Int'l Coffee Day: Coffee roasters spill the beans on their favourite hacks and brews

Itrsquos taken a while but in a tealoving country coffee does hold a special place for Indians According to the fifth edition of Godrej Food Trends Report 2022 after Indians got a taste of real coffee the segment has seen explosive growth ripping through the second and third waves in barely two decades As Indian origin artisanal coffee begins to get popular in homes midday chats up with newage roastersrsquo to reveal their musthave tools and cool brewing mantrasRoll with itAshish Drsquoabreo Founder Maverick and Farmer coffee roastersGrowing up in Mangalore coffee was a big part of his home and the cityrsquos culture thanks to the neighbouring coffeegrowing areas like Coorg Sakleshpur and Chikmagalur The exfounder of The Flying Squirrel is doing interesting work with the new brand mdash read worldrsquos first cold smoked coffee and ale yeast fermented coffeeHack this Grind coffee at home to barista standards without fancy equipment by using a hard flat surface and a chapati rolling pin gently rolling down on the coffee beans evenly until you get the right consistency coarse for French Press medium coarse for electric filter This helps avoid uneven grinds that can contribute to bitterness or weakness in the cupFavourite tool Powerful yet tiny weighing scale that travels with me wherever I go Being obsessive about weighing helps maintain consistency in flavour and bodyBest brew A good pourover Irsquom currently experimenting with a lot of natural processed coffee possibly because the fruitier heavy body appeals to me at this point But in general I love a cup of freshly brewed black coffee thatrsquos been cooled down a bitThat salty vibeAshwiniOm Sawant Founder Kali CoffeeBrought up listening to the Panchatantra stories and being fascinated with Indian mythology Kali Coffee was born of Sawantrsquos love for the goddess She compares it to a cup of intense black coffee that can wake you up from illusions face reality and give you superpowers to manifest what you desireHack this Crush less than a pinch of sea salt on dark roasted coffee while brewing to make it less bitterFavourite coffee tool My morning brew is always a pourover so Kalita as of now is on my side tableBest brews I love fruity and sweet coffee mostly medium roast profiles and any manual brew mdash mostly pourover and Aeropress as they can be carried aroundGlass actBharat Sethi Founder and CEO Rage CoffeeFascinated by Europersquos coffee culture Sethi realised how easy it would be to make a good cup of coffee if you know the tricks of the trade and began his journey in this directionHack this If yoursquore drinking black coffee from a pourover it is best to use a glass cup and not a ceramic cup as it tends to alter the temperature quicklyFavourite coffee tool Frother for instant coffee and a manual grinder to grind beans for ground cup of coffeeBest brew Swinging from brewing coffee in a V60 Hario using a Moka pot to getting addicted to a French press then using a manual drip machine followed by a fully automatic machine and even a South Indian filter press Irsquove realised that the real game changer is right beans using a manual grinder and giving it 1520 minutes of brewing at a temperature of 8083 degrees using Chemex with a filter paper to drip itThe right balanceShannon Drsquosouza Founder KC Roasters Glass actGrowing up experiencing Australiarsquos strong coffee culture Drsquosouza craved a good brew when he moved to India That and his familyrsquos Kelagur Estate in Chikmagalur played a big role in his personal and professional coffee journeyHack this Using at least 30 per cent alkaline water for brewing coffees especially for weak body coffees adds body and balances the hardness of regular water Irsquod recommend a high TDS Total Dissolved Solids water for people in Mumbai mdash I brew mine with a 70 PH level especially if I feel too hyperactive after all the coffee consumption Itrsquos good for calming down and helps sleep better I donrsquot think anyonersquos talking about this as a trendFavourite coffee tool Reusable coffee filter weighing scale and coffee refractometer meter I love La Marzocco Espresso machines because the precision and quality you get out of these are incomparableBest brew Single shot espresso and Aeropress mdash depends on how I feelFilter kaapi coolRupal Jain Founder Bombay IslandJain with a coffee plantation workerPart of the third wave coffee movement that redefined the ideas around sourcing roasting and brewing coffee Jain left her left career prospect as a chartered accountant to follow her passion for coffeeHack this Try traditional filter coffee with some jaggery instead of sugar and have it with fresh cow milk mdash perfectFavourite coffee tool Pourover with Turkish coffee Pourover is easy to make and gives flavourful coffee Turkish one is very strong and great for a caffeine kickBest brew For mornings I prefer a pourover at noon itrsquos espresso or Americano and evenings are perfect for a good cold brew