From Tea to Coffee: A Journey of Taste, Memory, and Ritual

In North India, where I grew up, the day belonged to tea. Tea was everywhere — at railway platforms, at roadside dhabas, and simmering endlessly in kitchen kettles. Chai was comfort, convenience, and community. Coffee, on the other hand, was a stranger — a luxury that appeared rarely, almost ceremoniously.

At home, coffee was not casually brewed. It was beaten into a froth with sugar, milk, and patience. Unlike tea, which came together quickly in a boiling pot, coffee demanded an extra effort — and so it became an occasional indulgence rather than a daily affair.

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Tea and Me: The First Love

Tea is still my mid-morning companion. With chai, the snacks are unapologetically fried — mathri, namakpaare, bhujiya, pakode, bread rolls. These are not just snacks; they’re pieces of tradition passed down in every North Indian household. Tea feels like family, like the chatter of neighbours over a plate of pakoras when the rain comes unannounced.

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Enter Coffee: The Evening Ritual

As life carried me beyond my hometown, travel widened my taste buds. Somewhere along the way, coffee slipped into my evenings. Today, while mornings still belong to tea, evenings have become the domain of coffee.

Coffee feels different. It is slower, more indulgent, almost aristocratic. Where tea pulls a chair for everyone, coffee rolls out a red carpet. And my coffee is always paired with cookies — delicate, sweet, and crisp. Tea may sit comfortably beside pakoras, but coffee insists on cookies. It is the luxurious cousin of tea, dressed up and poised.

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The First Taste of Filter Coffee

One of my most vivid coffee memories is from Vellore, in Tamil Nadu, where my son went for his graduation studies. It was there that I first truly discovered South Indian filter coffee. Served steaming hot, with a frothy top and a fragrance that fills the air before the cup even reaches your lips — it was love at first sip.

I liked it so much that I brought home a traditional steel coffee filter, along with packets of fresh filter coffee powder. Suddenly, the ritual of making coffee became part of my kitchen. Every time I brewed it, I wasn’t just making coffee — I was reliving the warmth of that first taste, and of the visit to my son’s new world.

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My Son and His French Press

And now that I’ve landed in my younger son’s place, I discovered something beautiful: he is a true coffee devotee. He’s bought a French press and, through his online meetings, pours himself two cups of coffee — one to greet the dawn of ideas, another to steady his focus mid-day. Coffee pulses through his routine like a silent ally.

I once stumbled across a medical article claiming that coffee helps dissolve fat in a fatty liver, which, strictly speaking, is a poetic exaggeration. However, science does support a kinder truth: regular coffee consumption tends to lower fat accumulation in the liver, reduce inflammation, and slow the progression of fibrosis in individuals with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

So when he brews his French press — that rich, aromatic ritual — I like to think it’s not just a pleasure for the senses, but a tiny act of kindness toward his liver.

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Tea vs Coffee: Two Stories in a Cup

Tea and coffee are not competitors in my life — they are two different chapters in my day. Tea is still the grounding, no-nonsense friend I reach out to in the middle of the day. Coffee is the evening muse, the one that encourages reflection, storytelling, and sometimes, just the luxury of being with myself.

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A Beverage, A Memory, A Journey

For me, coffee is more than just caffeine. It’s a memory of frothy beaten coffee at home, of filter coffee in Vellore, of evenings that need slowing down. Tea remains my comfort, the taste of childhood and tradition. Coffee is my travel companion, my evening pause, my doorway to reflection.

Both are beverages. But together, they are also my story.

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Neerja Bhatnagar

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I have written 3 solo books and 3 anthologies. You can buy my books on Amazon. If you are on Kindle Unlimited, you can read them for free. Pls, do check and share your reviews.