Coffee bar culture in India

Posted by Cindy on June 25, 2009

When on the lookout for a heavenly five-star hotel, India offers a wide array of choices. In this country, where hospitality and graciousness are the rule of the day, one can expect a highly evolved sense for customer service. The hotels meet all expectations, and more. There are wonderful amenities that show a fine attention to detail. The eye and the heart will both be pleased by the excellent style and design here. There are more brilliant touches that are all designed to rejuvenate the spirit. India is a fantastic place to renew the soul, because the energy of humanity flows here like in no other country.

Street culture is extremely lively and fascinating, making people watching a premium. There are plenty of things for the whole family to do during the day, and magnificent clubs and restaurants to make for a hearty and fun night life. Lately, too, there is a coffee house culture that is starting to evolve. One entrepreneur with a lot of hutzpah, Sashi Chimala, moved back to India with his wife after living in California, and started to miss the coffee shops where one could sit and have a nice talk over a cappuccino. He’d already started other company’s, using the unlikely role model of Mahatma Gandhi, because of the spirit of independence. With this same spirit, he started the ubiquitous Qwiky’s Coffee Pub, and the idea spread like mad. Now franchised all over India, it’s obvious that the idea has caught on. Because India already has a coffee culture of its own, with its own styles of brewing and traditions of drinking coffee, Chimala has plans to open Indian-style coffee shops back in the U.S.

Another chain that’s changing the way India doesn’t sleep is Café Coffee Day, a chain from Amalgamated Coffee. This chain makes the expected espresso drinks, but with an eye toward creating cyber culture in India’s coffee shops. With wireless internet, these shops are also catching on very quickly. As coffee bar culture starts to take root in India, the same phenomenon that happens with other trends is starting. India is beginning to add its own flavors and influence to make it their own. Chimala’s cafés are starting to serve South Indian Filter Coffee, and other pubs are adding gaddis and shishas to make the experience more home-grown. This is great news for adventurous tourists, who are looking for a new experience but with some of the touches from home.