Cheers to coffee: How to pick up the best brew for your home pleasure

Coffee lovers in India have a variety of brews to choose. (Stock photo)

India is sipping a change: a culture of drinking coffee is catching up as cafes expand menus and brewing at home becomes a breeze with concentrates, single-serve bags, and pour-over packs.

“Today India's coffee consumption is 100 gm per capita per annum compared to western countries where it is 12 kg per capita per annum, which clearly shows the potential opportunity. The Indian café market is (Rs) 4.5k crore currently and is growing at a healthy CAGR. The coffee category has a big social symbolic value in the Indian market and the trends of growth are encouraging,” says Rajat Agrawal, Barista’s chief executive officer (CEO).

Indians know their coffee thanks to lifestyle awareness and purchasing power. “We get consumers today who talk about specialty blends and their blend preferences, dark roast or mid roast, French Press or Pour Overs—these are things which were alien to people some ten years back. The consumer is well travelled and most of the data points are available at a push button on your handheld,” Agrawal says.

“A few consumers prefer black coffees such as Espresso or Americanos over milk-based coffees. However, India is largely a milk-base coffee market. But we have seen encouraging trends on the shift to black coffee.”

Your coffee

There are many ways to make coffee: the method depends on taste and convenience. Brews may vary from instant coffee, capsule, drip-coffee machines, French Press, Aeropress, or Pour Over.

“One can choose brewing with single-serve recyclable aluminium coffee capsules and compatible machines, these are super easy to use and your coffee is ready in minutes. Then there’s ground coffee that’s available in different grind sizes to suit a variety of home-brewing equipment like the French Press, Pour-Over, AeroPress, Moka pot, Ground Coffee Machines and more," says Rahul Aggarwal, CEO and founder of Coffeeza, a Goa-based gourmet coffee brand.

"We have pour-over coffee bags, which is a convenient way of enjoying drip-style coffee. We also offer whole-roasted coffee beans. The coffee capsules are priced between Rs 450 to 550 for a box of 10 capsules, ground coffee is available at Rs 400-450 per 250g bag, pour-over bags are priced at 400 for a box of 10 bags.”

Brewing specialty coffee at home is economical, as the equipment is a one-time investment. French Press, Pour Over and Aeropress are three popular methods for home brewing. Invest in freshly roasted beans and consume within two weeks.

“When you move from manual brewing techniques to coffee machines, you can choose between semi-automatic, fully automatic or capsule/pod espresso machines. In a semi-automatic coffee machine, the user has to manually grind coffee beans, tamper the grounds, and froth milk, these machines are available for Rs 10,000-12,000,” says Aggarwal.

A fully automatic machine--starting at Rs 70,000-80,000—does everything: from grinding the coffee beans to tampering the grounds, pulling the espresso shot and frothing milk. You have to manually grind coffee for use in a capsule machine. The two formats are ideal for people pressed for time.

"The Finero Next Espresso Machine is a bestseller in the country in the capsule coffee machines category. You can brew an Espresso, Lungo or Americano, and it's perfect for someone who enjoys black coffee. The Finero Next machine is available for Rs 12,000,” says Aggarwal.

Flavour and taste

A coffee’s flavour depends on climatic condition, the way it is grown and how the beans were processed. Indians prefer milk-based coffees like cappuccinos and lattes; other popular choices are flavoured blends of Caramel and Hazelnut. Make your pick after tasting a variety of coffees.

“For an individual to decide on what coffee they like (it) will require them to know about coffee, drink coffee, brew at home and be curious. A coffee enthusiast should explore estates, roasts, notes, and brewing methods,” says Nishant Sinha, the founder of Roastery Coffee House, an artisanal coffee brand.

"We host brewing workshops, cupping workshops, etc. that help patrons delve deeper into the world of coffee. We talk a lot about coffee on our social media communication which further helps patrons with in-depth knowledge about Indian coffee, brewing methods, etc.”

Roastery’s beans come from estates in Chikmagalur in Karnataka and a popular one called Tribe-O-Project from Koraput hills in Odisha.

Abhinav Mathur, CEO of Something’s Brewing, a Bengaluru-based coffee company, says the common practice of using pre-ground coffee needs to be thought about. Coffee exposed to oxygen loses flavour and aroma built during roasting. The surface area of a pre-ground coffee has long exposure to the atmosphere accelerating its oxidation. Hence, freshly ground coffee is recommended for a fresh and flavourful cup.

Filter coffee—a staple in South Indian households--is good quality Arabica coffee bean powder available widely. Filter coffee presses and cups are all easy to obtain, easy on your wallet, and travel-friendly.

Sheetal Saxena, the founder of Athyeka, a Noida-based South Indian café, shares the equipment needed to make filter coffee. “The equipment includes a filter coffee press, usually made of brass or steel. You may also need filter coffee mix for the general audience is a roasted mix of coffee beans and chicory. Essentially south Indian filter coffee is in the form of grits (its granular in texture) plus water and decoction: the coffee concentrate that defines the taste of it, sugar, milk, traditional South Indian Filter coffee cup with saucer (also called dabra).”

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