Brews and beverages shine at Pandhal Coffee & Brew in Thiruvananthapuram

Experience the art of slow brew coffee and unique shakes at Pandhal Coffee & Brews in Thiruvananthapuram.

Against the backdrop of overlapping coffee fragrances, blended with a sound track of grinding, whistles of steam and keyboards clicking, barista Afeef is calmly preparing a slow brew coffee called V60 tableside at Pandhal Coffee & Brews at Kowdiar, Thiruvananthapuram.

Cakes, pastries and other sweets inside the illuminated glass shelf overlook as Afeef wets a folded filter paper, placed inside a funnel. Coincidentally, it is the angle at which the filter paper is folded and kept that gives the coffee its name.

This contraption is then placed atop a glass coffee pot, set on a weighing scale for accuracy.

“Four things are important while making a V60— temperature of the water, grain size, pour timing and the ratio between ground coffee and hot water,” Afeef says, putting 18 grams of medium coarse ground coffee from medium dark roasted Arabica beans on the filter paper. He slowly pours around 40 ml of water, 85 degrees Celsius hot, on the ground coffee and waits for a few seconds. This is called the blooming period as the coffee releases carbon dioxide making it more flavourful. Water is poured three or four times at regular intervals leaving around 270 ml of coffee in the pot, before being served.

It is important to rinse your palette with hot water before you taste this manually brewed beverage that is ideally consumed without any sugar. The rising steam carries an earthy fragrance, which disappears almost instantly. The first sip of the V60 has a mellow bitter taste that does not overstay its welcome on your palette, as a hint of sweetness slowly comes through. A sip of water and the sweet note sings sweeter, leaving your palette clean. Even if you are not a “coffee lover”, the V60 is worth a try at ₹200.

The menu at Pandhal Coffee & Brew also features other slow brews such as French press, American drip and a 24-hour milk brew, all exclusively available at this outlet. This lone branch in the State capital is the Kochi-based brand’s sole outlet focusing on coffee and beverages. “We wanted to do something beyond cafes and cake shops, which brought us to this concept,” says the branch’s assistant manager Giby Varghese.

Their menu also has plant-based and non-plant-based shakes, exclusive to the branch. These include salted caramel, cheesecake, banana foster (available in both options) and blue spirulina and pineapple, with rates starting from ₹250.