A LITTLE BIT OF PARIS IN BANGALORE
MAGAZINE - INDIAN COFFEE - VOL LXIV NO 10
Published on - October 2000 – Page 34, 35.
Author - APARNA DATTA
The cafes of Paris have been celebrated in art, literature and song for their special ambience characterised by leisurely conversation, a continental sense of ease and good living. At Java City on Lavelle Road in Bangalore there's a similar atmosphere, which brings its loyal customers back time and again. Not just the young crowd, but homemakers on their way back after picking up their kids from school, women out shopping, foreign tourists, executives taking a break.
Is it the jazz, or the coffee? The pastries or the pav? At Java City, it's all this and more. A spacious cafe with outdoor and indoor seating, a patisserie and an exhibition area give people a number of reasons for frequenting the place. The Overseas Women’s Club of Bangalore holds some of its meetings here, and the notices and memos indicate a cosmopolitan lifestyle, and a sense of community. Java city has found its own niche in the words of Raj Madnani, who has set up the Java city chain, a place for: "good coffee and good food for good people".
Setting up wasn't easy, though. Raj Madnani, earlier a Non-Resident Indian, initially had Bangalore and Mumbai as two options for setting up his venture, and Bangalore won because of its climate, potential and for family reasons. But it took over 18 months simply to get started, as finding space for the bakery production proved difficult. Some of his NRI friends who had come around the same time in the mid-nineties to Bangalore left in frustration, but Madnani stuck it out. He set up Java City on Lavelle Road, initially as a bakery, and started the cafe and coffee bar in July 1999. A second outlet in Cunningham Road, Bangalore started in February 2000.
ENCOUNTER: RAJ MADNANI
Java City was the first to bring specialty coffees to Bangalore, perhaps for the first time in India, and for an international coffee experience, Java City is in a class of its own. In an exclusive interview with Indian Coffee, Raj Madnani shares his views on trends in the retail coffee business:
Indian Coffee: What coffees do you serve at Javacity outlets?
Raj Madnani: 1. A full range of Italian coffees: espresso, cappuccino (the no.1 favourite), macchiato, latte.
2. Indian style filter coffee.
3. American style drip filter coffee, made from roasted beans from around the world - Colombia, Brazil, Guatemala, Java, Sumatra, Ethiopia, Kenya, Jamaican Blue Mountain.
4. Flavoured coffees Hazelnut, Vanilla Nut, Grand Marnier, Kahlua, Rum, French vanilla, Toasted coconut, and more.
5. Cappuccinos and filter coffees, flavoured with syrups from France: Almond, Hazelnut, Vanilla, Mint, Chocolate, raspberry, Caribbean Rum and more.
6. Cold coffees, flavoured with ice cream and with flavoured syrups.
7. Hot chocolates flavoured with espresso and coffees.
Indian Coffee: What is the role of the 'barista' in coffee bars?
Raj Madnani: The barista, like the bartender behind a booze bar, is the key to providing quality drinks. The barista knows all the coffee recipes, mixes them correctly, makes fresh and hot coffee, keeps the equipment clean, and serves the cups quickly.
Indian Coffee: The barista is distinctively Italian in persona. Do you think it's possible to have an Indian barista? What would it take?
Raj Madnani: Coffee has yet to find a clear definition in India. It seems to me that both the Italian style and the American styles will be popular, with the cocktails and granitas and other coffee drinks gaining popularity. An Indian barista is a must for any coffee bar, and he must learn to make all the coffee drinks.
Indian Coffee: What are the international trends in specialty coffees?
Raj Madnani: Coffees from around the world, quality beans and flavoured coffees are not enough in the U.S. any more. Estate grown coffees (like chateaus for wine) are gaining importance and developing their niches. Organic coffee is also in demand.
Indian Coffee: Do you think specialty coffees from India have a future in the international market?
Raj Madnani: We must market ourselves first. We under-rate ourselves, and then find it difficult to compete. Or we develop an exaggerated over grandiose version of ourselves, our products, our philosophy - and expect the world at our feet. This will not happen. Indian coffee is, relatively speaking, a mild, middle of-the-rung bean. So, sell it to the Italians who will roast and blend it with their expertise.
Indian Coffee: How could we create a demand for specialty coffees from India in India?
Raj Madnani: We must develop a reliable authority (the Coffee Board?) that will certify coffee from specific estates. We must have our own certifying authorities, with international credibility, in growing and marketing organic coffee.
The Coffee Board and the growers must pool their resources to advertise and promote the benefits of coffee. Ravi Shankar came to India in a big way via the West, and if that's the way for coffee also, then so be it - the time now is right. Get Hrithik Roshan in an ad that says 'I love Java', and watch the youngsters move from fizzy colas to buzzy coffee!
