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There are thousands of culinary ingredients worldwide, but few are as popular and loved as coffee. Coffee beans are roasted and ground to prepare one of the most popular beverages in the world. With various styles of coffee prevalent worldwide, using coffee as a beverage is undoubtedly a blessing to mankind. However, it’s not limited to that. Coffee is used as a flavouring in many sweet, baked, and savoury dishes, and although coffee is a beverage par excellence, its usage in culinary art is indispensable.
I was standing atop the Baba Budangiri peak in Chikmagalur, a district known for its extensive coffee plantations in India, and thinking about this wonder bean of the world, brought to the country from the city of Mocha in Yemen by the Sufi saint in tribute to whom the crescent moon shape mountain range was named. Baba Budan brought seven coffee beans to India hidden in his beard, and these pioneering beans were planted in Karnataka, the coffee-producing state of India. The sheer benefits of coffee, commercial, culinary, and health benefits of coffee consumption (In Moderation) speak of the brilliance and contribution of the 17th-century Sufi saint Baba Budhan.
In South India, Coffee plays a significant role in people’s daily lives, as many start their day with a hot cup of strong and frothy filter coffee. Many homegrown coffee brands are popular and thriving, basing their production on locally grown coffees. Be it Europe, North America, South America, Australia, Africa or Asia, Coffee is loved for its energetic and healthy properties and deep and flavourful taste. Coffee is truly a global beverage. With espresso's crema, the frothy cappuccino, a milky latte, or the good old Americano, many coffee lovers can vouch for the wonderful effect a good cup of coffee has on their mood every time they sip on one.
For a Barista, good quality coffee beans are a must-have in the stock; however, coffee is essential, even for a chef or a baker. Italian dessert called Tiramisu, which translates to ‘Pick me up’, is named for the stimulating coffee that goes into this popular and decadent dessert. Coffee-flavoured cookies, waffles, muffins, madeleines, mousse, cakes, pies, cheesecakes, crème Brulee, crème caramel or a baked Alaska, tastes fantastic with the deep sweet notes of coffee. Almost every baked good can be flavoured with coffee, and many bakers worldwide make creative use of coffee as a flavouring. Coffee-flavoured piping cream can do wonders when piped over any baked goodie, uplifting its taste and visual appeal.
Coffee based cocktails are a part of bar menus everywhere | Unsplash
A surprising and unique use of coffee is done on a hot range. Creative chefs have used coffee well to make coffee variants of sauces and spice rubs. A coffee-flavoured mole sauce, coffee-marinated steak or lamb chops, coffee-flavoured barbecue sauce, a coffee-spiked soup, or a stew, and breakfast dishes like a baked bean can be given a unique edge with the flavours of coffee. With the rise of molecular gastronomy and ingredient-first restaurants thriving worldwide, coffee as an ingredient can be found heightening the flavours of dishes in the form of caviars, spheres or foam. Coffee is an exciting ingredient in all its different forms, and we can expect this wonder ingredient to be put to newer creative use by chefs in the future.
Coffee, the energy-providing stimulating drink, sets up oneself for a long day. Coffee can help you burn the midnight oil. Coffee uplifts one’s mood and is often a witness to business meetings, social gatherings, or romantic dates. For a food enthusiast, the flavour of coffee is a reminder of good meals and memorable gastronomical times. Coffee is versatile, and coffee is effective. And it’s hard to find people who would have never tasted and fallen in love with coffee. Thus, It’s Apparent that in coffee, we trust; as the famous saying goes, ‘A lot can happen over coffee’.
Sidharth Bhan Gupta, Founder of 361 Degrees Hospitality, is a Hospitality / Food and Beverage / Restaurant Consultant, Travelling across India on a Cultural and Culinary Exploration.
