16 October 2026 · Issue 01
Here’s what’s inside:
- Weekend plans: espresso in Delhi, coffee tasting in Bengaluru.
- In the news: growing coffee businesses without losing quality.
- My take: expensive machines, overlooked baristas, and a visit to Fig at Malcha.
1. Weekend coffee plans
Delhi: espresso, steaming, and latte art
WAB Barista Lab · Sunday, 18 October
11am–2pm · From ₹3,499
A hands-on session covering espresso, milk steaming, and latte art. Worth a look if you want to try working an espresso machine before buying one.
Bengaluru: an international tasting
Project Possible, Indiranagar · Saturday, 17 October
Caffeine Collective lists a tasting featuring coffees from Colombia, Ethiopia, and Kenya. Check the organisers’ announcement for timing, price, and availability.
Event listing and organiser link
Details checked on 16 October. Confirm availability before making plans.
2. In the news
More cafes. The same coffee?
Grey Soul’s founder discussed expansion—and customers’ concerns about maintaining quality—in Restaurant India’s coverage this week.
As someone buying the beans and drinking the coffee, that’s the part I care about. More locations are useful. But will the cup stay good?
Which brings me to the people actually making it.
3. From my coffee week
We buy the machine. Do we train the barista?
A friend who sells coffee once told me about a cafe he visited as a potential customer for his beans.
Before discussing business, he ordered an espresso.
It was sour, thin, and thoroughly disappointing. Behind the counter was a machine he estimated cost ₹5–6 lakh.
He asked to see another shot being made. According to him, it ran through in about five or six seconds. When he asked why it was so fast, the barista didn’t know.
With the owner’s permission, he tried adjusting the grind finer. The coffee improved, but something was still wrong.
Then he asked about cleaning.
The conversation revealed that they hadn’t properly cleaned the machine in roughly two years—and the person operating it hadn’t been taught how.
After they worked through cleaning it, he pulled another shot. The owner told him it tasted like the coffee they remembered from when the machine was new.
That story has stayed with me. They had bought the equipment. They hadn’t given the barista the knowledge needed to look after it.
Good baristas do more than pour hearts
Some of the baristas I remember from Brooklyn were incredibly efficient. They made excellent coffee quickly, handed it over, and moved on to the next order.
There wasn’t necessarily a conversation about processing or altitude. There didn’t need to be.
If I’m rushing out with a cappuccino, I want someone who can keep the coffee tasting good through a busy service. That still takes skill: noticing when a shot changes, adjusting the grinder, keeping the equipment clean, and knowing when something is wrong.
On another day, I might want to sit down and explore a coffee. Then a knowledgeable barista can help me understand what I’m tasting.
I think that deserves some of the respect we give a good sommelier. A useful palate, knowledge of the product, and the ability to understand what the customer wants.
At Fig at Malcha, I wanted a different conversation
I’ve known Fig at Malcha to take its coffee seriously. I remember a knowledgeable head barista there, although I don’t know whether the same person is still working there.
But on one visit, a friend and I were looking through the retail coffee bags, discussing roast dates and checking which ones were freshest.
A staff member helping with the bags began explaining that they contained whole beans.
There is nothing wrong with explaining whole beans to someone who needs that explanation. What frustrated me was that the conversation didn’t respond to what we were already saying.
We were comparing roast dates. We weren’t mistaking the bags for instant coffee.
One question would have helped:
“How do you brew at home?”
If I say I grind my own beans and make espresso and pour-over, you immediately know where to begin. Tell me about the coffee, help me find the roast date, or give me a moment to look.
Train the person selling the beans, too
The staff member helping us wasn’t a barista, she was a server.
A cafe can have someone excellent behind the espresso machine while the person selling its coffee bags hasn’t been given the same support.
At a place charging for a premium experience, I expect those conversations to connect.
Nobody needs to know everything. But a few useful questions would make buying coffee much better.
I’m saying this as someone who brews at home and gets excited about finding a good bag. I want to ask questions. Sometimes I also just want to read the packet.
Has a barista helped you discover a coffee you loved? Or have you had the opposite experience?