Random Thoughts

Coffee gup-chup

by Ranjita Biswas | @twfindia 15 Jun 2026, 06:47 am

Coming from the tea country of Assam my introduction to coffee was much later in life. After my marriage, actually, when I moved to Kolkata. Soon a cup of coffee with breakfast became the norm as it was in my new family.

At that time, the names familiar to me, and to most others around I assume, were Espresso, Cappuccino, or maybe Café Latte. Espresso was quite a favourite with most of the people of my generation. So, it was a kind of ‘coffee-shock’ on my first visit to Spain. I ordered an Espresso with breakfast.  What arrived was a small cup- they call taza, with a dark liquid. The first sip made my lips pucker at the bitter taste. I could see amused looks from others in the restaurant who must have observed the lone lady, obviously a foreigner from some country they couldn’t place. That was in the early 1990s.

Since then things have changed in our own country with an ever-growing ‘coffee-culture’ so to say, and ordering a coffee of my liking is no big deal.

Even then, the varieties of coffee flaunted in upscale cafés bewilder me. I often decide that it’s better to go for the familiar: a cappuccino, a latte, or at the most, an Americano. After all, instant coffee is more the norm at home, or Filter coffee to go with a South Indian style meal. That’s familiar territory. For coffee aficionados, however, cruising effortlessly among these varieties seems as effortless as crossing a Kolkata street, never mind the chaos.

Think about it: Even in the Espresso category there are names like ‘Long Black’ made by pouring a double shot of espresso over hot water with a frothy layer, ‘Doppio’ - a double-shot espresso obviously very strong, or a ‘Guillermo’ with an addition of two slices of lime, served hot or cold. In Macchiato, a combination of espresso and steamed milk or foam on top, there is also a variation called Long Macchiato.

However, I know ‘Dalgona’ coffee. It has been quite a rage lately and I swear by  the ‘whipped coffee’, after a friend introduced it to me.

But have you heard about ‘Dirty chai’, a combination of espresso with chai or tea? I didn’t, till recently after learning from someone. Variations of the darker liquid can include spices or sugar and can be served hot or cold.

From the plateaus of Ethiopia, where wild ‘coffea arabica’ plants first grew, it has moved a long way indeed.

According to legends, in the 9th  century a goat herder named Kaldi noticed that after munching the shrub’s red beans his flock jumped around with much energy and thought of trying it for himself and his community.

In recent years coffee prices have surged exponentially worldwide with climate change playing the culprit affecting major coffee producing countries like Brazil and Vietnam; alongwith are reasons like increased global demand and shipping challenges. All this has created a disruption in the monthly home budget.

But if you are a die-hard coffee lover, how can you abandon the brew like politicians crossing over to the other side at the drop of a hat?