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Editor’s note
Coffee connoisseur Sadhavi Ashwani is the co-founder of Baba’s Beans—an Indian brand that provides a holistic coffee drinking experience—offering the story behind the cup, the crop and the small farmer. Apart from coffee, she is also immensely passionate about music, reading and the mountains. Currently she’s cultivating a desire to create music—starting out with the ukulele. Below she offers a great guide to nailing your cuppa every single time. Over to Sadhavi...
A list of coffee-related recs
The safest way to order coffee: When in doubt at a coffee shop, deconstruct your order. Get espresso, cold milk, ice and sugar separately and fix the perfect iced coffee according to the proportions you enjoy. So even if the coffee is not that good and you don't trust their recipes, you still get to control the flavour. As long as there is freshly brewed coffee, you can rescue yourself from a bad mood!
A good pairing: If you happen to get your hands on a good quality Indian dark roast cold brewed coffee, I suggest pairing it with a sliver of a freshly baked lemon cake. The two come together in a delicious harmony. The nutty-chocolaty tones and the smooth and light body of the cold-brewed coffee pairs beautifully with the fresh zing of the lemon cake. If you’re brewing a batch at home, order yourself a fresh bag of our cold brew blend called Hustler and get brewing.
A coffee to taste: My new favourites are the coffees from Jampui Hills—unique citrusy coffees from the Mizo Hills range in northern Tripura. This coffee has sweet, earthy and citrusy tones by virtue of growing on soil that once grew oranges. Get your hands on the fresh harvest of this year and some delectable recipes with Jampui Hills coffee at Baba’s Beans Coffee Bars: Aloft Hotel Aerocity, New Delhi & Fairfield By Marriott, Dehradun. They will also be available on our website starting next month.
A killer cold coffee hack: Here is a personal favourite cold coffee recipe that I start my day with. It was an experiment that turned out to be just what I needed.
I use our traditional south Indian filter coffee house blend that I brew in the bottom half of a moka pot. But I neither put it on the stove nor do I use the traditional filter coffee maker. Instead, I load the filter of the moka pot with filter coffee and tap down the coffee bed evenly. Then pour hot water over the coffee bed in a circular motion till it reaches the brim of the filter and let it percolate down into the bottom container. Essentially it's a hybrid of moka pot and pour over coffee. The decoction that you extract will have the strong kick of traditional filter coffee but will have the body of an espresso. Add ice (or not), milk and sugar to taste and start your day right with a splendid brew that is a must try.
A must-have: A french press. If you want to start brewing coffee at home or are hoping to understand the nuances of different coffees—befriend a french press and brew on. It is the best way to start understanding what you can do with just water and coffee. From brewing a strong concentrated decoction to a mild smooth brew, this beautiful equipment functions like a performing artist. You can brew a gratifying at-home cappuccino and can also use it as cold brewing equipment. Don’t know where to start? Check out our brewing guide.
Bonus hack: You can also use the french press to froth your milk like so:
A homemade affogato: If you are the proud owner of a french press, the next time you crave dessert at home, brew yourself an affogato. Affogato is an Italian word that translates to ‘drowned’ in English—fittingly since the best way to have a scoop of vanilla ice cream is to drown it in an espresso. Except, I recommend replacing the espresso with a strong french press brew made with our Araku Valley single origin coffee.
All you have to do is change your coffee to water ratio: instead of the standard brewing proportions of 1:10 i.e. 250 ml of water for 25 gm of ground coffee, brew on a 1:5 ratio i.e. 40-45 gm for 250 ml of water for 4 minutes. Get your scoop of vanilla and pour your decoction over the ice cream and dig in. You may also choose to top it up with seasonal fresh fruits or crushed waffle cones.
Note: This is NOT sponsored content. We use this section to spotlight the recommendations of people we trust and admire.
