India’s coffee culture has quietly evolved. Once limited to functional brews and familiar flavours, it is now shaped by provenance, ritual, and experience. From Himalayan outposts to heritage hotels and design-forward cafés, coffee is increasingly being treated with the seriousness of wine—and even art.
Founder of Delhi-based specialty coffee brand Bili Hu, Bharat Singhal opted out of a career in retail design and followed his passion for specialty coffee. Today, the brand counts The Oberoi Hotels, the Taj Group, and Porsche among its clientele.
Established in 2016, Bili Hu's artisanal journey begins from Chikkamagaluru’s biodiverse hills. Each coffee cherry is hand-picked, UV-scanned, and meticulously roasted. Singhal’s philosophy is simple: every cup should feel like a small luxury: indulgent and worth savouring. Under his watch, India’s coffee culture isn’t just growing; it’s being redefined. Under the editorial IP of Robb Report India, we explore the country’s most unique coffee experiences, curated by Singhal himself.
At Tsas, a black coffee is served with a side of locally made Yak cheese. The acidity in coffee cuts through the fat in cheese, and you experience a burst of flavour, reminding you of India's rich coffee-growing South Indian terrain.
Few places present coffee with as much narrative elegance as Raffles Udaipur. Here, the iconic GI-tagged Monsooned Malabar is served on a miniature wooden boat, complete with tiny sacks of pale-yellow beans. The beans are representative of the process of monsooning in which coffee seeds are spread out in thick layers in well-ventilated warehouses, in the Malabar Coast, during the monsoon months. The exposure to the moisture and monsoon winds causes the beans to swell up and lose their acidic flavour. The cup delivers evocative notes reminiscent of petrichor.
Coffee moves beyond the café and into the realm of mixology at Slow Tide. Known for its single-origin offerings, the space also offers coffee cocktails. The espresso martini, enhanced with khus tincture, Irish whiskey, and a carefully selected espresso, introduces an unexpected umami note, reflective of Goa’s easy sophistication—playful, but never careless.
Livestream Café serves a 100 per cent robusta espresso. Naturally sun-fermented, the beans reveal an inherent sweetness that challenges long-standing assumptions about the varietal. The resulting cup carries notes reminiscent of dark chocolate and wine. It is a rare example of robusta being treated with respect—and it pays off.
A long-time fixture on Mumbai’s dining landscape, Gaylord balances nostalgia with modern craftsmanship. Its tiramisu latte, served in elegant glassware, is indulgent. All coffees are prepared using single-origin beans from Chikkamagaluru, reinforcing the importance of source. It is a reminder that heritage spaces can evolve without losing their soul.
Café C's extensive coffee menu is designed for those who like to explore method, processing, and origin. Offering six single-origin coffees brewed across multiple formats, the standout remains its cold brew steeped overnight and presented encased in a dramatic block of ice. The space is theatrical, deliberate, and uncompromisingly serious about coffee.
Coffee isn't just about caffeine—it is about place, process, and pause. With a new generation of growers, roasters, and tastemakers turning the everyday cup into an experience worth lingering over, how can we forget the everyday pleasures of a perfectly made cup.