Wake up and smell the coffee. No make that a whiff of La Minita Tarrazu or Yirgacheffe — exotic brews from Costa Rica and Ethiopia respectively that’re now available at a coffee parlour tucked away in your neighbourhood.

Your humble coffee cuppa has just gone the gourmet way with single origin coffee beans, state-of-the-art blends and all that jazz. Coffee fiends can now sip their way through a host of luxury brands and premium blends of their favourite brew. “It’s time to know what goes into your cuppa and demand more,” says Dina Mukherjee of Blue Foods (Pan India) that owns The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf outlet in the capital. So, bone up on the bean trivia as we hit the caffeine trail across the country.

The Bean Buzz

A growing breed of caffeine buffs is slowly waking up to the new trends in the coffee market with a bit of help from celebrity brewers, international coffee chains and luxury brands. “The affluent well-heeled set is sold on gourmet coffee. But we need to be aware of the factors that make a particular coffee gourmet,” says Brainard Colaco, Corporate Executive Chef, Mocha-Coffees & Conversations.

To get out of the usual instant coffee rut, it’s a good idea to check out the most upscale beans on offer. At Mocha-Coffees and Conversations, which has outlets in both Mumbai and Delhi, one can smell the intoxicating aroma of the cup of joy called Hawaiian Kona Fancy. Grown only in the Kona districts of the tropical Hawaii Islands, this is the best US coffee and is a heady mix of nutty aroma and smooth aftertaste.

The brewer’s warning at Mocha: look out for only 100 per cent Kona coffee and avoid stylish misnomers like the Kona Blend or the Kona Roast because however high-end they may sound they’re mixed with inferior beans grown outside Kona.

There’s good reason for making a big fuss over the right coffee beans. Two of the most commonly grown species are the Arabica and Robusta, of which Arabica is considered the better variety being flavourful and subtle while Robusta, which is produced in bulk, has a slight bitter aftertaste.

So the caffeine code for even espressos and cappuccinos (which are mostly for mass consumption) at Barista Cafes all over the country is Arabica. Here you can sample Italian coffee brand Lavazza’s iPiaceri Del Caffe, a range of signature coffee beverages. iPiaceri is a series of six coffee concoctions that use only 100 percent Arabica beans. Even five star addresses are pouring out the premium Lavazza brand that uses top-of-the -line Arabica beans. “Arabica gives more full bodied and aromatic coffees,” says Sanjeev Poonia, F&B Director, The Claridges, New Delhi.

But there are other smart coffee shops that are stocking up on the best beans in business. In Delhi, for instance, you have niche beverage boutique The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf that’s opened shop at the plush Select City Walk. The boutique offers your favourite cuppa with beans sourced from small farms in the highlands of Papua New Guinea, and of course the estates of Jamaica’s Blue Mountains.

Head west where coffee major Illy is calling the caffeine shots. It has tied up with the Narang Group in India, sourcing best quality beans from Brazil, Central America, Africa and even India. And yes, for Illy, no other bean but the finest Coffea Arabica that’ll do for their signature product, The Illy blend. “The sophistication associated with coffee is unbelievable and the young are taking to it like never before,” says Vikram Kuvar of The Narang Group.

O for Origin

So, what should top the coffee connoisseur’s priority list? For a start, it’s the beans. But then he also has to pay homage to the origin of the bean. While there are the elite categories like the Jamaican Blue Mountain and 100 per cent Kona, immediately bringing into focus their country of origin, there are other coffee-growing nations that now want their share of the coffee pot.

For instance, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf stocks up on the prized Costa Rica La Minita Tarrazu that’s grown only at heights of 4000m and 6000m in the mountains of Costa Rica. Credited with an extremely balanced flavour, the La Minita Tarrazu is a full-bodied drink with a sweet aroma, delicate acidity and clean aftertaste. This could be yours for Rs 800 per eight ounces (227gms).

The outlet even stocks up on exotic varieties like the Ethiopia Yirgacheffe, a brew from a country considered to be the origin of the bean itself. The Ethiopia Yirgacheffe is derived from beans handpicked from farms in the slopes above the town of Sidamo. Sip the brown goodness, characterised by a floral aroma.

And there are others like Mocha-Coffees & Conversations which is banking heavily on South American brews. At this cafe, you can quaff the melting goodness of Guatemala Antigua, a favoured variety among the Central American coffees, that possesses an enticing aroma, refined flavour and a somewhat smoky and spicy nuance. One can even try the Brazil Bourbon Santos from the largest coffee growing nation of the world that has a creamy texture and low acidity to boot. There’s even the Yemeni Mocha Sannani with a natural chocolate flavour and mild overtones.

All these new and exotic brews promise to give a fillip to your coffee experience. Firstly, they offer the globe on a platter in terms of beverage. Also, there are rich aftertastes of complex flavours like chocolate, caramel and spice that instant coffee does not possess. Take a look at Illy, that’s available at plush five stars like Marriott and Four Seasons in Mumbai and Le Meridien and Leela Hotels around the country. This Italian brand sources its Arabica berries from plantations in Brazil, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Ethiopia and India to come up with their unique blend called The Illy Blend.

What’s more? Illy uses lots of the best quality Indian coffee. “The coffee produced by these beans is full bodied with an excellent aroma and a pleasantly bitter tinge. These typical features of the best Indian coffee are unfamiliar to most connoisseurs of the brew,” says Kuvar.

The fact is that no one is ignoring India at the moment. These coffee giants reckon that the home-grown coffee bean is now bigger and richer than ever before. For instance, Mocha has fine Indian coffee varieties like the Peaberry and Monsoon Malabar that can compete with the best. While the Peaberry is all about a balanced taste with caramel and spice afternotes, The Monsoon Malabar has a legend attached to it that stretches back to the days when Indian coffee was exported to Europe.

The story is that one such consignment of coffee, while making its way to Europe had been dampened by the monsoons of Kerala and turned yellow. However, the brew from those beans had such a rich and smooth flavour that it scored an instant hit with coffee connoisseurs. Even now, only the Arabica beans that are picked after the monsoons in Malabar, produce this particular variety. All of these coffee beans, with the exception of The Jamaican Blue Mountain, can be picked up for anything between Rs 4,500 and Rs 9,500 per kilo.

Even ITC The Sonar in Calcutta is ready to hold up the Indian bean banner. Along with premium international bean varieties like the Columbia Supremo Narino Estate and Jamaica Blue Mountain, they are pouring out the Monsoon Malabar to Calcutta’s swish set.

What’s Brewing?

It’s a fact that the coffee connoisseur cannot stop only at the bean and country of origin when gourmet coffee has to be sampled. The checklist for the ideal coffee bean gets longer for the true blue coffee-holic. It’s important to keep an eye on the bean, the roast, the grind and, of course, the brew. “One needs to thoroughly go through all these factors before he can call himself a coffee geek,” says Colaco.

Steaming Facts

But in case you are willing to step off the top level for a while and get into experimental mode, some luxury brands are adding an interesting spin to your coffee experience. Take a look at Lavazza’s iPiaceri Del Caffe range of coffee that’s available at Barista outlets across all metros.

This range has three beverages each in the hot and cold categories. While Marocchina is a shot of espresso, layered with warm frothed milk and a sprinkling of dark cocoa, the Cappugiro is a layer of cappuccino topped with steamed milk and a luscious layer of cream.

In the cold section, try the lip-smacking Espresso Crèma Shakerato, that’s espresso blended with ice, sugar and cold frothed milk. These beverages are priced at anything between Rs 64 and Rs 79 per cup.

There’s more in store at Mocha where two or more single origin coffees are blended to give a distinct taste of your favourite sip. A neat pick here is the House Blend Full City Roast which combines coffee beans grown in South America and Africa and comes up with a full-bodied flavour.

This is also the place to be if you really want to take a walk on the wild side. There are the dessert coffee drinks like Café Zabaglione (an Italian drink made by whisking together coffee, egg yolk, and Marsalla wine) and Irish Coffee (espresso laced with whisky and topped with whipped cream).

Even at Illy, you have variations like the Medium Roast and Dark Roast depending on the degree of roasting that the coffee beans undergo.

And at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, there are plenty of flavoured coffees that are up for grabs like the Crème Brulee that’s redolent with the smell of vanilla and rich cream and the Cinnamon Swirl Coffee that’s spiced up with a hint of cinnamon.

If all this seems like a caffeine overdose, there are decaffeinated options provided by every luxury brand to avoid the guilt pangs from setting in. And with so many choices to make, that should be the last thing to weigh on your mind.

Coffee break

The gourmet coffee manual for the DIY brigade goes something like this.

Even if you have picked the best beans in business, check if the roasting is perfect too. If the beans have been roasted longer, they leave a bitter aftertaste and if they have been roasted for a shorter duration than ideal, the flavour is not extracted fully.

The perfect grind is the next thing that you need to look at. Numerous grinding machines available in the market come up with their own set of calibrations. “Grinding the beans at mark three or four should be ideal,” says Colaco.

Post grinding, one needs to brew the coffee in ideally soft water at a temperature of 90°C. The steeping (soaking of the coffee in water) should be approximately five to seven minutes for optimum flavour.