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Coffee joints have sprouted in the most unassuming of places, adding more to the cuppa!

You would never know where you can find solace with a cup of coffee or that steaming hot chai. For that cuppa that keeps you alive, sneaking into a little café, for that time alone with an old, familiar flavour. Kochi seems to be spouting these meditative centres. Of ambiences that can whisk you away into a world of … or into an ancient sojourn, cafes are today found in the most unassuming of places.

Smell the coffee

Start with IT. The modern and technical environment at Kakkanad’s Tejomaya, Infopark bursts forth in a cloud of colour with ‘Coffee, Books and More…’. It is the perfect relaxation point for that stress break. A coffee station (tea is also available), Qwiky’s serves 60 different coffees, both Indian and Italian (including the much in demand cold coffee Frazzos to beat the summer heat) and a variety of eats like burghers, sandwiches and brownies. It is not just about coffee alone, but with a mix of books (there is plenty to read with regular updates of the latest and a section of discounted books) and a host of music to choose from. Regular tie-ups with a photography club, the café “is often turned into a mini photography studio,” explains a member of the Pixetra photography club. And more than anything, it’s the ideal chill-out place when stress overloads itself. “It is impossible not to be lured into this colourful café-it absolutely changes the mood,” says a regular.

Almost at the other end of Kochi, amidst the lingering aroma of spices and the antiquity of the Mattancherry air are ‘Ginger’ and ‘Café’ Jew Town’, both in the quaint yet bustling town of the Paradesi Jews.

Imagine an antique store that ends in a café! Ginger is an extension to the huge store, the displays of antiques ending in a seating arena that serves you a variety of Indian eats. Flanked on either side by artefacts there is no way one is going to dream anything less than being part of an ancient world, till a few steps ahead and a canopy provides a perfect seating near the waters.

“Hot tea and banana fritters provide the perfect Kerala flavour,” explained Tudor, a visitor from England, immersing herself in the beauty of the channel.

At Café’ Jew Town, the elegance and fabulous décor provide a distinct charm not found elsewhere. Polished cement floors with antique furniture and Belgian lamps, provides the café that elongates along a passage, the ideal retreat for something delicious. With an array of coffees and teas (even an interesting hibiscus one!) there are home-made cakes, Mediterranean and south Indian eats and a view to the rustic Mattancherry Palace. One can linger on here for hours relishing the ambience and the eats. A book store provides enough read and if that is not exciting then the numerous stores in the building are sure to be an exciting trip out!

And if the heat gets to you, then the air-conditioned (new) branch of Coffee Beanz on Calvathy Road in Mattancherry is the best break. Food ranges from appam and stew to crispy dosas, burghers and sandwiches. There are plenty of fresh fruit juices and cold beverages to soothe the sultry summer. Hot coffee of various kinds, with exciting names like Black Stallion and Baba Budan where the bean is turned into the most interesting of concoctions are there to relish. Adjacent to a Kathakali centre, Coffee Beanz is ideally placed, where a classical dance performance would add that extra zing to a leisurely day.

TANYA ABRAHAM