Lavazza's IL Mattino Vivace, 100% pure filter coffee is now available in stores.

Lavazza launches IL Mattino Vivace in India. It is their first made-in-India coffee powder. This coffee powder is exclusively crafted for Indian market. Coffee has been an ideal drink for most people and filter coffee is synonym to South India. People love their coffee and sip on it for any occasion, be in happiness, sadness, stress, celebration or just to while away the time. The coffee culture is growing rapidly and with cafe culture, people are getting used to more coffee in their system.

IL Mattino Vivace, which translates to lively morning, is a real filter coffee made from beans sourced from the plantations in Coorg and Chikmagalur. It is a fine blend of Arabica and Robusta beans which are roasted to perfection in medium to dark roast for scale intensity 6 with hints of caramel notes. The coffee is mild and aromatic and has well-rounded body. It is perfect to enjoy it with milk preparations.

The package comes in 200 grams with special airtight packaging priced at Rs. 150. You can enjoy this coffee in a traditional coffee filter or coffee machine. IL Mattino Vivace will offer you a great coffee experience to filter coffee lovers in India.

Get a lively start to your morning with IL Mattino Vivace.

Fresho Coffee from BigBasket.com

I love coffee's so when I heard of Fresho coffee, I was waiting to try them. I do not make as good coffee as others but I do have friends who make excellent coffee so I did not mind sharing my coffee packets with them in return for some freshly made yummy coffee :) I have loads of conversations over coffee. I enjoy coffee with rain, with friends or even while I study. Now I have some company while I study i.e. Fresho coffee. I have usually shopped from bigbasket,com and had to support them for their new venture.

BigBasket.com is entering in this category with our differentiated proposition of “Pure coffee that is ground to order”. They want to carve a niche for themselves and perhaps garner market share in short run from established players. From being considered as a South Indian beverage in the last decade, North India has embraced it big time, thanks to the cafe's that have come up. Coffee is considered a very fancy beverage. The youngsters of today like to socialize over coffee. It’s an all-day beverage. It’s not confined to the 5 star places any longer. It’s become very fashionable to have coffee.

Fresho is our first private label brand which is positioned as a brand that stands for “freshness purity, off the shelf”. Currently the brand portfolio consists of Fruits and Vegetables, Bread and now they have extended it to Coffee. With Fresho Coffee they want to deliver “The world’s finest, freshest coffee” now at your doorstep. If you are a typical coffee lover who knows his/her mind and wants to have the best coffee, but has to make do with the options that exist in the market. S/he likes freshly ground coffee, but doesn’t have the time to go and get the beans ground, then take a look at Fresho coffee.

Fresho Coffee is pure filter coffee ground to order. The coffee beans will be ground against order to maintain freshness. The aroma of freshly ground coffee is so invigorating that you always crave for more. The coffee is 100% pure coffee with no added chicory. It’s a blend of Arabica (35 years old) and Robusta (75-80 years old). The average price for 100 grams – Rs 75. The variants start from Rs 46 to 99 for 100 grams. They have launched 5 exciting flavors -
– 1. Dark Nectar - A delicately processed coffee with a naturally sweet flavor.

– 2. Smooth Caramel - A unique coffee blend with a deep caramelized flavor.

– 3. Exotica - A dark roasted, heavy bodied, great tasting coffee.

– 4. Morning Dew - A beautiful blend with a touch of sweetness

– 5. Noir Crème - The rich, deep taste of mildly bitter coffee

Let me know if you have tried them and would love to know your reviews too.

Many visits to SodaBottleOpenerwala Bengaluru - Review

Firstly let me apologise for the delay in this blog post. I should have uploaded the post much before as I really love the place now but have been little busy with travel and ill health so the delay. Hope you enjoy reading the post and look forward for the future one's.

I always missed Parsi and Irani food in my life. Never had a parsi friend at whose place I could always go to relish some Dhansak or salli boti. Well, I wasn't even aware of many parsi restaurant in Bengaluru. Then one day I get to know about 'SodaBottleOpenerwala' coming to Bengaluru. With all the hype around, I couldn't resist myself from visiting them. Located centrally at Lavelle road, one just cant miss this place. Truly a tribute to the dying legacy of the Bombay Irani Cafes.

"With SodaBottleOpenerWala, we give you a concept that is unique to India; the dying legacy wonderful chaotic, crowded, bustling, colorful, quirky, cluttered, eccentric and so real world of an Irani café. Our way of reviving the love for the edu and the disappearing race behind the cafes" - - AD and Sabina Singh

Have been to this place many times by now. I cannot get enough of this place too. The first time I visited was to chill over an evening with couple of friends over some tea/coffee and snacks. I was pleasantly surprised when I got a table, probably because it was evening and the crowd for dinner was just entering. It is a vibrant place with some old hindi music playing all the time, the place is always filled with chirping of the people. A small toy train takes circles of the restaurant just above your head. During my first visit, I snacked on some Aloo aunty's veg cutlet, Bombay Rasta sandwich, Vada pav along with Pheteli coffee and Raspberry soda, their version of this famous Parsi drink made from real fruit . Yeah, it was a veggie visit but couldn't help but relish the cutlet and sandwich. The Raspberry soda was a refreshing drink. I preferred leaving the place early as I could see many people waiting for a table. I couldn't take any pics during this visit too :(

Next visit was for a dinner. I was waiting for this visit from the day it was opened. Started the evening with Sekanje bin, Persian inspired drink made from mint and dried plum and MRS SODABOTTLEOPENERWALA’S Cold Coffee, Cold coffee made in house with Mrs. SodaBottleOpenerWala’s secret recipe. During the course, also had Masala Pepsi, all these are from the Irani Chai Bar.

For some starters, we started with Chicken farcha, Parsi style fried chicken. Every bite was tasty and my evening just started awesome with this dish. I am not a mushroom fan but was convinced to try Spicy mushroom on Khari, Khari biscuit topped with mushroom and cheese. This is the only time I have ever loved mushroom the most. 

Next was Eggs Kejriwal, how can one not have have eeda at a Parsi restaurant? Now I can totally understand why its Mr. Devi Prasad Kejriwal’s favourite dish at the Royal Willingdon Sport club in Bombay. Must try! And the last starter was Bohri kheema pav, mildly spiced, but flavourful mutton keema served with pav. This tasted just as my Mom makes, with every bite, I was telling my Mom that its the same taste and one my my favorite mom's recipe. I may not try this again here as I can have the same taste at home.

Heading to main course, I could not stop myself from having Mutton Dhansak, you can opt for boneless or with bone. One can never expect the way Dhansak was served here, it was served in a golden color tiffin carrier with 3 box, one had Caramalised rice with vegetable, one had Classic Parsi dish of mutton with lentils and the last one with kachumbar. Its cooler to call it Kachumbar rather than salad ;) It tasted the best, I could be very bias with dhansak but I just cant not praise it or have it at my every visit. Felt very homely while having this. One more serving for me? Yes, any time but I shall save it for my other visits :)

Paatra ni Macchi was next, it was suggested by some parsi people that I should not miss having this. And for someone like me who loves sea food, I had to ask for this. Pomfret wrapped in green chutney and steamed, healthy and yummy but with bone. The green chutney used in this enhances the taste a lot.

I also tried Sali Mutton, Parsi style mutton curry topped with potato sali. I had to try 'Pateta' at a Parsi restaurant. I like this curry with pav the most.

For desserts from the Irani Bakery, Toblerone mousse came on table, a mousse made from toblerone chocolate. This cup of mousse is very chocolaty and filling. Mawa cake was next, their version of this famous Parsi/Irani cake. Tasted best when warm. 

Some kulfi can be of no harm, so next was Parsi Kulfi. Some Shrewsbury biscuit and Ginger biscuit can also be enjoyed with some warm tea. I usually pack some ginger biscuits from time to time as my Mom enjoys them with her cup of tea.

The entire place was so vibrant and lively, with people chirping. You cannot expect this place to be a quiet one. That night the restaurant witnessed 2-3 birthday celebrations, also people would sing aloud when ever a song starts playing. Now that's the charm of old hindi songs which defines this restaurant too. I really feel the food served here has a homely touch to it which is rarely seen. They have some good cocktails too which you should try. This place makes me visit them for more of eeda, papeta, pav, salli mutton, dhansak, machhi and more.

Sinful blend of Chocolate and Coffee with Magnum

Who doesn't love chocolate and coffee? I do and my excitement was at its peak when I was invited for the Magnum's Choco Cappuccino launch. Last year I was part of the launch of Magnum ice cream with its three flavors and this was the forth one.

I have many memories of chocolate and a sweet tooth for it too. I usually do not share my chocolates and one should be really special to be lucky to share my chocolate. Another memory of chocolate I have is, whenever I am unwell, I need a chocolate and definitely one when I am getting an injection from the doctor else I will never get one done.

With Coffee, I used to like very mild coffee's like a Latte in the initial but later developed a strong taste for coffee and now I cannot live without a cappuccino. Coffee shops have been my favorite place to hang out and my usual drink is a cappuccino. A lot of my conversations happen over a cappuccino.

A blend of coffee and chocolate can be named a sinful blend. A blend of it remind me of Mocha. But I knew this was Magnum and the blend would be more than just Mocha. The launch of Magnum's new flavor was done by renowned Pastry Chef Janice Wong and World Barista Champion Fritz Storm at JW Marriott, Bangalore.

The Pastry Chef Janice Wong spoke about chocolate and prepared different mixes for all the guests. Among all the mixes, I loved the chocolate chilli the most. The taste of chocolate on my tongue with a choky chilli flavor on my throat made me crave for it more. A mix with cinnamon was also made.

World Barista Champion Fritz Storm spoke about coffee and he prepared Expresso Champagne which I tasted. The expresso champagne was refreshing and bitter.

Then Janice and Fritz paired up to make something together and it looked sinful. Those that got the pleasure to had it were very lucky. It was a Choco Martini.

The time was here for which the crowd was present, Magnum's new flavor was presented to all. The entire crowd tasted the the new flavor at once and we were one of the lucky one's to taste it before the country did. The crackling sound of the Belgium chocolate with a crunchy bite of coffee bean along with creamy vanilla ice-cream with coffee syrup was the perfect time of the evening. Everyone present at the venue were busy eating the ice-cream and moaning 'Hmmmm' with every bite. A cool ice-cream on a windy evening was the best treat given by Magnum.

A conversation with Janice and Fritz got me to know more about them and the flavor.

The new flavour is available from March 1st, 2015 throughout the country.