No meal is satiating if it does not end with a cup of filter coffee for Vasundhara. No wonder; being middle aged women, she was born and brought up in an orthodox Tambrahm family. The fact that she could not get a good darshan of Sri Jagannath at Puri Dham did not bother her even more than not having a single restaurant that served a cup of filter coffee.
"Do not worry Ma'am. There are many more restaurants on our way back home. You will definitely get a cup of filter coffee", the autowallah assured her. "Let's go then", she urged him thinking of the prospect of tasting a cup of authentic filter coffee. Hailing from Kumbakonam, a temple town itself, she could not believe that Puri does not have a single shop that serves a cup of filter coffee.
On our way back to Bhubaneswar, our autowallah enquired at every chai and coffee shop that our eyes could find, but still no luck, until we came to this shop. "I will prepare a special filter coffee for you Ma'am", he replied.
He must be over fifty, but with jeans on, he looked like a man in his early forties. "Please sit while I prepare coffee for you", he said.
"Make it four, for all of us", Vasundhara ordered.
"Sure Ma'am, as you please".
While the rest were seated, Vasundhara could not contain her excitement. She watched the chaiwallah like a toddler looking at her doll. A few more people entered the shop and ordered for cups of tea.
The chaiwallah counted the number of cups to be served mentally and added a few spoons of tea powder to a pot of boiling milk. "He is making tea for other customers when I had placed an order for coffee!", she felt agitated but decided to wait as he is the only chaiwallah who agreed to prepare and serve a cup of filter coffee.
After the tea powder mixed thoroughly with milk, he added crushed elachi and ginger to make it spicy. He then filtered out the tea and transferred it into another vessel.
"How effortlessly he made this tea! I will take it next time", she thought to herself. While she was expecting that he will pour the tea on cups and serve other customers, she got shocked on seeing what the chaiwallah did next.
Taking a bottle of Nescafe, he carefully added a few spoons of coffee powder on the tea that he just filtered!
"Ma'am, here is your special filter coffee", he said handing over a cup of tea-fee.
He must be over fifty, but with jeans on, he looked like a man in his early forties. "Please sit while I prepare coffee for you", he said.
"Make it four, for all of us", Vasundhara ordered.
"Sure Ma'am, as you please".
While the rest were seated, Vasundhara could not contain her excitement. She watched the chaiwallah like a toddler looking at her doll. A few more people entered the shop and ordered for cups of tea.
The chaiwallah counted the number of cups to be served mentally and added a few spoons of tea powder to a pot of boiling milk. "He is making tea for other customers when I had placed an order for coffee!", she felt agitated but decided to wait as he is the only chaiwallah who agreed to prepare and serve a cup of filter coffee.
After the tea powder mixed thoroughly with milk, he added crushed elachi and ginger to make it spicy. He then filtered out the tea and transferred it into another vessel.
"How effortlessly he made this tea! I will take it next time", she thought to herself. While she was expecting that he will pour the tea on cups and serve other customers, she got shocked on seeing what the chaiwallah did next.
Taking a bottle of Nescafe, he carefully added a few spoons of coffee powder on the tea that he just filtered!
"Ma'am, here is your special filter coffee", he said handing over a cup of tea-fee.
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