Chennai: “As long as there is coffee in the world, how bad could things be?”- Cassandra Clare, City of Ashes.
The city of Chennai is the perfect destination for ancient temples, sandy beaches, heritage sites, ancient monuments and last but not the least for real authentic coffee. Java is said to be the soul of the city, it not only defines the essence of the city but also portrays the vibrant culture in a very vivid manner. India is mostly associated with tea, but the southern part of the country revolves around the ‘kappi’ culture aka ‘coffee’ culture.
Narsimhan Rd, T Nagar, a narrow way between small shops and houses lead you to a teeny-weeny aged shop. At 7 in the morning, you are rewarded with a small steel tumbler of piping hot filter coffee. “Every morning after my walk, I stop by ‘Balaji Coffee Stall’ for a steaming cup of filter coffee to enliven my day,” says Muralidharan, a resident of Guindy. “The love of this city with filter coffee is incomplete without acknowledgement of ‘Mylai Shri Karpagambal mess’”, says Vaishnavi Prasad, a native of the city. The mess was established in 1955 and as soon as you step in, you are greeted with a traditional and unique atmosphere. The aroma of coffee engulfs you.
The history of how coffee came to India is quite intriguing. Coffee was first introduced in the state of Karnataka by Baba Budan in 17th century. While returning from a pilgrimage via Yemen, he came across a strange drink made by roasting and grinding of beans of a particular plant in Arabia. He smuggled seven beans from Yemen as the Arabs at the time didn’t allow the trade of coffee beans, according to the website humantouchofchemistry.
Coffee is like a cultural icon in the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. With changing times, Chennai is no longer just confined to the old traditional style of java making. The city is also adapting the contemporary coffee trends.
Famous cafes are opening their outlets in the city at each and every street and alleys. From Cafe Coffee Day (CCD) to Barista Lavazza, this burg has everything. The international coffee brand ‘Starbucks Coffee Company’ has also finally arrived in the coffee capital of India. The menu of the aforementioned franchises consists of varieties such as espresso, latte, cappuccino, frappuccino, hot chocolate and so on.
“To fit into the society, we serve special variants of filter coffee to our patrons,” said a Starbucks official.
These swanky stores are successfully leaving their mark on many people and attracting tons of citizens.
No matter which state you belong to, or which city you come from, the coffee of this city has the power to posses you and make you fall in love with the classic brew, which is famous in this part of the country. To state it in simple terms, one’s visit would be incomplete without the taste and aroma of kappi in Chennai.
