Which is the best coffee of them all? How Starbucks adapts to Indian beans will settle the issue

Which is the best coffee of them all?

How Starbucks adapts to Indian beans will settle the issue

The Starbucks brand name is enough to attract many Mumbaikars to its outlets at Horniman Circle in town, which opened on Friday, and at Oberoi Mall in Goregaon, which will open next week. But once the initial excitement is over, it will all boil down to the coffee. After all, Starbucks isn’t the first premium cafe chain to open in India. Coffee Bean; Tea Leaf (CBTL) from the US, Costa Coffee from the UK, Di Bella and Gloria Jean's Coffees from Australia, and the India-based Bru World Cafe have already raised the bar for what constitutes a good cuppa. Referring to the coffee beans, Sahil Jatana, who conducts workshops on brewing coffee says, “Abroad, I have found classic preparations such as Americano, cappuccino and latte at Starbucks to be too overpowering for my taste. Since they are using Indian beans for their outlets here, the coffee may taste different here.” There are many factors that decide the flavour of the coffee you drink. The traditional south Indian coffee powder is a blend of two coffee bean varieties, called Arabica and Robusta, as well as a herb called chicory. Coffee chains such as Starbucks use 100% Arabica beans, which are considered superior in flavour to the Robusta beans. The region where the beans are grown also influences the taste. That’s why it’s important to get the right blend of coffee beans from different regions. Finally, there’s the temperature and the technique used to roast the beans. Every coffee chain has its own formula, which differentiates the coffee they serve from one another. For instance, the black coffee at Cafe Coffee Day is far too bitter for my palette, and it wasn’t until Costa Coffee began did I take to the drink. Taste is also very subjective, points out Jatana, and though he prefers to have his cappuccino at Bru World Cafe, at every coffee chain, there’s at least one drink he loves the best. “The number of recipes that Starbucks brings to the table will be their biggest advantage. It is the various combinations of coffee and flavourings such as hazelnut, vanilla, chocolate or cream, perfected over the last few decades that has made Starbucks so popular,” says one coffee enthusiast who works with theindianbean.com, a website that sells coffee beans sourced within India. Starbucks has also priced its drinks competitively for the Indian market, something few people were expecting. With their Caffe Americano selling for Rs90, it’s prices are in the same range as CBTL and Costa Coffee. This shows that the company is aware that doing well in the Indian market won’t be easy, despite its legendary brand name. As for the rest of us, there’s never been a better time to be a coffee lover.