The C ffee Generation

Udrula Jagtap,an interior designer isn’t complaining. She is in love with black coffee and calls it a beloved. She often goes alone for a coffee converting a mug of coffee into a much awaited me-time experience. Freedom is another word for it. “I go alone many times and sit for long. Coffee bars support the freedom to sit alone and as long as one wants to. I know many who don’t mind shelling out good money for it,because it gives them a feeling of belonging to a new culture.

In the last one year,Aromas opened two branches in Pune– at Fergusson College Road and Koregaon Park–while Australian chain Gloria Jean’s too has made its presence felt. Costa seems to have inched forward to become the youngsters’ hub,especially in the evenings. “For me,it has never been only about coffee – but the world associated with it,” says Karishma Mehboobani,a second year science student at Fergusson College. “Of course,there are multiple flavours now to choose from but what I really love is the ambience.” She loves the woody interiors,the mini-tables,the mix of expats and Indians,cheery or intense conversations – sometimes whispered,sometimes loud. “I think so many couples start their relationships with coffee dates. There’s this ease factor associated with the drink or the idea of the drink – one can just be oneself,no pretence,” she adds.

Cafes have brought a shift in traditional perceptions of the brew itself as well as the socialisation possibilities associated with what was once an humble cup of kapi. It is almost an appeal to connect to a remixed culture,the quaint mix of paneer tikka sandwiches with guitar. Very global-local.

Coffee doesn’t taste better in the way it is now retailed,it looks better too. Décor and music,men,women and masti,it rakes in all. “We sit for hours and chat,share our problems,discuss issues. I think it’s the morally non-judgmental setting that lures us in. We need this space where we can go for dates and not feel odd. We seek that environment where so much can be talked about freely,” says 25-year-old mass media student,Bitopi Kaashyap.

For some coffee is Lord Valentine’s blessing for others an early morning wake up call. It sets the pace for the day for Shikha Milind Kumar. As she sits with her cup of of steaming hot espresso coffee at Cafe Coffee Day,she plans her day’s schedule,marking the free time as ‘dates with coffee’. “I’m addicted to the beverage. If I’m stressed out about an assignment,nervous,anxious,nothing calms my nerves better than a strong coffee,” says this 23-year-old from Ahmedabad,currently pursuing her MBA in the city. “My first date was at a coffee bar,my heartbreak was at a coffee bar and the bitching sessions that followed have been at a coffee bar. See,when my friends and I set out to drink coffee,it is initially with a ‘killing time’ plan. What it eventually turns out to be is a pot of conversations – of life,of school,of memories,of what is to come,” she says.

Coffee experiences at cafes have redefined the way the Indian youth indulge in social interactions. Coffee ‘shops’ have taken the brew out of Spartan,socialistic milieu to make it unapologetically modern,commercially attractive and hip. They have resolutely sold themselves not as eateries but as the a conversation place,a non-threatening,welcome space to be yourself. Starbucks will only add to the froth. Mehboobani grins,“It will be a task saving up extra money for the coffee,but it will be worth it. Right now,we friends share a cup if we are low on cash.”