Baaghini, a six-coffee blend, takes centrestage at Qaffeine Bistro Hyderabad

Baaghini denotes a tigress in many Indian languages. It is also the name of a coffee blend crafted by restaurateur Amar Ohri at Qaffeine, a new coffee shop on Road no 10, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad. This Baaghini is a blend of coffees from various parts of India, resulting in a unique blend that makes it suitable for fun cold drinks and brews.

Qaffeine’s green and vanilla interiors can be instantly energising. Apart from making the space bright all through the day, it also makes it warm and welcoming.

Amar Ohri, MD of Qaffeine, says the Baaghini blend represents India in a cup. “It took us over eight months of research and numerous trials to perfect this blend. We have used coffee beans from six different regions of India — Chikmagalur, Coorg, Wayanad, Yercaud, Koraput and Nagaland — into one signature blend. Indian coffee is top tier and our label is a true celebration of all things Indian.”

Mysore silk at Qaffeine
| Photo Credit:
Prabalika M Borah

On the menu are drinks such as Madras Old Fashioned, cold brew with kokum, and Mysore Silk. Baaghini celebrates Indianess not just in the blend, but in coffee-based drinks as well. As chilled drinks become the go-to options during summer, Baaghini hopes to woo coffee lovers. Qaffeine has something to suit every palate, be it sweet or with coffee’s inherent bitterness.

If you do not prefer cream or lactose in your coffee, try the Madras Old Fashioned, Cascara San or Blanc brew cold brew.

The food, too, has a playful touch in its curation. Think of an avocado sev puri — crunchy, puffed, air-fried puris stuffed with guacamole and finished with an Indian touch of chaat masala sev and anar dana (pomegranate). Then came another side named the Japanese Chicken Karaage, a batter-fried boneless chicken dish served with a sauce that almost tastes like arrabbiata.

Kataifi or wrapped cottage cheese batons is a crunchy, heavy vegetarian dish that comes with a strong flavour of curry powder in every bite. This is a finger food and there is no other way of relishing it.

There was pizza on the menu and I could see a lot of people ordering them, so I chose the seafood prawn pizza and all I could do was pick the prawns and calamari rings from it. The pizza base could not make me go beyond two bites of a slice. The baker seemed to have gone overboard with the dry flour dusting. To undo the underwhelming pizza, the chef sent me a portion of Bun kebab. The idea of a Tundey kebab patty sandwiched between two soft buns was a good one. The fresh buns and the Tundey seem to have complimented each other well. Prawns in chilli oil is another good pick for a quick lunch.

Madras Old Fashioned
| Photo Credit:
Prabalika M Borah

For the mains, there are grilled chicken roulade and Cantonese stir-fry chicken with noodles. The Grilled chicken roulade definitely meets protein rich, carb deficit meal requirements. I cannot say the same about the Cantonese stir-fry chicken with noodles. The excess salt left me speechless after the first bite.

There are plenty of dessert options; the cafe, however, takes pride in its croissants.

A meal here will cost ₹1200 upwards.