Waft of fresh coffee tempts shoppers

Wide variety on offer at festival on M.G. Road boulevard

The Coffee Santhe, which began in Bangalore is aimed at raising funds for the underprivileged women in the coffee industry. Photo: K Murali Kumar

It took, what else, but a shot of coffee to get the M.G. Road boulevard buzzing on an otherwise lazy Saturday afternoon.

The aroma of freshly brewed coffee drew in shoppers and coffee lovers to ‘Coffee Santhe’, where they learned more about their favourite drink and sampled a few varieties as well.

The two-day festival, organised by the Women’s Coffee Alliance India, aims at raising funds for underprivileged women in the coffee industry, while also empowering them.

Something for all

The festival had something for everyone — strong filter coffee or fresh toddy coffee, or one brewed without using hot water, containing up to two-thirds less acidic content than normal.

Priya S. conceded that she found the aroma of freshly brewed coffee irresistible and rushed here to taste the drink. Even non-coffee drinkers like Manu Gupta found the festival enticing. “I usually don’t like black coffee, but I really like the fresh toddy coffee, as it’s much smoother than the usual,” he said.

Dipa Chaudhari, a retired English teacher, conceded that even though she isn’t a coffee lover, she attended the mela to support the women.

Visitors could buy coffee powder, beans, kettles or even their very own coffee plants from the colourful stalls. Among the various export quality special beans on display was the ‘Monsooned Malabar,’ a mellow tasting bean exposed to the sea breeze, sold mainly in Scandinavian countries.

Paintings and artwork made from coffee beans were on sale, Beyond coffee, the mela had a stall selling handcrafted jewellery and paper products from recycled material.

Children weren’t forgotten, with the organisers holding an art competition on the topic ‘women and coffee’. “We want children to stay at the heart of the festival,” said Urvashi Malhotra, member of the organising team, as she handed out crayons and paper to eager youngsters.

Coffee control expert and professional coffee taster Sunalini Menon said the festival has played an integral role in helping diverse groups of women work together. Proceeds would be used to promote the education of girl children of coffee workers.

On Sunday, the festival will be from 2.30 p.m. to 8.30 p.m.