11 Coffees You Must Try To Achieve Coffee Connoisseur Status

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There seems to be a new coffee wave in the city and Coffeeman, aka Rajeev Roark, has been avidly surfing on it. He gives us a tiny crash course on his favourite coffees in the city, and tells us where to try them. Here it goes.

Hot Coffee

Syphon Coffee Ethiopian

Theatrical, scientific and the realest taste test of every coffee bean. The Syphon is a carefully calibrated coffee brewing system originating in Berlin during 1830s and perfected by Japanese company Hario. Syphon, or Vacuum Pot coffee-maker, uses hydrostatic pressure to introduce and extract water from coffee grounds over duration of six minutes. The brewed coffee comes out at a perfect temperature for you to enjoy the delectable aroma and stunningly layered taste.

Where: Perch Wine & Coffee Bar

Coffeeman’s Tip: Don’t swallow immediately; let the coffee rest on your palate, chew on it a little and you’d be blown by the number of flavours.

Pour Over El Salvador

The Pour Over coffee is a double benefit brewing method. It uses infusion of hot water into coffee and let’s gravity do its magic. The result? None of the pesky acidic harshness of an espresso and fully expressed flavors of any coffee bean you brew in it.

For a great flavour profile, go for Latin American coffees such as El Salvador’s Picacho or Colombian Supremo, known for their smooth mouthfeel and complex flavors such as blueberry, bananas or stone fruit.

Where: Perch Wine & Coffee Bar

Sea Salt Mocha

Now this is a tricky one. Coffee is known for many taste notes {there are over 1,400 detected flavours of coffees around the world}, but sea salt isn’t very common. Luckily, the baristas of Blue Tokai know what they’re brewing. The Mocha topped with Sea Salt is the best of both worlds; a familiar brew with a new twist for your taste buds.

You also have the freedom to trust their house-blend of the day, or just ask the baristas to brew with one of the exclusive roasts such as Karadykan Honey Sun Dried or Monsoon Malabar.

Where: Blue Tokai

Baarbara Cortado

Cortado is Spanish for ‘cut’. Essentially, this is the coffee version of the cutting chai, as in a bunch of ingredients coming together to cut each other’s harsh notes and bringing out a wonderfully balanced taste. In this case, an espresso tempered with equal amount of milk, buoyed by a frothy texture.

Where: Blue Tokai

Kalldeverapura Macchiato

One of the great conundrums of every coffee lover, casual or ardent, is the temperament of espresso. On its own, it can be too overwhelming for your taste buds and the aftertaste breaks down into a bitter mouthfeel. With cappuccino, its either too milky or too indistinct to be enjoyed. Enter the Macchiato, Italian for ‘marked’. A shot of espresso, marked or topped with a spoonful of milk froth. Simple, elegant, well-tempered.

Where: Perch, Vasant Vihar {with their Indian Single Origin coffee called Kalladeverapura}, Rose Cafe {house blend}

Espresso Con Panna

Italian for ‘espresso with cream’, this is a single or double shot espresso, topped with whipped cream, and served in a lovely delicate cup. The delicate cream melting into espresso both enhances the taste of the espresso as well as tempers its harsh bitterness, while the shot warms up the cream and your palate with every sip.

Where: Rose Cafe

Cold Coffees

If you’re all bundled up in warm winterwear and bravely venture out, I assure you, these chilled delights make it worth your efforts.

Vietnamese Iced Coffee

This one has quickly become a favourite among the masses. I’ve seen visitors from cities around the nation who have been intrigued by the Vietnamese Iced Coffee at Perch, Khan Market. The secret? Served in a tall glass, you have the warm smoky Robusta coffee {every other coffee on this list is Arabica, which is a sweeter variety of coffee bean}, mingling with a generous dash of condensed milk while being chilled over ice.

Where: Perch Wine & Coffee Bar {LBB also recommends Sleepy Owl and Bamboo Boat}

House Blend Cold Brew

Want to enjoy a coffee that has an entire day’s worth of attention and careful chemistry invested in it? Cold Brews are your pick then. Coarse ground fresh coffee, infused with room temperature water, and chilled together for 12 hours or more depending on your barista. All its flavours, the sweetness of cherry, the ageing maturity similar to a wine and the aftertaste of a dessert, served in one.

Where: Perch Wine & Coffee Bar, Blue Tokai {also check out LBB’s list of cold brews, here}

Nitro Coffee

Nitro Coffee is basically what happens when a mad scientist meets a barista. Invented by The Queens Kickshaw in Astoria and perfected by Sumptown Coffee in Portland, USA, Nitro Coffee is basically cold-brewed coffee infused with high pressure nitrogen. It looks like a Guinness, tastes like a fine wine and feels like silk on your palate. You’ll either love it or hate it. But you do wanna try it.

Where: Blue Tokai

Coffee Shrub With Tonic

The one thing I love about people at Perch Wine and Coffee Bar is that they’re curious. About everything. They see some ingredients and they start mixing it up, finding out what works the best. And one of their best is the Coffee Shrub with Tonic. It’s cool, it’s complex and it’s bloody delicious, I tell you.

Coarse coffee, infused for hours with secret ingredients, extracted and poured over ice with tonic water and served with a slice of fruit or orange peel, this is one heck of a ride for your taste buds. It’s one of their most sought after drinks and for good reason, as you will see for yourself.

Where: Perch Wine & Coffee Bar

Caramel Bean

You like coffee? You like Bourbon? You like caramel? You like orange? You looking for a good drink to go with an intriguing date? Well, I’ve got Caramel Bean for you. A drink created by the maestros of Perch Wine and Coffee Bar, this is a cocktail that I will never get over.

I won’t tell you how it’s made, but it’s creamy-yet-light as a feather on your palate, as well as a little reminiscent of ‘sweet dark chocolate with a splash of orange’ bitter. It’s got the most wonderful after taste to last you a while.

Where: Perch Wine & Coffee Bar

Coffee Sangria

You might often hear the complex tales about wine. Well guess what, wine wishes it was coffee. Coffee is almost four times as complex as wine and far more delicate a product, and the guys at Perch know it. Which is why they combined great coffee {which one? that’s a well-kept secret} with some lovely red wine, depending on the virtuoso of the Wine bar. Fruity-yet-full bodied, smooth yet distinct in its secret flavours and perfect with any great sea food offering.

Where: Perch Wine and Coffee Bar