Siri's Eat Outs | An Evening at Cafe Coffee Day

Tweet

"This coffee falls into your stomach, and straightway there is a general commotion. Ideas begin to move like the battalions of the Grand Army of the battlefield, and the battle takes place. Things remembered arrive at full gallop, ensuing to the wind. The light cavalry of comparisons deliver a magnificent deploying charge, the artillery of logic hurry up with their train and ammunition, the shafts of with start up like sharpshooters. Similes arise, the paper is covered with ink; for the struggle commences and is concluded with torrents of black water, just as a battle with powder."

~Honore de Balzac, "The Pleasures and Pains of Coffee"

fresh espresso, brewing

...and you thought Cafe Coffee Day (CCD from now on) is just for kaapi? Let me tell you, gone are such days as they have launched a brand new Summer Menu, to quench your thirst and refresh you from the hot summer heat. Thanks to my dear blogging pal, Mads I have got an opportunity to taste their summer drink collection and here I am with a review of what I think about each one of them.

Be prepared to get surprised and expect the unexpected. Literally speaking. Let me give you a teaser. Ever thought of Kokum in a drink? or Keri (Raw Mango) with jaljeera?.. How about desi thandai? As I said before, expect the unexpected. :-)

I love CCD just for its ambiance. Best place to meet up friends over a cup of coffee and yap to glory.

This post is a review cum photo journey about my experience at CCD. A picture is worth a thousand words, so I made sure I had enough of them to entice you and give you a sneak-peek of what is available at CCD today. It all started with we meeting Felix, manager of Food & Beverage at CCD, an amazing and knowledgeable guy who won the World Barista Championships twice. :-).

You can see him below where he very shyly modeled  for our cameras. The drink in his hand is ahem.. "Kokum Jhatka". Yes you heard it right. and it would be an understatement if I said, I was pleasantly surprised. 

Felix, the guy who developed all these amazing drinks at CCD

..and you will love it, if you like Kokum. It is one such thing where either you love it or hate it. there is no middle ground. That is Kokum for you. Personally speaking, I liked it and the taste just grows on you over time. You can get it with soda (Kokum Jhatka: Rs 80) or as a slush (Kokum Crush).

Kokum Crush

Kokum Crush is a little more milder version than the Jhatka. I liked the Jhatka ;-).

Kokum Jhatka

We take our job very seriously *wink*. There is Mads trying to get that perfect shot.

Coming up next is - Keri (Raw Mango). Capturing the flavor of Aam Panna. This again is served two (in fact three, if you count the sundae) ways. - Keri Pop : Rs 80 (with fizzy soda) and Keri Crush (with crushed ice)..Yet again, both taste great, but my personal favorite of all the drinks tasted tonight is - "Keri Pop", a tangy refreshing drink. It has jaljeera which gives it even more interesting taste which is hard to resist. Unlike Kokum drinks where either you simply love it or hate it, this Keri drink is much more appealing-to-the-mass-types.

Keri (Raw Mango) magic

a closeup shot of our favorite drink of the night.

You would want with soda or with ice, it is up to you. Don't miss out on this Keri goodness

Now, now - good news for ice cream lovers. You can have the same kokum, keri or thandai sauces drizzled over a scoop of vanilla ice cream and enjoy it as a sundae.

Felix is serving us ice cream with keri sauce. Yummyville!

this is how it looks, best of both worlds - ice cream with keri sauce.

The third offering is "Cafe Thandai" - their signature espresso ice cream blended with the iconic thandai and topped with whipped cream.

Last but not the least is - "Thandai Chiller". this is perfect for those who love desi thandai and who want to enjoy the same taste in the form of a delicious drink. It can't get better than that. :-)

After tasting so many drinks and knowing that I don't have that much of a sweet tooth, we got ourselves some warm samosas paired with imli (tamarind) ketchup. Delicious-o!

If you are at CCD and talking about coffee, then one would be curious to know about - how the frothy, beautiful looking latte art is done over the coffee. It is not as easy as it looks. The milk is blended until frothy and with perfect, tactful up-and-down motion of espresso with the milk is what forms these shapes.

these are two leaves and a flower on your coffee. Isn't it cute?

Latte Art, as it called is a fun way to make our everyday coffee a tad bit more interesting.
 

All in all it was fun evening spent over many fun conversations, tasting summer drinks, few samosas and a cup of coffee.

Finally I leave you all with a famous saying by F. Scott Fitzgerald-

"First you take a drink, then the drink takes a drink, then the drink takes you."

..of course I was referring to a summer drink here ;-).

You got to visit your nearest Cafe Coffee Day and enjoy summer with their desi summer flavors.

Will ya?

until next time,
Siri