A visit to Araku Cafe, Indiranagar, Bangalore.

Out of all the coffees that I got to see at this cafe, I like the aesthetic that this packaging had. One of it was called the Micro-Climate which is known to be 100% Arabica, a coffee that is put in such sachets so that you can brew it in the drip bags.😁

The microclimate refers to the tiny area in which the climate differs and the species that exists in the area is unique and specialised to such a climate. Coffee plantations are always seen in large portions like more than hundred acres, while the microclimate that is within can differ at every little corner.

The other coffee was called Selection which was also a pocket brew and the origin of the coffee was from India. These coffee have certification that they are sustainable and taking care of the small coffee farmers so that they are paid reasonably.

I don’t know how many of you know about specialty coffees but one of the major task is selecting the right coffee Cherry. This depends on the colour of the cherry the level of ripeness, the sugar, content and the variety.

This is how the cafe looks from the outside. This cafe is on the Bangalore Street at Indiranagar, it is a Cafe come bakery which has Continental delicacies, beverages and deserts. I had gone at 11 in the morning just to meet Sumanth Paranjape, who is a barista at this cafe.

It truly is interesting meeting coffee people and getting connected to them on Instagram. Back in May he had sent me a message saying “Come and visit our cafe” and within a week’s time, I had ended up planning and getting to know him in person.

Have you heard of cascara? For those of you who haven’t heard of it. Cascara is nothing, but the coffee skin or the feel which is dried and utilised as a specific and unique byproduct.

At the Araku Cafe, it was interesting to see how they have utilise this byproduct and turned it into a chocolate ball filled with gummy dry skins. They called it the cascara bonbons and unlike the coffee tradition of using these cascaras for the compost, here the cascara from the red cherries are specially taken from Araku plantations in Andhra Pradesh.

They have made this beautiful morsel of a dish with 75% of dark chocolate with almond flakes and an interesting twist called the amaranth. In India, the amaranth is called gods own grain which adds to a tinge of protein into these edible balls.

Have you ever seen a cup so beautiful and thought to yourself who made these beauties. Well, I was in a similar situation so I had ended up turning the cup and checking, to my luck I got to see the company that made it.

This is one of the cups that they had at Araku Cafe, which added a bountiful colour on the tables. Blue was one of my favourite cups, but they also had yellow and orange.

Normally, when I go to Bangalore, we used to go with my entire family because we would end up having events to showcase our own coffees. But this time I just had my mom with me and it is nice to go Cafe shopping for other coffees. It’s always nice to see what’s in the market and why these coffees are made and by whom.

We weren’t the only people visiting this cafe and looking around the two storeyed building. Sumanth had called so many visitors to have their first look at this cafe.

They had a secret glass room on the side which was the roasting room. They have multiple batches that are roasted on our day to day basis. Each of these coffee are cupped and the flavour profiles and noted down. On the wall, they were multiple posters of the kinds of flavour profiles like the fruity, floral, herb like, caramel and nutty. Each of these flavours where then elaborated on these posters.

The roasting unit was connected to the laptop, and there are multiple lines running on the background to show the heat, the phases the beans were going through. The roasting drum is filled with the beans that has such a beautiful whiff of coffee across the whole room.

As you can see the green grain pro bag that is being held is used to store the coffees in an airtight condition. If oxygen is allowed to touch the coffee beans for more time, the beans begin to slowly lose their freshness. A minimum of 5 to 10 kgs of coffees are roasted in this machine. Roasting coffees requires a unique skill set, which is why not everyone can become a roaster.

As you know, these coffees were from the Araku village, and within this picture, you can see how they have showcased the original version of the coffee. Depending on the kind of process, we get different coloured outcomes.

The first one is a natural process, also known as dried process where the coffee beans or within the coffee cherry and is allowed to dry in that exact state. They almost look like massive raisins.

Next comes the honey process, where the coffee skin is stripped of from the bean and the bean is bathed in its natural sugars. As this coffee is being dried the sugar begins to caramelise because of the sunlight and this is what gives a yellowish tinge to the coffee. Depending on the amount of sugar, the colour of the bean can turn burgundy to black.

You can also look at the parchment coffee which is basically the bean without the natural sugar. There is no caramelisation on the bean, in fact, the name parchment is because the skin resembles a parchment paper.

In the middle of the room, there is a special bar type counter where the barista keeps brewing coffees and the waiter comes and delivers it to the assisted table.

Do you think I love most about this cafe is how they have utilised the brewing gadgets as a design piece right in the centre of the room. Almost creating a wall with this beautiful design that separates the barista from the customers.

The cafe is so devoted to the farmers at Araku. That is why they have brought certain plants and kept at the cafe to bring out the vibe of the farm. The coffee tree had got a small little ripe cherry. Pepper vines were entangled on the other corner, most of the native vegetation were kept as pieces to connect to the origin.

Last, but not the least, I wouldn’t leave without having a cup of coffee. Sumanth graciously brought some of the roasted beans and ground them right in front of us and the whiff of coffee was in the air.

He decided to brew it with a V 60 or a chemex which is quite similar, and the coffees even though they were Arabica, they seemed much stronger to the robustas that we know from our farm.

He also brewed a small shot of espresso for us. That was something else, I have absolutely no words to describe that cup.