The most quoted line in Sri Ram Cafe's Google reviews is about the coffee: "Yummy food, good service and exceptional coffee!" It costs ₹30, which in Koramangala 5th Block is roughly a tenth of what the cafe chains down the road charge for a cappuccino. Here is what you are drinking and why it tastes the way it does.
Decoction first
South Indian filter coffee starts with a decoction. Finely ground coffee goes into the top chamber of a brass filter, hot water is poured over it, and the decoction drips slowly into the chamber below. It is not pressed and not rushed. A good decoction is thick, dark and slightly bitter, and it is never allowed to go cold on the counter.
Then the milk and the pour
The decoction is mixed with hot milk and sugar in a steel tumbler and poured back and forth into the dabarah, the wide steel bowl it sits in, from a height. The pouring cools it to drinking temperature and raises the froth. That froth is the sign it was made properly.
Every hot drink on the menu
Tea and coffee
- Filter Coffee, ₹30
- Black Coffee, ₹20
- Boiler Tea, ₹25
- Ginger Tea, ₹25
- Elaichi Tea, ₹25
- Lemon Tea, ₹25
- Green Tea, ₹25
- Black Tea, ₹20
Hot beverages
- Badam Milk, ₹40
- Boost, ₹40
- Horlicks, ₹40
- Bournvita, ₹40
Boiler tea, for the tea people
Boiler tea is the Karnataka darshini style: strong tea and milk boiled together in a steam boiler so it comes out hot, milky and sweet. ₹25. The Ginger Tea and Elaichi Tea are the same base with fresh ginger or crushed cardamom.
What to eat with it
The classic pairing is a Uddina Vada (₹40) dipped into coconut chutney between sips. In the evening, people pair a coffee with a Ghee Khali Dosa (₹90) or just a plate of Gulab Jamun (₹70 for two). The Sri Ram Cafe Special Triveni Dessert (₹120) and a black coffee is a dessert course on its own.
When to come
The cafe opens at 6:30 AM, so the first coffee of the day is ready before most of Koramangala is awake. It closes at 11 PM. If you want the full breakfast around it, read best South Indian breakfast in Koramangala.
Sri Ram Cafe, #53, 17th A Main Road, KHB Block, Koramangala 5th Block, Bengaluru 560095.
