The recent news about the sad demise of one of the successful coffee barons in India has touched the hearts and minds of many in India. I am one of them.
So what is so special about Cafe Coffee Day? And why this impact? I think the answer to many a questions like this lies in the experiences one had with CCD at a personal level. I remember my early days in Bangalore when the very concept of having tea/coffee in a Coffee shop with a bunch of friends was still trying to sink in my mind. We were a diverse bunch of friends and what united us was “Indiranagar, CMH Road, Coffee Day”. The outlet was in a quiet corner of the very posh Indiranagar in Bangalore, surrounded by greenery. Every time we wanted to meet “somewhere” in Bangalore, it was CCD. Every time we wanted to spend hours together, it was that one corner table of CCD. Sometimes, it was just one Cappucino and endless minutes and hours of talks; creating memories that we have cherished till date.
From college friendships, as I moved on to the newer roads of life, CCD had become synonymous to “Meeting Someone”. In a crowded country like ours, meeting a friend or even a prospective client publicly requires some amount of planning owing to the space constraints. CCD revolutionized the Cafe culture which exists in developed countries and made it affordable and popular. The very idea of spending some time over a hot/cold beverage in a clean coffee shop with some cool music and zero interference is probably what many many of us had wished for!
Walk into any CCD and you will see people catching up with friends, new ideas flowing across tables among entrepreneurs or corporate goers, couples sharing a lovely date together, book readers in corner tables lost in the pages of an interesting book with that mug of steaming coffee. The stories are endless. How comforting it has been for many of us to spot a Coffee Day near a highway during a road trip or while driving at a late hour! I am sure we must have smiled atleast once when a hot cup of Cappucino arrived with that cute heart shaped “Latte Art”!
CCD is not just about beverages and cookies. CCD has been about those beautiful moments we have spent together with someone or even alone in one of those tables. CCD has brought people together. CCD has been a spot for an innovation and ideation for someone. CCD has marked the beginning of a lovely relationship for someone. CCD has been a comfort zone for someone who has met up with a long lost friend.
Truly, a lot has been happening over Coffee!