Experiencing India’s First Coffee Omakase At Caarabi Coffee Roasters In Delhi

“Coffee is science, and today, I shall bring you closer to it,” said AJ, the barista at Caarabi Coffee Roasters in New Delhi’s Saket, who was also my host for the day. I was one of four people attending a four-course coffee Omakase session organised by the roastery weekly or fortnightly. 

Like everyone in the room, I take my sacred morning cup of coffee seriously. From assembling the ingredients to ensuring I craft a perfect cup, preparing coffee each morning has become a tender act of self-care and love. This session came as an opportunity to understand the science and technique behind the beloved beverage.  

I was attending the first volume of the hour-long session called “Pursuit of Perfection.” The delicate coffees were sourced from the Ratnagiri Estate in Chikkamagaluru, Karnataka. 

AJ suggested that while catching up over coffee has become a fad, the beverage receives very little attention in cafes. “With Omakase, I wanted to trap four people in a room and serve coffee that deserves exclusive attention without any distractions. Coffee is my showstopper,” laughed AJ as we made ourselves comfortable in the lab-like setting of the roastery. 

Michael Jackson’s Don’t Stop ’til you get enough playing in the background, red lights emanating from hidden spots, four curious guests, and a barista all ready to show his magic, set the vibe relatively straight. We were all ready to kick-start the four-course caffeine overload. 

Course 1: Initium

The first course was called Initium—a way to represent “purity of the beginning,” explained AJ. As I deeply sniffed the coffee beans, I could smell nothing close to a conventional Indian nutty and spicy coffee; instead, a clear floral bouquet of roses, lychees, and mixed berries. 

“With a coffee of such calibre, I thought it would be an injustice to mix it with anything and going with the theme, I wanted to maintain the purity of things and so brewing this as a manual brew,” said AJ as he placed the paper filter on a glass can. 

He poured warm water in concentric circles and allowed it to stay for the next couple of minutes. What we had in the glass was free of oils and heavy particles. It was something close to a tea with apparent flavours. 

As he poured the coffee into our glasses, much like wine, we were instructed to swirl and aerate it before drinking. The first sip was floral and rose dominant, but as the coffee cooled down, it turned into a berry blast as the berry notes took over. 

To go with this fruity and floral beverage was a rose jelly with the goodness of kewra. I thought it was between a pâte de fruits and a karachi halwa. A striking moment was when the coffee started tasting sweeter as we sipped it after taking a bite of the jelly. “Magic!” the girl sitting beside me said. 

Second Course: Harmonia

As we geared up for the second course, I was already missing the milk in my coffee. “Next up is the milk course,” AJ said to my respite. He wanted to create a coffee where the ingredients harmoniously combine to create a symphony of flavours. What he presented to us was a creamy and buttery mini flat white.  

While most others could taste butter popcorn and hazelnut, I could taste something close to cereals and chocolate, but smoother, gentler, and butterier.

“We pay great attention to preparing the milk for this particular coffee,” said AJ. He mentioned that, unlike water, milk is not a uniform liquid and consists of fats and sugars. “While thawing the milk, we only extracted what we needed from it, which renders a creamy texture to your coffee,” added AJ. 

AJ paired it with a solidified version of the coffee—a brick of chocolate-coated nuts and berries. “I am eating exactly what I am drinking,” I muttered as I couldn’t stop sipping away the second course. 

Third Course: Transcendence

As the milk course was down my alley, I had become very comfortable. AJ has different plans. “This course is called transcendence. It transcends all boundaries and rules of making coffee. It is something out of the box,” AJ said as he pulled out his Boston shaker. 

A thick, syrupy red wine reduction, a grapefruit super juice, and espresso were poured into the shaker. “Baristas make for lousy bartenders,” AJ laughed as he began shaking. 

A pink-hued, zesty, citrusy, and lemony coffee was poured into our glasses. It tasted nothing like red wine, grapefruit, or espresso; it was entirely transformed. The ingredients were beautifully blended to create something I had never tried before. The finishing element of the drink was a tonic water that quadrupled its foaminess. 

According to AJ, the third course made it to everyone’s favourite, and none of us in the room was surprised. “We should add some chakhna, shouldn’t we?” AJ asked us. 

The pairing for the third course was a classic cracker coated with brie cheese and topped with grapefruit juice. It was just the crack I needed with the zesty drink. While I was recovering from the creativity of the course, AJ said, “You are not ready for what is coming ahead.” 

Fourth Course: Elysium

The final course of the session resulted from AJ’s quest for a replacement for Tiramisu. We had coconut panna cotta layered with maple syrup and topped with espresso in our glasses.

“I thought that it was becoming a very straightforward dessert, so I needed an ingredient X. For that, I used the raspberry chutney to give a third dimension to the dessert’s flavour,” explained AJ. 

The coconut panna cotta and maple syrup made it creamy and smooth, while the espresso tasted like a peanut. I dug my spoon deep into the glass to combine all the dessert components.  I relished eating every bit; if you ask me, this was my favourite course of the session.

The Information

Address: Khasra 264, Plot 02, Westend Marg, Butterfly Park, Saiyad ul Ajaib, Sainik Farm, New Delhi, Delhi 110030

Price for one: INR 1,950 (for the first volume of the coffee omakase session)