Hot beverages have always been a part of the tradition of South India. And when one talks about piping hot coffee, it can be undeniably said that South India is the cradle of filter coffee. Coffee took the first seat in South India when the traditional Brahmin classes brought down the beverage from the ruling British around the 1930's. During the early years the drink was confined only to traditional rich Brahmin families who served filter coffee in a 'davra-tumbler'. Coffee is no more confined to the rich Brahmin class now, though the tradition of serving filter coffee in the 'davra-tumbler' continues to this day.

In order to spread the drink, coffee houses emerged at various places in the country, which also served as the apposite places for lawyers and the educated class to hold discussions ranging from politics to cinema. It is also believed that many scripts and ideas for films evolved here. One of the oldest coffee houses in Chennai is the Raayars mess, located at Arundale Street, Mylapore, which serves first-class filter coffee even today. The mess was established in the1940's and continues the tradition of coffee but supplements it with tiffin also. The vantage location of the mess attracts huge crowds even today early in the mornings.

However, coffee was not the only item in the menu list of these houses. Ratna Café at Triplicane is an excellent example. The café serves top class idli sambhar and filter coffee. 

The drink also became famous and as a result even five star hotels began cashing in on it. Park Sheraton serves coffee depending on the yards specified by the customer. The entire transferring process is done in front of the guests here. Of course, the price matters.

Coffee became the beverage of the masses only after the roadside Udupis came in. Says Udupi coffee house proprietor, Mr. Sathyanarayanan, "During the early days people used to get coffee for just ten paise at five in the morning. There used to be big debates and discussions over a cup of coffee. However instant coffee has come about and is ruling now. Even then, I personally feel that coffee means filter coffee only."

The drink has now become more of a concept than merely a drink itself. The last decade witnessed the growth of numerous coffee pubs in the city. The first one to enter the market was COFFEE? This is located at a quiet place in Greenways road.

Bhavesh Shah, partner of the pub says that initially they tried out different flavours and brought down the level of caffeine, as Indians cannot consume the same amount of bitterness as Americans do. The entire idea was to westernize the taste in contrast to the filter coffee.

Following the venture of COFFEE?, many new joints came up like Qwikys, Barista, Café Coffee Day and more recently Café Jam. The idea now has become not just selling coffee, but also expressing one's talents in the form of an exhibition of one's art works in the cafes. Here one can relish espressos and cappuccinos with a good chat with friends. These joints have now turned out to be the ideal hangouts in the city, more so with summer coming in, where one can order a coffee and sit for hours together in the air-conditioned sofa sets.

The drink has become mobile too, as a recent development, with take-away coffees being installed at petrol bunks. So be it the 1930's or the present day, coffee has survived through the ages and has assumed a special place in the hearts of every South Indian.

S.Sowmya