‘Let’s Talk over a cup of Coffee’ or ‘How
about a cup of Coffee?’ or ‘Coffee with K….’
Coffee has now become our most integral part of general meeting
joint. I, being a South Indian, my day starts with an aromatic cup of filtered coffee. The aroma of filter coffee actually brightens
my day. So, when I got an invite from Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal, for the launch of ‘The
Square’ Café Coffee Day, I was obviously thrilled. ‘The Square’ introduces you to a thriving Single-Origin, freshly roasted &
grounded coffee. Though I am a coffee
drinker I had never tried single-origin coffee, so wanted to give it a try.
 |
| Entrance to 'The Square' |
This was at the CR2 Mall, Nariman Point. Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal welcomed me with open arms and then introduced me to other
bloggers present there, which made me feel comfortable and at ease. The ambience was warm and vibrant, with two
different types of seating arrangements. There was also a Huddle room for corporates
or any small private get-togethers.
In a little while the session started by Rushina who briefed
us on her love for coffee and her involvement with CCD since past two years. We
were to taste 7 different types of single origin coffee and Rushina had already
planned the pairing with each one of them.
 |
| Coffee & their pairings |
Rhicha Sinha, Senior Manager and Beverage Consultant of CCD took
us on a ride of Coffee. Her love and
dedication towards coffee was depicted by her knowledge that she shared with
us. Rhicha Sinha explained that the reason why 'single
origin' coffee is named as they are grown and produced from a single geographic
region and the taste is related as per the climatic and environmental condition
of that region. She informed that the real taste of single-origin coffee is by brewing
it in mineral water. She further
explained that the taste changes as per the equipment used in brewing e.g Metal
coffee - filter, French press, Buono Kettle, Stove Top Espresso etc…
 |
| Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal and Rhicha Sinha |
We started with the Ethiopian Sidamo known as the birthplace
of coffee. It’s a small medium,
greenish, grey bean grown in Sidamo, in south Ethiopia. Each tree is fertilized,
pruned, weeded and harvested by hand, to deliver a bean of an exceptional
quality. This had citrusy, strong and bitter taste. Rushina had paired it
with Mexican Red Hot Nachos.
 |
| Ethiopian Sidamo with Mexican Red Hot Nachos |
Next was Mysore Nuggets Extra Bold, the specialty beans of
Indian Arabica Coffee. These beans are originated from Yeinoorkhan Estate in
the Bababudangiri range of Chikmagalur, Karnataka - also known as the birthplace of coffee in
India. The unusual name (Mysore Nuggets Extra Bold) of which ‘Nuggets’denote
the precious similarity to ‘Gold’, while ‘Extra Bold’ speaks of the bean’s
large size. This was brewed in the
French press kept in front of us on the table. We were informed that the coffee should be
infused for 3-4 minutes and then pressed slightly. This creates a vacuum
between the coffee and decoction and thereby getting its complete flavor. The taste was subtle, delicate, smooth and
fruity. This was very similar to the filter coffee and very much familiar to my
daily coffee…Hence; I was very easily taken by it and it was paired with
Chocolate Cookies with whipped cream.
 |
| Mysore Nuggets Extra Bold paired with Chocolate Cookies with whipped cream |
We then moved on to the third variety of coffee Indian
Kathlekhan Superior. The name Kathlekhan is derived from the word ‘Kathle’
meaning dark and ‘Khan’ meaning forest in the Western Ghats region of
Karnataka. This coffee variety had a very interesting story linked to it. Its
been said that the bean directly descended from the 7 seeds brought to India
secretly by Saint Baba Budan and planted around his hut in the mystic
Bababudangiri Mountains. This was also
brewed in the French press. It had chocolaty-fruity mild taste which blended
well with the Choco Fudge Fantasy.
 |
| Indian
Kathlekhan Superior with Choco Fudge Fantasy |
Our fourth tasting was Rajgiri Pearl, known for its
mysteries of Bababudangiri Hills in a cup. Rajgiri is known as the King of
Mountains and these Rajgiri beans are grown at the peak of the famous
Bababudangiri range and are influenced by neighboring cardamom, cloves,
cinnamon and shoal tress. This was paired
well with Pizza Margarita, which washed down the strong, robust and very bitter
taste of the coffee… Not my favorite.
 |
| Rajgiri Pearl paired with Pizza Margarita |
We gathered in the huddle room for the next three varieties
of coffee tasting- Guatemala Antigua, Colombian Supremo and Costa Rican Tarrazu.
These were brewed in french press and espresso machine respectively. Guatemala Antigua and Costa Rican
Tarrazu were more bitter and stronger. On the other hand Colombian was mild,
smooth with slight sweet undertone and nutty flavor. These were paired with
Chocó Cookies.
Now the most awaited part of the evening - Rushina Munshaw
Ghildiyal's cooking demonstration. She
showed us delicious Coffee Barbecue Sauce that can go well with any sort of meats
and veg dishes. This was spread on the
thin crust pizza and served to us. It was
sweet, tangy and slightly spicy with mild flavor of coffee. It was absolutely
YUMMY ……
 |
| Rushina Demonstrating her signature Coffee Barbecue Sauce |
 |
| Rushina's signature Coffee Barbecue Sauce |
 |
| Rushina's signature Coffee Barbecue Sauce served on thin crust pizza |
After our coffee tasting spree, snacks were circulated and we had the advantage of
choosing anything from the menu. I went
for Artic Sun from their signature coffee, which was indeed true to its name. I and my blogger friend ordered for chicken wings to go along with it.
 |
| Other snacks served post the session |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
| Chicken wings |
By evening I had learned a lot about
coffee and also discovered that slurping the coffee is the best way to get the aroma
and flavor to its fullest.
Also learnt
the brewing technique, how the taste differs with each brewing technique, pairing
etc. I never knew that a single cup of coffee has such hidden mystic enchantments
in it…. My favorites amongst all was not just restricted to one, as I was bowled over by
3 different varieties - Mysore Nuggest Extra Bold, Indian Kathlekhan Superior
and Colombian Supremo.
It was a wonderful fun-filled afternoon with food bloggers, food
connoisseurs, journalists, editors, writers and social media people and the
event was covered by the Food Food Channel.
 |
| Group of Foodies |
I came home with a wonderful experiences, knowledge
and a goodie bag from CCD which had a pack of my favorite Mysore Nuggets Extra
Bold and Colombian Supremo coffees, a jar of Rushina’s special spicy-coffee mix
nuts and a French Press…. And a hang-over of coffee which kept me alert and
awake almost for the whole night…:)
But that was years ago and the few recent visits have left a very mediocre impression about this place. Not because we are used to more exotic and novel juices, but its entirely due to the deterioration in its quality. Milk shakes are no longer creamy and thick, juices are diluted and sweetened with sugar rather than getting the real fruity taste...its just sweet with sugar additives. 
