Iyengar's Kaapi
Wake Up, It's Here! Iyengar's Kaapi
Filter coffee lovers have to scout the area for a really good cuppa. Now, thanks to this delivery service, you don’t have to worry anymore. It’s fresh, it’s piping hot and it’s convenience, all in one
Text: Lyle Michael Photographs: Farzana Contractor
Today’s good mood is sponsored by coffee! By Iyengar's Kaapi, by Ramesh Iyengar, founder and larger-than-life personality. We have known him since his Trikaya Grey Advertising days, back in the ‘80s and his spirit has not dimmed a tad, one that he infuses into his coffee, or shall we say kaapi as South Indian filter coffee is more lovingly and traditionally known.
This is an unique brand, indeed, for where else do you get steaming hot kaapi in a thermos delivered to you, anytime, anywhere across Bombay, New Bombay and Thane! Kaapi that’s authentic, FSSAI certified, from beans sourced from the Chikmagalur and Coorg districts, produced after 22 trials and tests of taste. A brand that keeps the coffee aficionado at the fore, bringing it straight to you as fresh and hot as if you were to get it off the counter at a coffee shop.
Iyengar’s Kaapi is hand-blended, from Arabica and Robusta beans, then roasted at a controlled temperature of 250° C − nothing more, nothing less − with the addition of chicory powder that gives it that distinctive taste and colour which makes it so addictive. The coffee powder is then placed in a traditional filter, boiling water is poured, and you then witness the transformation into a dark-coloured brew called the decoction. When milk and sugar are added to this, you get kaapi, minus the sharpness of the roasted beans, and it must be aerated vigorously between two vessels as we see the masters do, when we order a kaapi from a café or a stall. Voila, Iyengar’s Kaapi is served, and sent out to you from their state-of-the-art cloud kitchen!
For Ramesh, filter coffee runs in his blood. He takes us back to the beginning, “I have witnessed these steps from my childhood whilst observing my patti (grandma in Tamil) roast the beans in weekly batches, then take a handful of these roasted beans out from an airtight container and hand-grind it in a contraption that was fixed on the kitchen shelf.” Kaapi items like the filter, beans, tumbler and the dabra − the unique pair of utensils used to drink kaapi in − had their pride of place in the kitchen. Imagine waking up to the smell of freshly brewed kaapi with a plate of quintessential savouries that you would only find in a South Indian home.
Ramesh has used his childhood memories and his love for cooking to present a range of six snacks along with Iyengar’s Kaapi that go by the name Iyengar’s Kurku Murku. “These are from my recipes, made under my supervision, that go great with your kaapi. No preservatives and no additives − that range from Thattai to Seedai, Madras Mixture, Muruku, Kai Muruku and Ribbon Pakoda.” Some of the ingredients that go into these traditional snacks include cumin, urad dal, rice flour, gram flour, sesame and more.”
When we sat down to a kaapi and some crispy, lightly salted muruku with Ramesh and his exuberant wife, Ameeta – his support system and the Business Director of Iyengar’s Kaapi – we knew we could get hooked onto this kind of coffee daily. It works great for corporate companies/events where coffee drinking is gradually becoming the norm, given those long hours and grueling Zoom and Team meetings. Fuel for the mind, that’s coffee! Thinking of hosting a high tea? This delivery model will lend itself very well, to keep the kaapi hot for hours. Or the best way possible, let us tell you, is to sit by the windowsill, with your latest read, some soft tunes in the background and the patter of the rain outside, with your kaapi in hand…bliss!
All you have to do is go online and order your kaapi, also available in chilled and black variants that work perfectly for the hot weather and the lactose-intolerant, add in your location and your time slot from the nine they have on offer through the day, and a stainless steel thermos (with paper sleeves) of piping hot kaapi will make it to you. The best part is that it is made from recyclable paper, no plastic! Wondering how to get the flasks back to them? “We will pick them up, don’t worry,” Ramesh ensures. “We also have a convenience pack, which contains sturdy paper cups, sugar sachets, stirrers, coasters, etc, which makes the whole experience of drinking filter coffee neat, clean and memorable.”
On the heels of the ready-to-drink kaapi, the team introduced Decoction which we mentioned above, which you can use as a DIY for a regular cuppa, a chilled kaapi or a black kaapi. They’ve worked it down to the last detail with instructions on how to blend the perfect cup.
If you’ve travelled by the Ro Ro ferry to Alibaug recently, the aroma of freshly brewed Iyengar’s Kaapi would have hit you first. Ramesh’s ambitions and get-go attitude, along with his decades of direct marketing acumen – last seen as a CMD in the field, before Iyengar’s – both in India and abroad – have him and his team working on placing their brand on the national and global map, targeting railways and the airlines. He earnestly says, “If Italian espresso can become available in every coffee shop in India, why can’t this delicious Make in India South Indian kaapi be available everywhere in the world?”
They say the kaapi has been in the making for the past 65 years because that’s Ramesh’s age and it was always in him − the taste and the desire to bring his household and community staple to coffee lovers everywhere.
Believe it or not, he started his professional life as a receptionist with The Oberoi Towers in 1979 before joining the ad world, then a very glamorous prospect, and even participated in MasterChef India, making it to the Top 50, in 2011, when it was being shot at RK Studios in Chembur, a stone’s throw away from his home. And today, he’s brewing filter coffee!
All in all, he’s happy where he’s at, spreading smiles with every Iyengar cuppa and taking the coffee adage, ‘You can’t buy happiness, but you can buy coffee, and that’s pretty close’ to the next level. He’s spreading love, too, what with the tagline: ‘Love at first sip’. Clichéd much! But it works! Direct and effective, and convenient coffee at the end of the day! That’s Iyengar’s Kaapi for you!
Iyengar’s Kaapi
Visit: www.iyengarskaapi.com
Mob: 0 96197 20060