especially with Bombayites displaying a propensity to abide by the �chill out� routine that�s become synonymous with coffee drinking.

The first to arrive was former MTV VJ Vivaan Bhatena who�d rolled out of his bed and driven up from his neighbouring abode. �I�ve been shooting late nights for my new show Diabolical on Trendz. I could do with plenty of coffee to wake me up,� he winked.

Minutes later, television star Manish Goel showed up. The fact that the soppy-n-sappy TV soap routine has caught on as much with youngsters as coffee has, was evident when an eight-year old there checked if he was the piquant one in Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki, Chhoti Maa and Bhabhi! Manish flashed his dental floss smile as he exchanged pleasantries with Vivaan and looked around the parlour. �This Barista is really well done up. Lovely ambience - I find the orange and brown hues so placid and relaxing. If you ask me, the biggest boon of coffee parlours is that even the oldies have found their mode of recreation. I feel happy to see elderly couples sipping Cappuccino together, smiling and presumably reminiscing about the years of togetherness gone by!�

In true filmi style, my last three guests walked in together, drawing impressed eyeballs. Actress Mahima Chaudhry and her sister (and designer) Akanksha, with the sweet and podgy Rajeev Masand, the anchor who spews movie reviews (more biting than mine) on his show Masand Ki Pasand on Star News. Akanksha and Rajeev vigorously pointed at the goodies and coffee at the pay counter with greedy eyes! Mahima was more sombre, though the three had obviously skipped breakfast to binge on the goodies in store.

Without ado, we got down to business. Masand�s �pasand� was a Cafi Latte, an Espresso with steamed milk and a thin layer of foam on the top. �Honestly, I�m a more devout tea drinker, specially black tea. But when it comes to coffee, I prefer cold coffees to hot ones. Ideally, I�d have pigged on their Barista Blast, if we were having this session in the evening. But with due respect to the morning hours, I shall opt for Cafi Latte!� he giggled as he tasted the Cafi Au Lait (half dip-brewed coffee and half-steamed milk) which Akanksha had ordered. �Even this one�s not bad, though I find it difficult to distinguish between the taste of the two.� Akanksha echoed his sentiments: �If you were to put Cafi Latte, Cafi Au Lait and Cappuccino (Espresso hooded with foam) on the table, I�d find it hard to tell one from the other.�

Mahima blurted to her, �They need customers like you who can�t differentiate so that they don�t get complaints that there�s no variety! Come to think of it, there are mainly four or five standard ingredients used by brew-masters in various quantities, permutations and combinations to whip up different coffees with different names. That�s my understanding!�

Mahima was treating herself to Cafi Mocha (Espresso mixed with chocolate and steamed milk and topped with steamed milk or whipped cream). Taking up from where Mahima left, Vivaan added, �Yeah, quite right! Caffe Breve, for example, is nothing but a Latte made with half-and-half instead of milk. Or like the Cafi Americano that Manish is having, is merely Espresso diluted with hot water!�

�I love the reddish-brown, creamy layer of foam that sits on top of a well-drawn Espresso,� remarked Manish. Displaying her semi-astute knowledge of coffee, Mahima replied, �I think they call it Crema.� She added, �One of the most romantic coffees I have had in Italy is Coretto, which, again, is Espresso corrected with the addition of liquor, typically brandy or a liqueur.� With enough to moist my friends� throats, it was time for them to pig. They went on a rampage ordering a Raisin Almond Muffin, Walnut Brownie with Ice-Cream, Apple Cake, Sugar Doughnut, and Chicken Tikka with Chips. While our two calorie-conscious ladies exercised restraint, the men (aided by yours truly) licked the plates clean with a promise to invest an extra half-hour at the evening gym.

After the bingeing was done, the famous five sat back to get �nostalgic� on what they�d just guzzled with gusto. �I think we ate like pigs,� sighed Rajeev, with no obvious reference to his girth. �You did,� Mahima corrected him with a sardonic grin.

�You know, I was never a coffee fan till these various coffee parlours opened up,� averred Manish. �I�ve actually started enjoying coffee of late.� Vivaan, dabbling with the guitar at the parlour, added, �I can�t do without my two cups of tea but an occasional coffee is always welcome. I like the whole coffee-drinking experience. It�s relaxing to sit with friends and converse at coffee bars!�

Coffee in India is a subculture today. And chains like Barista and Cafe Coffee Day are keen to be perceived as more than just another brand on the market. They�re selling an experience. An experience that offers more than coffee: Ice-cream, games, food, mugs, cups, light music, CDs. �Who knows? It might easily replace the Cokes and Pepsis of the world,� smiled Mahima.