Stirring the perfect brew

The first thing you notice as you enter Kalmane Koffees is the aroma of freshly roasted coffee beans. Walk in and the source of the aroma-a massive roasting machine catches your attention. Move your gaze a little further and the different varieties of coffee beans in glass jars, with exotic names like Bluegrass, Cresendo, Rich colombian, Ethiopian Sidamo and Exotic Costarican stare back at you. Kalmane comes across as a cafe quite unlike those we've seen till now. "If you're in the mood for a serious cup of coffee, drop in any time. Even our menu is all about coffee and nothing else," says Koushik S. from Kalmane Trading Pvt. Ltd. Be it Bluegrass (a traditional south Indian filter coffee) or Caffe Mexicana (Chocolate based coffee with a swirl of whipped cream and a shake of cinnamon) they serve it all here. You can also purChase freShly roasted and ground coffees here. As far as flavours are concerned, Kalmane offers a lot of offbeat and interesting flavours. Cinnamon, cardomom, vanilla and even oranges are used to flavour coffees here.

At Kalmane you can choose your bean and have It roasted and ground to your specification

"And you can be assured of the best quality here," says Kaushik, going on to add, "All our coffee beans come from our own plantations and we keep our best quality beans for local consumption. Only the surplus is exported. So we give only the best to our customers. "The 125 year-old Kalmane estate sprawls across 1,000 acres in Chikmagalur and grows uniquely flavoured arabica coffee intercropped with black pepper.

Ask him about the type of people walking in for coffee here and he says, "From teenagers to the elderly, people from almost all age groups come here. And it's not just housewives who ask for specific beans and blends, even youngsters ask for them." And for those who want to learn more about coffees, Kalmane also hosts training sessions regularly.

Also, while you sip on these sumptuous brews here, you can enjoy a book here as Sankar has opened up a book store at Kalmane's Jayanagar branch. With some classical music playing the background and good books as company, Kalmane sure seems like a perfect place to spend a rainy evening. With four outlets in Bangalore already, Kalmane is also all set open in Chennai and Mumbai as well. "We even have plans to take this brand to the north now," signs off Koushik.