Located opposite the sanguine white domes and steeple of Velankanni church in Besant Nagar, is a kiosk-esque cafe with a vibe that is antithetical to that of a quiet place of worship. At Den, the colours of the floor,, counter, and fans are a sharp black. The lights are sleek and the walls are a washed-up grey. The coffee, with pumps of caramel and drizzles of chocolate, is sinful for those cheating on their diets. S Bhavesh’s cafe, where he is the barista himself, has no seating space — only two tables for bags and drinks. “We have some stools on the side, if you’d like,” he offers.
Bhavesh says that when he first entered the coffee business some five years ago, he never regularly drank the beverage. He was a guinea pig for a friend who had become newly obsessed with creating versions of the brown elixir. At first, he liked his coffee sugary — a milkshake almost. Nowadays, he has moved on to the quieter Americanos and espressos. This is the trajectory of most coffee drinkers, he says. His addiction has birthed this cafe where drinks cost around ₹100 and ₹200; priced economically so that more people experiment and figure out what they like, he says.
Balamurali Krishna, a cinematographer-turned-entrepreneur who began Brews and Beyond about a month ago on Nungambakkam’s busy Uthamar Gandhi Salai, has a similar vision. “When travelling, we found that Bali had these tiny shops serving exceptional coffee. My partner [S] Threnethra and I wondered if Chennai had affordable specialty coffee options because going to fancy cafes meant paying through the nose,” he says.
Blue Pea Bliss from Brews and Beyond | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
In the last year, Chennai has seen a mushrooming of small cafes with limited seating (between four and 20 seats) that serve coffee besides the city staple — the filter. These kiosks and independent coffee shops are going on several trials with different iterations of the drink. There are macchiatos, bombons and eclectic cold brews, straying away from the more popular cappuccinos and lattes. More importantly, they are all priced under ₹300.
These cafes are also positioning themselves differently — they are now calling themselves cold brew bars, multi-roastery cafes and artisanal coffee houses that have their own customised roasting and grinding methods. Each of them say that they are learning the art of extracting the best flavour out of coffee.
Setting up coffee shops in erstwhile pan shops, abandoned houses and nooks, has also somehow democratised the coffee shop. With cheaper iced drinks for Chennai summers and warm cinnamon hot chocolate for its month-long winter, these coffee shops render themselves to two types of crowds. There are the quiet working professionals who want to sip on strong, determined coffee and claim a corner. Others want their kiosks and stores to become noisy, glittery and full of lights. “We’d like to throw caffeine-fuelled parties,” says M Sudharsan, co-founder, Only Cold Brew in Besant Nagar.
The weight of the bean
For now though, each of these establishments, all opened only over the last year, say that they are making conscious attempts to experiment. At Only Cold Brew, where Sudharsan and his partner Ukesh Kumar are creating interesting cold-brew based infusions including a coconut water-based drink called tender delight, the menu is currently going through its third form. Over a beaker of a barrel whiskey-infused brew, he discusses his new menu. “Imagine a gulab jamun with rose petals. The new menu will have you finding these notes in the cold brew,” he says. Their cafe seats 24 people and overlooks the Besant Nagar beach.
Vanilla Frothwave from Brews and Beyond | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
He adds that at their cold brew bar, the old fashioned and their original cold brew recipe, are hot favourites. “The orange peel added to the drink exists in the coffee to add flavour and does not exist as just a garnish,” he says. He adds that customers can walk up to the counter and ask the brewer about what beans are available for their classic cold brew as they tend to switch up their beans every now and then. Sometimes, they even get batches of beans that smell of fruits and flowers. These notes make their way into the coffee and keep this grand experiment alive.
Bala and Threnethra are also determined to keep their concoctions interesting and fresh. Their menu has a short yet pointed explanation about the brand and their cafe can seat four (a maximum of 10 if you are willing to sit on the porch outside). Here, one understands the origin of the beans (Balmaadi Estate Coffee in Nilgiris and Valparai), the altitude, the roast (medium, light or dark), the process (washed, natural or honey) and what notes one can taste. At Brews and Beyond, one can get notes of berry, citrus, lemon candy and honey, says the menu.
Viggnesh V, a coffee consultant and brew crafter behind the Madras Coffee Movement and the Brews and Beyond menu, says that entrepreneurs are now far more conscious about where their coffee comes from. At Brews and Beyond, even the blue pea used in their Instagram-famous colour-changing coffee is sustainably sourced. This is the same for Only Cold Brew in Besant Nagar too, where the coffee comes from both Koffie Genetics and Harmakki coffee company, two coffee roasting companies based out of Bangalore and Davarah in Chennai.
The paraphernalia too, at each of these locations involves several presses, both manual and machine operated, and imported coffee machines meant only for the serious cafe entrepreneurs. Bhavesh’s Nuova Simonelli from the US grinds coffee afresh, makes its way into an espresso shot and finally becomes a customised drink based on preference.
The filter coffee being prepared at Cafe Taupe | Photo Credit: Thamodharan B
Bhavesh adds that he has observed a diametric shift in how coffee is consumed even within Chennai. “I used to work with a coffee kiosk in Anna Nagar for a long time and saw that several young, first-time coffee drinkers came here to try a latte or a mocha. They did not like the bitter taste and hence preferred sweet, cold drinks. Many also went for additions like whipped cream, Nutella and biscoff. When I began Den, I assumed that Besant Nagar would prefer their drinks the same way. Here, however, millennials and a slightly older crowd arrive, often after a walk or a run at a beach, and prefer cold, strong drinks,” he says.
Since a coffee menu in Chennai is incomplete without filter coffee, places like Cafe Taupe in RA Puram (seats 18), which serves the drink through a window says that they are cognisant of ensuring that the temperature of the water used for steeping the coffee powder as well as a non-air-conditioned ambience is essential in ensuring the best coffee experience. The other cafes like Brews and Beyond, feature the staple but know that their strong suit lies elsewhere.
Viggnesh, the coffee consultant, says that all these entrepreneurs are making an effort to understand the science behind coffee brewing as they are usually the ones manning the counter.
At Only Cold Brew in Besant Nagar | Photo Credit: Thamodharan B
Threnethra says that this has been the most interesting part about setting up her store. Dr Hepzi, founder of Cafe Taupe, whose clinic is above the cafe, says that she manned the coffee filter and tumblers in the morning with an assistant, and continued with her consultation during the first week that Taupe opened.
Initially, friends came to Bala and Threnethra’s cafe but more recently, new people are discovering the nook through social media. While some want to eventually build their spots to become loud, bustling cafes, places like Brews and Beyond want small, manageable crowds that will enjoy a steaming hot cuppa.
“We are conscious that some of our content is getting popular on Instagram but we do not want to rely on the crowds that come from marketing the food online. We are happy to focus on the quality of our drinks. We just want people to walk in and take a sip of something they may have not tried before,” says Bala.
The kiosks have arrived, are here to stay, and are determined to convert this already coffee-loving city, into connoisseurs of the beverage.
