CHENNAI: Some stories begin with words but this one began with the aroma of freshly grounded coffee. As hot water poured over the grounds, the smell of chocolate, and the fragrance of coffee beans took over the place. Participants gathered around cupping bowls, breaking the delicate crust that had formed on the surface and leaning in to capture the fragrance trapped beneath. It transformed an everyday beverage into something worth pausing for.
That was precisely the idea behind Coffee Inception, a beginner’s workshop conducted by coffee connoisseur Anish Nair in Chennai, where coffee lovers spent an afternoon tracing the drink’s journey from an Ethiopian legend to the hills of Chikkamagaluru, pouring into their cups.
“Coffee is more than just a beverage. It’s a feeling,” said Nair, whose own journey began with the familiar comfort of filter coffee before leading him into the world of specialty brews.
For many participants, that feeling had begun years ago, not in a cafe, but at home. Long before words like pour-over, cupping and flavour notes entered their vocabulary, coffee meant waking up to the sound of a filter dripping in the kitchen.
Bhargavi, one of the participants at the event, found herself revisiting those memories. “My love for coffee comes from my mother,” she said. “We used to grind coffee, make it together and enjoy it. No matter how many fancy coffees I try, I keep going back to filter coffee.”
That sentiment seemed to resonate across the room. Because while the workshop explored specialty coffee, it repeatedly returned to a familiar truth: every coffee journey in south India begins with filter coffee.
Born and raised in Bengaluru, Anish has spent six years in the industry and admitted that his first relationship with coffee was no different from that of many Indians. What followed, however, was a deeper curiosity, one that eventually led him into the world of specialty coffee, SCAI certificate and coffee education.
For most of us, coffee sits beside newspaper headlines, rushed office mornings or fuels late-night deadlines. We drink it to wake up, stay awake and sometimes simply because a day feels incomplete without it. But what if there was more to coffee than caffeine?
That question lingered throughout the room, where participants found themselves looking at a familiar beverage through an unfamiliar lens. Yet what fascinated most was not where coffee came from, but how much happens before it reaches a cup.
A coffee cherry passes through multiple layers before becoming a bean. The altitude at which it grows, the soil, the processing, the roast, everything matters.
Unlike commodity coffee, specialty coffee can be traced back to its origins. The farmer, the region, the altitude and the processing method are all part of its identity. Basically, specialty coffee is the highest grade of coffee, recognised for its exceptional flavour, origin, and quality, typically scoring 80 points or higher on the Specialty Coffee Association’s 100-point scale.
“Cafe culture in Chennai is still at the tip of the iceberg, we need to see underneath and find the best,” says Anish.
As the afternoon drew close, participants left with more than tasting notes and brewing tips. Only now, they might pause for a moment before taking the first sip, wondering where it came from, who grew it and what story it carries.
Because sometimes the most familiar things reveal themselves only when we finally slow down enough to notice them.
Interested in attending? Anish plans to host its next workshops on June 14 and June 28 (tentative dates).