I got recommended by my friend today to check out this new coffee shop at Anayara, Trivandrum, called Eve’s Coffee as its something thats guaranteed to give an experience thats quite unique in the city… So, I contacted them thru their facebook page and understood that its a place serving a bunch of hot and cold beverages and along with that, they have a few snack options and thats it… So, trusting my friend’s recommendation I went ahead to the place anyways hoping to make lunch out of whats available there…
The place was not hard to find as it was indeed on the roadside of the Pettah-Anayara-Venpalavattom road, located between Anayara junction and Pettah but closer to Anayara junction… The place clearly is the upstairs of a house that has been converted to be the coffee shop with a steel staircase and a separate gate leading directly to it… Inside, the place is divided into 4 areas… First of, there is this Entrance with a cosy couch and then you walk along a Corridor which has a glass window overlooking the street and a huge blackboard with chalk art and when you cross that corridor, you reach the Library which has a very good collection of books you can read and then after the Library, there is the Game Room which has a vast collection of board games and video games, all of which are available for customers to use and this room also has their counter and kitchen as well…
As I entered, I met one of the owners who is a very nice and cheerful Filipino lady who escorted me to the Game Room and as I sat there, recognised me from the facebook chat and happily told me the story behind Eve’s Coffee… Essentially, its run by her along with her husband who is a Malayali born here but brought up at Abu Dhabi… Apparently he was having a corporate job and she was a nurse and they both wanted to get out of the busy and hectic life they had and settle down, and hence decided start a business here at his hometown which turned out to be Eve’s Coffee… The vision basically is to redefine the local concept of the Coffee Shop and bring in the concept of the Coffee Shop as a hangout place which is something thats found abroad and hardly anywhere around here… This is why there are the books, the boardgames and all and overall, the idea is to have a cozy place where people can come alone or with family and friends, relax and have a great time while drinking some amazing Coffee 🙂 To be frank, I know there are places which provide books to read as well as places that provide board games, but to have both and more to this degree is something I have never seen… I mean its a huge collection of options which I haven’t seen before anywhere in a coffee shop or restaurant…
However, I do have one complaint and its about the Steel stairs outside that leads to the place… Considering that its a place which provides all these board games, etc, its really bound to attract families with kids and I am afraid having the stairs like that without the bottom covered can be quite the risk… The gaps are not large enough for the kids to fall thru yes, but there is definitely a risk of falling, which can be avoided by covering the bottom… So, I would suggest that it be done so and also would be a great idea to provide more reinforcement to the stairs itself as well… Better safe than sorry, rt? 🙂
Coming to the menu, there is quite a good selection of hot and cold beverages here ranging from Coffee and Tea options like Lattes, Cappucino to Frappes, Crushers, Mojitos, Milkshakes and even Sundaes… Other than the drinks, there is a selection of snacks, which as per what the owner mentioned are all sourced from home-chefs all over Trivandrum, ranging from cakes, cutlets, puffs to even the Kunafas from the famous Kunafa Girl herself… 🙂 However, at the time I went, she informed me that a lot of the options are yet to arrive as her husband has gone to pick them up…
Now, my friend had recommended that I try what they call their Matcha Latte… After that as recommended by the owner, I also tried their Red Velvet Latte… Among the snack options available then, I went for the Fish Cutlets and as recommended by the owner, a piece of their Apple and Walnut Cake, which the owner claimed to be their best seller… 🙂
So, first lets talk about the Matcha Latte… Essentially, as per the owner, this is a latte made with the Japanese Tea known as the Ceremonial Grade Matcha which is apparently the highest quality tea thats imported from Japan… This powdered green tea is usually consumed entirely and hence can be seen floating on the top as can be seen in the pics below… As the owner explained, this particular tea is known to be containing the highest amount of anti-oxidants and hence is the healthiest Tea thats available thats very well known to be an amazing detox option, which helps with weight loss and improved metabolism…
First of all, like the other Japanese tea that I have had, I expected it to taste bitter, but on the other hand, it didn’t and it tasted just fine… Of-course, it was served without any added sugar and so, I needed some and so I ended up using the Sugar packets that were provided… The tea felt quite strong (the owner mentioned that it has the equivalent of 10 tea bags of this tea) and rich at the same time and the milk was just right and there was the foamy layer on top as well… The taste of this tea is quite different from the tea that we are used to here and I am not entirely sure how to describe it… The temperature at which the Latte was served was just right for me and so, on the overall, this definitely tops the list as the best and most refreshing green tea beverage that I have ever had… Its definitely going to be my regular drink option whenever I visit Eve’s Coffee…
After the Matcha, I wanted to try their Charcoal Latte, which is the Latte made with Activated Charcoal, that intrigued me… However, the owner mentioned that having the activated charcoal immediately after the matcha will end up severely diminishing the health benefits of the Matcha and so, instead, she suggested that I try the Red Velvet Latte… This is again a Latte made with whats known as the Red Velvet Tea and it got served with a Cookie as can be seen in the pics below…
The Cookie was just a plain cookie, but it did taste great with the Red Velvet Latte… Again, the Latte is served without any added Sugar and I of-course added it myself from the packets that were provided… As it was being served, the owner warned me that the Red Velvet Tea has a slight bitter component to it… However, I found the bitter component to be restricted to the foaming top layer and as I went below it, the taste was just perfect… Rich flavour of the Red Velvet was felt throughout the Latte and there was the richness of the milk used as well… Clearly the milk in both teas were skimmed and of low fat content but the flavours were all intact and simply great and refreshing to have… The Cookie I ended up dipping in the Latte and that added another dimension to the flavour profile… Altogether another incredibly refreshing cup of Tea Latte…
Now along with the Lattes, I had two of their snack options, namely the Fish Cutlet and the Apple & Walnut Cake… First I had a couple of the Fish Cutlets which were as shown in the pics below…
These turned out to be two of the best tasting Fish Cutlets I have ever had with a very strong presence of Fish in them as in, each bite had an overwhelming amount of Fish in it… Other than fish, there were onions, ginger, garlic a little bit of potatoes (just enough to work as the binder) and the seasonings (black pepper, turmeric) that were just right for the cutlet… What I especially liked about this cutlet is the fact that the spices never overpowered the fish and so I could really taste the fish itself… So, really looking forward to having it again very soon… 🙂
The next and the last which became my dessert was the Apple & Walnut Cake… The owner recommended that I try this by claiming that its their best seller…
This is definitely a home made cake thats packed with Apples and Walnuts… The top crust of the cake felt more like a crumble and whats below this is probably one of the lightest cake that I have ever had… Its not sweet by much and I felt it to be exactly at the mildly sweet level that I like to have… Regarding flavours, I could sense a strong presence of Apples and Walnuts and along with both, I felt an equally strong presence of Cinnamon and a bit of Star Anise as well… I can really understand why this is their best seller as its a great combination with the Lattes and I would imagine it to be great with Coffee options as well… I also think that this cake would be awesome served warm with a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream as well… So, safe to say, I am looking forward to having another piece of this very soon… 🙂
The owner also informed me that on some days especially Saturdays they serve a couple of Quiche options, which unfortunately was not available since this is a Tuesday… So, I basically asked her to just let me know when they are having it so that I can plan and try it…
So, on the overall, I really loved the place with the lively ambience and the kind of hospitality thats really so hard to find anywhere else… So, I am hoping to visit the place very very soon and hopefully get to try the other options that I couldn’t try today… As I left I got a pack of the Apple Cinnamon Tea which I am hoping to try tomorrow… There are a bunch of other options there which I hope to try soon… So, I think Eve’s Coffee is going to be a place that I’ll be visiting more often than others… 🙂 🙂
