Café Review: Bombay Island’s Artisanal Decoctions Are Ideal For Coffee Addicts

Ahoy coffee aficionados! If you are bored of the same ol’ cappuccino and latte, a new artisanal roastery named Bombay Island Coffee is here for you to indulge in one of the best bean-to-cup experiences in the city. They source premium Arabica artisanal coffee from Chikmagalur and serve classics and experimental concoctions that are ideal to quench your coffee cravings.

This cosy little cafe is tucked away in Vikhroli and has a live brew bar displaying unique brewing techniques such as AeroPress, chemex, siphon, cold brew, espresso, French press, V60 pour-over and Turkish. It also allows you to get a first-hand experience of their roastery unit, where all the green coffee beans are freshly roasted and packaged.

Our favourite coffee flavours

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Ever thought how a popcorn-flavoured coffee would taste like? To your surprise, popcorn and coffee together as a flavour actually work incredibly well. We tried their caramel popcorn iced coffee (blended) and we can’t get enough of its delicious buttery caramel flavour and taste. Our next favourite is for those who have been looking for a place that brews and serves traditional Turkish coffee and guess what? Bombay Island Coffee is one of the very few places in the city serving authentic Turkish coffee where you also get to watch your coffee being brewed using finely ground beans in a brass pot on sand which is served without filtering. Apart from these two, their cold brew cocoa berry coffee also gets a nod from us for its refreshing and cooling effect - just what you need in this blazing weather.

Bites you can’t miss

And if you thought that this place is all about just coffee, wait till you hear out our favourite artisanal sweet and savoury vegetarian treats. Their honey-glazed butter croissant sliced through the centre, toasted, honey drizzled with cinnamon sprinkled on top is truly one of the best croissants you will find in Mumbai. One bite and the light, flaky and perfectly textured croissant is bound to become your instant favourite, we bet.

Next most palatable food on their menu is Pesto Caprese toast made with basil pesto, tomato, and mozzarella topped with fresh basil leaves. A heavenly vegetarian delight you don’t want to miss out on. If you want to savour sweet toasts, go for their peanut butter banana which is basically a toast with peanut butter, caramelised banana topped with nuts and honey. From their range of sweet endings, we suggest you try their baked salted caramel cheesecake, you won’t be disappointed.

What makes Bombay Island's artisanal coffee different

On our visit, we were curious to know how Bombay Island Coffee aims at coming up with coffees that are naturally sweet. Vineet Jain, co-founder of Bombay Island coffee told us, “When we started, we found out that the coffees available in India were either too bitter or too sour. Making it a bad experience for drinkers. Even today, most of the drinkers have a preconceived notion that the coffees are supposed to be bitter. We knew this had to be changed, and we started working on the coffees. We have developed more than 10 types of coffees today and all of them resemble our idea of a naturally sweet coffee. This way, the experience of even a black coffee is great!”

Other than our personal favourites, their signature and bestselling coffees are also worth a try. For those who don’t have a coffee maker, they can choose to use a regular strainer to make fresh coffee at home.

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1. Mysore nuggets extra bold (Indian specialty)

This dark roast coffee with flavour notes of spice, dark chocolate and nuts goes well with both black coffee and with milk. It is low on acidity with balanced sweetness.

2. Vienna roast

It is a very rich-textured coffee with dark chocolate flavour notes and smoky aroma. It is slightly darker than the Mysore nuggets extra bold. It is a very richly textured coffee with dark chocolate flavour notes and smoky aroma.

3. Espresso blend

If you like your coffee with hints of caramel notes, this one's for you. In this, the Arabica coffee is blended and roasted perfectly to give you notes of cocoa, caramel and nuts and the taste is very balanced.

The growing trend of artisanal coffees in India

The trend for artisanal coffee in India is increasing as consumers are more aware of coffee as a product. They are aware of differences between types of coffees, the impact of roasts, and the brewing method they want to have. They are also appreciating the efforts required to ensure the quality of these coffees.

Talk about artisanal coffees in which high-quality sustainable beans are meaningfully crafted, The Third Wave Coffee Movement with innovative brewing methods take the lead. It’s all about better sourcing, better roasting and better brewing of coffee. Talking about how Third Wave Coffee has redefined sourcing, roasting and brewing coffee, Jain says, “It emphasises on taking qualitative measures around it. Previously, the focus on coffee was never around them and it was merely treated as a commodity. The first two waves revolved around instant coffee and the concept of having coffees in cafes. In the third wave, we are more conscious about the entire supply chain and are paying attention to all the processes. The third wave has truly brought a way to appreciate a quality product. It is bringing improvements in the areas of growing coffees, roasting these coffees and brewing the coffees. From crop to the final cup, every process in between is moving out of the traditional methods and focusing on constant improvement.”

Where: Bombay Island. Shop #4, Tower C, Retail Street, The Trees, Godrej One, Pirojshanagar, Vikhroli, Mumbai

How much: Rs 1,200 for two