I’m not a big fan of non-fiction books, never have been, but one that I enjoyed reading a while back was Starbucked! by Taylor Clark. The reason I picked it up in the first place is, of course, my love for coffee. It’s a love that runs deep enough for my brother to have nicknamed me CCD – Compulsive Coffee Disorder! My love story with this beany beverage began in college when my mum insisted I have a cup of milk in the morning, and my taste buds insisted I needed to mix in something to make sure I can keep it down. And so a teaspoon of Nescafe instant coffee in a mug of milk became my preferred wake-up tonic. The habit continues even today.
These days, of course, the Coffee Quotient of the average Indian has undergone a change. Starting with the Barista chain of coffee shops, to the Cafe Coffee Days, and now more recently the Gloria Jeans, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Costa Coffee, and Starbucks stores.. the coffee drinking culture in India has evolved. The generation before us had their own charming government-run coffee houses – which were perhaps conversation hubs more than eateries. Today, you’ll find a somewhat similar, albeit more fast-paced atmosphere in the coffee chains or standalone coffee shops that have sprung up.
Starbucks actually entered India in a joint venture with the Tata Group and as expected in a short span of 5 years, they seem to have taken over the mind-and-pocket space of a majority of the young coffee drinkers in the country. They recently opened their 100th store in the country, and as they have done in every other market the aim is to up that number at a rapid pace. There are of course Starbucks lovers and haters in probably equal measure, and I’m not going into the pros and cons of the “starbucked effect” – you should read the book for that. I do know that my love for a Starbucks, (or any of the other cafes) is focused around the amazing frappes, frappuccinos, and flavoured versions of cold coffees that they have. The cold versions of the beverage are definitely done best by their expert baristas.
But, these coffee shops are not nearly enough for my “essential” daily coffee dose.
A friend once asked me, “Which coffee do you love?”, and that put me in a bit of a tizzy. In the quest to stay with the “cool” crowd, I was tempted to say something like tall hazelnut latte with skim milk and a double shot of espresso. But the truth is, I treasure my homemade cuppa of beaten coffee. A lot!
1 spoon instant coffee, 1 spoon sugar, beaten with a dash of water, add half n half milk & water – pure caffeinated bliss! The closest coffee shop variant to this, taste-wise is cappuccino so that’s what I end up ordering when I’m out. But my heart is always at home with the yummy coffee, a comfortable couch and a billion conversations with family and friends.
