For someone trying to open a cafe in a city that doles out cappuccinos at every street corner, Ishanee Amar Haware knew she had her task cut out for her. Haware, born in Mangalore and brought up in Bengaluru, did not know either Hindi or Marathi when she moved to Mumbai three years ago. However, coming from the 13th generation of a family that owns a coffee plantation in Chikmanglur, she seems to know what they mean when they say 'wake up and smell the coffee'. With The Koffee Works, a café and bakery she has started in Chembur, Haware aims at ushering a serious coffee culture in Mumbai, a city, which she is told has a "largely chai soul".

The 25-seater is done in shades of yellows, pinks and white, a departure from the sober blacks, greys and browns that tarnish most cafes