A fun “Coffee” Event “Under the Neem”,
                                                                    Karma Lakelands.

The Filtering

The workshop, organised by young entrepreneurs Vanshika and Kanv, was conducted by the slim and smiling Bharat Singhal of “Bili Hu”, Indian State Coffees. The heady aroma of the diverse range of the coffees he was to introduce seemed to swirl above the demo table as he started the workshop. The cold, persistent drizzle, dripping constantly, brought with it the pre-afternoon chill, adding just the right touch to make the presentation a “brewing, steaming” success.

As the brochure explained, the word “Bili Hu” “comes from Kannada – a language spoken in the state of Karnataka where coffees were first grown in India.” “Bili Hu” is a white flower symbolic of the coffee plant flower that blooms to signify the harvest season.”

On display were the more important and “premium standalone coffees” of India, the Monsooned Malabar, the Mysore Nuggets, (both of the Arabica species) and the Robusta Kaapi Royale of the “Robusta” species, developed when the initial “Arabica” beans imported into and planted in India got infested by “coffee rust”. 

The Brewing

  

Coffee beans are a common sight in most markets. These come in pairs and form the seeds within the coffee pods, fruits of the coffee plant. As these pods ripen they change from green to pink to red, to a deeper red, and finally they attain a purple-red hue indicating they are ripe for plucking. The pods tend to fall off if not plucked at the right time. Once plucked and seeded, the beans are processed.

The coffee plantations tend to keep the details of their processing a well preserved secret to ensure the quality of their products. By and large the seeds are dried in the sun or exposed to moisture for absorption. This is done during the monsoon without direct exposure to the rains. They are then roasted. The degree and time of roasting decides the final colour of the beans.

Coffee brewing at the workshop began by wetting the conical paper filters with hot water at 200 degrees to remove unwanted paper and related aroma and avoid contamination to the aroma of the brew itself. 25 grams of beans of the three varieties were ground, spread on the paper filter and 250 ml of water, heated to 200 degrees centigrade, poured over it. The filter removed the oils and the bitter residue, allowing the coffee to percolate into the tumbler below.With water temperatures hovering around 200 degrees, the coffee was too hot to drink and allowed to cool to about 85 degrees. The best temperature range to sip the brew is apparently between 75 ~ 85 degrees. When it cools further the coffee tends to turn bitter. We tasted the three brewed samples turn by turn by slurping loudly. The louder the slurp the better the coffee tasters’ expertise we were told!  Resulting opinions were a total mix-up though the common feeling veered to the Robusta brew being the most bitter of the three!

The Big "Slurp"

The best part of the workshop came soon after with everyone joining in to make their own coffee mock-tails using available ingredients – strawberries, cut-apple pieces, cinnamon, green chillies and a few others. Most of us have read about hot coffee being spiked with alcohol drinks during cold winter times. These mock-tails were however made using “cold brew coffee” as the base liquor.

Cold brew is a blend of three coffee strains available in sachets of 250 grams. These are mixed with cold water and left over for about sixteen hours to “brew”. They can be stored in refrigerators for use over time. Experimenting freely, everyone threw in ingredients of their choice with ice cubes, crushing them to a paste and pouring in the cold brew coffee. The mock-tail maker was shaken thoroughly to get a proper mix. The one with the strawberries and cut-apple was a mild too sweet for my taste, but the one prepared with chillies mixed with other ingredients was just “chillied” enough to make a few of us really miss the only ingredient missing.

It was a fun, enjoyable event, led effectively, encouraging questions and free participation, replete with satiated palates.

And the casual, relaxed “Under-the-Neem” environs seemed just the right place for it!   

The grinding