Piping Hot

Ok for all those who have relished cappuccinos and frappes so far at Cafe Coffee Day (CCD) outlets peppered across the city,there’s more good news brewing. “Come December and we are planning on rolling out a CCD lounge that will offer alternate brewing as well as unique mixology concepts,” lists out Alok Gupta,the company’s director who was in the city this Friday. And though Gupta’s been here twice before,each visit has him beaming ear to ear. “Chandigarh is an ideal market,” Gupta was quick to spell out and as he went on to add,“People here are trendy and yet so traditional. They think big city yet have a small city soul…frankly that makes for a great brew and we are only happy to be part of that.”

Given their good run in here,CCD has added to its portfolio an all-new cafe in Sector 10 followed by another along the Rajpura-Ambala highway in Shambhu to be precise. The opening of these new places takes the total number of cafes in Chandigarh and Punjab to 35 and to a whopping 807 across the country! And come December,a CCD lounge will open doors in the city as well. “It’s very different from the cafe concept and brings in unique brewing methods as well as coffees,” shares Gupta. Speaking of exclusivity,a CCD lounge will offer combinations like coffee teamed with say kulfi and even blueberries! “It might sound strange but actually makes for great combos. Imagine a spoonful of cream,powdered cocoa and a blueberry which you bite into and wash it down with an espresso shot,” explains the director who is mighty impressed with the city’s ‘experimental’ nature. “Precisely why we thought of bringing the lounge here soon,” we hear him say. And yes if all goes well,the city will then be treated to a CCD Square. “That’s where we offer single origin coffees from around the world. A notch above,it’s also a place where the food borders on fine dining,” Gupta informs. But it will be a while before the CCD Square zeroes in on Chandigarh.