Indie bean enterprises have given the coffee culture in the city a shot in the arm. Here's all you need to know to move beyond sipping on instant coffee
The Indian tea market is pegged at an approximate worth of Rs 20,000 crore and the coffee market is worth Rs 5,000 crore. "The average Indian millennial is not price-conscious but value-conscious. elite and affluent segments of the population are going to double in the next five years. But what's going to multiply more than double is the aspirational segment with the income level of five to 10 lakh per annum. This is going to drive India's consumption curve, with a brand focus on health and wellness as many in this segment are under age of 35," says Bhuman Dani, who along with Shariq Ashraf left his lucrative job with an international consulting group to start TGL Co. (The Good Life Company), a curated brand of teas and coffees.
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Rizwan Amlani, co-founder of coffee label Roasted Today, says that India is among the top 10 coffee manufacturers in the world, yet 75 per cent of our coffees are exported abroad. "We are at a stage where wine was 10 years back, when it was exclusive, and is now accessible to the masses. Independent coffee roasters are now trying to bring our coffee back to us in a sustainable manner, and the well travelled consumer that knows its coffee is helping boost this market," says Amlani. Here's your guide to ace your coffee funda.
Rizwan Amlani
Farm to cup
The ripest cherries are picked for speciality coffee. While a single estate coffee comes from the same source, a single origin coffee can come from the same region but different estates. After the picking, the fruit is washed off completely and then the coffee is dried for seven to eight days. In a different method, the coffee bean is dried on a sunbed with the fruit for two to three weeks, this is known as unwashed coffee, which is fruitier. Washed coffees have nutty, dark chocolate-style flavours. Next comes hulling, where the bean is peeled or polished.
Bhuman Dani
This coffee is then stored and sent to the roaster. The different kinds of roasting methods are light (toasted grain taste and pronounced acidity), medium (lacks the grainy taste but has a more balanced flavour, lower caffeine), medium dark and dark (they take the flavour from the roasting process).
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Take your coffee skills to the next level by learning how to pair different types of coffees with easy-to-make desserts. Watch workshop conductors Ishaanee Harware and Ketki Barfiwala pair Vietnamese coffee with iced cookies, a classic filter coffee with dark chocolate and walnut cake and more.
ON: September 8, 4 pm to 6 pm
AT: The Koffee Works, Sion Trombay Road, Chembur
CALL: 9167919179
Put your skills to the test in this global coffee-making competition to find the world's best cup of AeroPress coffee. Participants will have eight minutes to brew and present their coffee to three judges.
ON: September 2, 12 pm to 6 pm
AT: Coffee by Di Bella, Malad West.
LOG ON TO: townscript.com
What to buy?
Monsooned Malabar AAA by Roasted Today, freshly picked green coffee beans are exposed to moisture-laden monsoon winds.
AT: Flea Bazaar Cafe, Kamala Mills Lower Parel; Carter Road Social and Versova Social.
COST: Rs 150 for a cup or Rs 535 for a bag
el Salvador Santa Cristina, grown around the el Bálsamo Quetzaltepec mountain range around San Salvador Volcano; and instant filter coffee.
LOG ON TO: tglteas.com
COST: Rs 1,600 and Rs 360
Cold brew brew pack (pure black coffee) and Cinnamon burst brew pack
LOG ON TO: sleepyowl.co
COSTL: Rs 500 for five brew packs, each makes three cups
Vikram Khatri
Chef speak
Vikram Khatri, executive chef, Hello Guppy, (The Olive Group), which has recently launched a Japanese coffee house menu in collaboration with Koinonia Coffee Roasters says, "Diners are looking for a 360 degree experience when eating out, which is not just limited to food. We have always focused on offering this, when we design our dining concepts. Therefore, it was key for us to offer a unique, curated coffee programme, especially since this beverage features quite prominently on menus in Japan. We have regular patrons who are familiar with the variety of Japanese products available today and often ask for matcha lattes and cold brew coffees. We try to stay on top of current trends and cater to these requests. After all, a good cup of coffee at the end of a meal is what completes the experience."
Be a coffee snob, ace the lingo
Roasting
Coffee roast levels is commonly defined by the colour, ranging from light to dark (or extra dark). As coffee beans absorb heat in the roasting process, their colour becomes darker. Oils appear on the surface of the beans at higher temperatures. Colour is not a always an accurate way of judging a roast.
Acidity
Acidity is the tanginess or tartness of a coffee. You'll taste and feel it on the sides and the tip of the tongue, or the back of your tongue or jawbone, like when you taste citrus fruits. Coffees with high acidity are described as bright, tangy and crisp with a clean finish. Low-acidity coffees feel smooth.
Grading
The Coffee Board of India uses various terms to grade the coffee, which includes Plantation A, AA and AAA, which is the size of the bean and different for washed and unwashed coffees. Only two per cent of the coffee can be called AAA, which is a bumper crop and of premium quality.
Single estate
Single estate coffees come from the same source, unlike bulk coffees that are a mix of different estates. every coffee cannot be roasted in the same way, and the knowledge of the location, elevation, process of growing and soil composition helps the roaster get the maximum flavour.
The brewing process
Drip method
In this process, the interaction between water and the coffee is limited, where water passes through the coffee via a filter. Japanese V60 Pour Over and Chemex are common types of drip method.
Immersion
Coffee and water sit together inside the filter for a long time, and share more molecules with each other. French press is a style of immersion process.
Siphon
Heat and pressure is used to brew coffee. Water is in one chamber and coffee in another. Water is forced via a heat transfer to interact with the coffee. Moka pot is one such method that uses pressure to brew the coffee. Aeropress is a hybrid between the immersion and pressure method. It's like a big injection for coffee — it immerses the coffee in water, which is then pressured out through a filter. Pick the roast and body of coffee based on the method. A French press needs coffee with a heavier body as compared to drip coffee.
Rizwan Amlani
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