Starbucks and I have a history. 

When it first arrived in India, I was least interested in having my name written on a Starbucks cup and flaunting it on social media. In fact, I didn’t even know what exactly was the fuss about this new coffee place. The one time I did try Starbucks coffee abroad prior to its arrival in India, it didn’t register as something special or unique to me. 

A couple of years later, when the hype around Starbucks settled down, at least compared to when it had arrived, I did manage to visit its first store in Connaught Place, Delhi. 

It was nothing special, really. 

I’d walk up to the billing counter unsure what I’d wish to order;

The barista would then suggest the costliest drink on the menu; 

I’d meekly give in to the suggestion.

The sugar-loaded milkshake with a dash of coffee tasted good to the uninitiated younger me, who had no samskara of drinking any kind of caffeinated beverage. 

Here we go. 

From then on, Starbucks, Hamilton House became a preferred spot for meeting people when going to Connaught Place. Quite a jump from Haldiram during my college days. Desh ke acche din aaye ho na hon, college ke baad humne mehengi jagah jaana shuru kar diya tha. 

I remember, during one visit in 2015, my best friend Poorak, who was leaving for the USA soon for his master’s, gave me his unused Starbucks card. I kept the card with me as it kind of made sense to top it up with money and use the card to purchase beverages from Starbucks so that we might end up with a complimentary beverage or two in due time. 

So, the occasional visits to Starbucks, Hamilton House to catch up with a friend or a date continued until 2017, until I started visiting another outlet closer to my place. Call it the comfort of that branch, the free internet, the opportunity to sit with myself and take my first steps into writing—all of it contributed to making Starbucks my go-to cafe. And now, my visits weren’t just about meeting people; the visits to Starbucks became an opportunity to take myself on a date!

As I frequented the cafe, it dawned on me why it was such a hit worldwide despite its costly beverages. 

Howard Schultz, the man responsible for making Starbucks a global chain, wanted Starbucks stores to be places where people could spend most of their time, aside from their homes and offices. 

Before Starbucks went into a crazy expansionist overdrive (at least here in India), the wonderfully trained staff, cleanliness, beautiful interiors, and free internet made the entire experience utterly premium. I could definitely spend a good amount of time here. Order one cup of coffee (or any other beverage) and sit as long as you want. 

Who cared about the quality of coffee? 

At least I didn’t!

For so many years, I was happy to comply with the Barista’s suggestions, unaware of the sadistic pleasure derived from drinking the bitter Americanos or Pour Overs and so on. 

The regular visits helped me strike a bond with the Baristas. From helping one lad with his college project to entrusting another kind lad to guide my mum to her preferred order in my absence to being invited to a few weddings, it has been quite an association for me with Starbucks. 

Regular visits also helped me gain acquaintance with a few other customers who frequented the store like me, and a couple of the people I met there are now really good friends.

A lot can happen over coffee, for sure! 

ALTERNATIVES

After the gradual decline of Cafe Coffee Day and Barista Coffee, Starbucks had a literal monopoly over the cafe-going remote workers for a while. 

However, over the years, as the purchasing power and willingness of Indian consumers increased in addition to the ever-increasing remote working options, more and more cafes opened, and more and more people flocked to these cafes. Our Indian start-ups, like Third Wave and Blue Tokai, entered the scene and slowly built up a loyal customer base of their own. The space provided by the cafes allowed many remote workers a place to work outside their homes. 

Unlike me, who was enamoured (and to quite an extent still am) of Starbucks, regular coffee drinkers and cafe-hoppers discovered cheaper and, more importantly, better quality coffee! The experience provided by our Indian coffee brands, like the ones mentioned, was almost akin to that offered by Starbucks. 

Eventually, I, too, started visiting other cafes occasionally for a change of scene when my preferred spot at my favourite Starbucks outlet remained occupied. I started flirting around with other cafes and fortuitously, I stumbled upon a spot or two where I could sit for a long time and work.

Finding a comfortable spot in a new cafe which I could associate with writing was of immense importance because unless I could feel comfortable being at one place for a while, writing didn’t come organically.

Now, you may ask, why be obsessed about a place, Kushagra? 

The place is important for it can become a link and an association with something. Everyone has certain places in their lives that they associate with one thing or another.

It is even recommended to have certain exclusive spots for important activities like a spiritual practice, yoga, dhyana, sleeping, eating, or even mating.

Reading Vedic scriptures like Ramayana makes one realise that in olden times, there were exclusive spots even to express anger! 

The coffee (still) didn’t matter. The space and, to quite an extent, the service did. 

So while the long association and the trusted service of my favourite Starbucks outlet kept pulling me back, I was grateful to have a couple of other options. 

EXPERIMENTATION

This poet friend of mine used to have a knowing smile on his face whenever I used to mention Starbucks or dragged him along to Starbucks for a cup of coffee whenever he was in Delhi, or I was in his city 

And in 2024, when I was visiting Mumbai for a longer period of time, this friend whose love for coffee is as intense as Mr. Kohli’s knack of poking at the cricket ball outside the off-stump took me to Blue Tokai and another local cafe in his neighborhood. 

For the first time in my life, I actually started having conversations about the quality, brewing, and taste of coffee— not the sugary milkshakes I was having at Star but the god-awful, bitter, medicinal beverage that helps millions kick-start the day all across the world!

My friend patiently explained to me about different kinds of coffee beans, the brewing process, soaking in the aroma, and some other technicalities I didn’t understand but could definitely appreciate. I even started trying out black coffee. 

While I still hadn’t (haven’t) wholly given in to drinking the soul-sucking, sugar-less, black coffee—which I am told by true-blue coffee lovers is how coffee was supposed to be consumed (heard of evolution, you coffee-nazis?! Hmph!)—I had become conscious about the implications of consuming sugar-laden drinks on a daily basis. 

During the same time I was in Mumbai, a cup of Vietnamese cold brew consumed at Blue Tokai while meeting a friend led me to another realisation:

Even milk-based, sweet-tasting (superior) coffee could be consumed at other outlets for a far lesser price! 

‘Kushagra, once back in Delhi, we really need to explore the other cafes on a regular basis now. Save money, get better coffee. For the sake of the love and connection you shared with your favourite Starbucks outlet, you may visit it from time to time.’ I thought to myself as I sipped on to my Vietnamese cold brew. 

And so I tried. 

For my brewing love for Vietnamese coffee, I even went to the Blue Tokai near my place, but such was my luck (or, say, the pull and connection of Starbucks); the service and apathy of the staff pissed me off. And that matters immensely if you happen to visit a place regularly for work!

I even tried frequenting Third Wave, where the service was much better, but again, frequent staff changes and alterations made the experience off-putting. 

During these experimental days, one time, when I was casually hanging out with a dear friend at my Starbucks outlet, the enthusiasm, warmth, and kindness of the staff bestowed upon me led him to say, ‘Bhai ye tujhe jaane nahi denge kahin aur!’

As the cheeky Hindi saying goes, ‘Laut ke ullu ghar ko aaye.’

However, amidst all the coffee experiments, I just didn’t get the chance to tell you a story, dear reader, but I also discovered a personal and profound realization of Bhagavan Shri Krishna’s hallowed and cherished words from the Bhagavad Gita!

HIGHER TASTE

विषया विनिवर्तन्ते निराहारस्य देहिनः ।

रसवर्जं रसोऽप्यस्य परं दृष्ट्वा निवर्तते ॥ 

(2.59) 

Yogeshwar Bhagavan Shri Krishna explains that the only way to give up something that one is already used to is to gain a higher experience or taste. Of course, that is not the literal translation of Bhagavan Shri Krishna’s words, as the glorious Master is indicating about spiritual pleasure and not the taste of coffee! 

However, the principle applies, right?

Had I not been exposed to other brands or types of coffee, I’d have been comfortably living in my own well or bubble that the sugar-laden frappes are the best kind of caffeinated beverages. 

Similarly, in life, unless we open our minds and hearts to new ways of looking at things, new experiences, new ideas, new opinions, and new people, we may never know that there can actually be better experiences, ideas, opinions, and people to be found. 

This is not to say that we remain obsessed with constantly seeking a new thrill or high in terms of life experience or, most importantly, rejecting the old mindlessly. Rather, by experiencing something new, we get an organic realisation to choose better and smarter. 

We cannot force anyone to choose what is better for them. Nay, we shouldn’t even force our own selves to try and determine what may appear to be better than our current choice in any sphere of life. 

What unfailingly works is experience, as Bhagavan Shri Krishna talks about. 

What definitely works is immersion.

That is why retreats, time-intensive immersions, and programs often give people profound breakthroughs and personal realizations about subjects that merely theoretical rhetoric rarely can. 

If we find ourselves or anyone we care about struggling with something in life, we can think, ‘Oh, they still lack that higher taste.’

If someone is still giving in to anger and hurting others, they are yet to experience the high of love and forgiveness

If someone is not working on their body and mental health, they are yet to experience the joy of movement and inner work

If someone is rabidly and unquestioningly adhering to one particular ideology, they are yet to experience the grace of true spirituality and so on. 

Bhagavan Krishna’s formula here also helps one be more humble about one’s own choices and tolerant of opposite views. 

How?

Because if the concept of ‘higher taste’ gets embedded into our minds, rather than outrightly rejecting an opposing idea or view, we may say, ‘I have limited personal experience with the topic in question, so I’d rather not comment.’ 

My experiments with coffee and coffee shops have not led me to reject Starbucks or patronize another brand or cafe. Rather, getting a higher taste has allowed me variable options depending on the time, mood, and inclination.

For the most comfortable seating and view, I may go to my preferred branch of Third Wave.

For a lovely Vietnamese cold brew, I can choose Blue Tokai. 

For being in my comfort zone of space, staff and a simple pour over, my preferred Starbucks outlet works best. 

Cafe, Coffee and Krishna also leave me with the idea that true spirituality and the true art of living lies in flexibility of choice, ideas, and opinions. 

TO SUMMARISE:

• We may never discover something better unless we open ourselves to new things.
• One should not be mindlessly pursuing new experiences as a thrill but rather as something that can widen our perception.
• Understanding Shri Krishna’s formula from the Bhagavad Gita allows us to be more humble, patient, and open-minded.
• A lot can happen over coffee!

Here’s a guided reflection for you:

In which area of your life did you have a higher taste and realisation that led you to be more open?

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this piece. I wish and hope this post sparks some useful ideas in your mind. 

Choosing different styles of coffee and cafes,

Kushagra