Madras Kissaten, a Japanese-style coffee shop serves up coffees alongside matcha and hojicha

Scrolling through an endless stream of Instagram reels featuring labubus, that now infamous Coldplay concert fan cam, and of course, endless pops of matcha on everything, I chance upon something that stops me mid-scroll. A post that asks, is hojicha the new matcha?

Is it? I haven’t fully immersed myself in the matcha trend yet. I say I love it, but only stick to the safe option – the matcha latte. Do I need to buy a matcha kit? Or try some matcha flavoured protein, before the trend dies?

Madras Kissaten, a Japanese style coffee shop might not have the answers to my existential questions, but has both matcha and hojicha on the menu. Siddarth Gananathan, who runs the coffee shop however, has a clear favourite. “Hojicha has a similar nutty flavour profile when compared to my coffee. My customers here who have tried it over the last few days say it helps them relax,” he says, of the beverage that is currently threatening to dethrone social media’s favourite green beverage from its global top spot.

A small, quaint space on TTK Road, Madras Kissaten, true to its name, is designed to look like a minimalist Japanese coffee shop. There are glass walls that face the road, and a couple of chairs by the coffee bar, if you would like a view of your pour over being made.

Hojicha at Madras Kissaten
| Photo Credit:
S Poorvaja

I first try the hojicha of course, a golden brown milky iced concoction. The mellow drink comes sweetened with honey and as described, feels like a relaxing, uncomplicated alternative to matcha.

This tea might be great, but Madras Kissaten’s focus is first and foremost, on their coffee.

A Chennai-resident and aspiring filmmaker who fiercely loves his filter coffee, Siddarth says he came up with his own blend when the espressos available at every other coffee shop in the city just would not cut it for him. “I feel the coffees everywhere else aren’t strong enough. I wanted to work on something that would bring out great flavour,” he says. With arabica sourced from Coorg, Siddharth says he worked on a specific roast for a couple of years, perfected it, and then tested it with his close circle.

Latte
| Photo Credit:
S Poorvaja

On Madras Kissaten’s menu, this blend now features as a specialty coffee called Bold, which you can order as a hot milk coffee or a pour over that can be had either hot or iced. As an iced drink, Bold is strong and flavourful, even if it could be smoother. We also try a hot latte, which tastes best with no sugar and is just the right amount of strong. Also on the menu are the classics, espresso, cold coffee, and for the tea and coffee haters, a hot chocolate.The small space has a tiny coffee brewing set up, complete with a Rocket espresso machine. “I wanted the focus to solely be on the beverages and there isn’t space here for a kitchen anyway,” he says. In the future however, he hopes to have a selection of pastries, cookies and baked goods.

For now though, the door proclaims that this is a ‘soft launch’ and there is always a barista behind the counter, ready to whip up a hot or a cold beverage depending on the day you have had.

At 324, TT Krishnamachari Road, Alwarpet. Drinks for two cost ₹400.