Manual coffee and decadent food are highlights at this minimal café in Hyderabad

Stepping into a café and ordering your regular cappuccino is passé, say coffee lovers around the world, with emerging advanced techniques in brewing, roasting and even growing the coffee. This world of V60s, AeroPresses and washed coffees can seem confusing, or even intimidating to the average Joe. This week, we checked out a new café in town that’s hoping to bring in manual brew culture to Hyderabad, one cup at a time.

Ratio|Specialty Coffee from India and Beyond is minimal, yet warm and serves manual drip coffees

Inspired by Japanese design, the space is functional, with the elevated seating upstairs overlooking lush greenery. Even as torrential rain poured outside, we spotted focused baristas at the coffee bar. We ditched our regular order of cold coffee to explore something new. A short lesson in brewing followed, taking us through each process. Fifteen grams of vacuum sealed coffee beans, freshly ground just before brewing. A pre-heated filter cup with water heated to 90 degrees (it’s that precise). Once the ground coffee is placed, each pour of water needs a few seconds before a switch allows it to flow down. Every step is timed, precise and temperature-controlled, giving us insight into the sophisticated process.

We’re told that just like wine, a lot of factors influence the way coffee tastes, right from the altitude at which it was grown, roasting techniques, how it’s prepared, and even the TDS levels of the water used to brew it. Once done, we tasted the coffee in sensory cups with a narrow rim instead of your run-of-the-mill coffee mug, allowing for a fuller sensory experience. We tried the Colombian santa ana that had a delightfully fruity after-taste that made us reach out for more. Those who prefer a bolder flavour profile can try the Ethiopian rocko mountain. Each coffee comes with a little information card on its origin, roaster’s information, tasting notes and more.

We paired our drinks with the Rocket fig croissant sandwich — the cream cheese and caramelised fig worked wonders together. Those feeling peckish could also try the Fromage, a four-cheese pasta that was just what the weather called for. The space isn’t all about coffee; we also tried the Matcha mist — with Matcha and whipped cream topped on coconut water. The difference in textures played beautifully with every sip.

While the space has an extensive dessert menu with everything from entremets to tiramisu, we’d recommend the Espresso stuffed croissant, which we’d call a party on a platter. Stuffed with a delicious espresso ganache in flaky pastry, topped with chocolate flakes, our sweet tooth approved.

INR 800 for two. At Jubilee Hills.

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