Post Box Cafe,There is a small old-world writing desk in the corner of Post Box Café. Intrigued, we leave the comforting warmth of our coffee on the table and step ahead to examine it. Peering inside, we notice pretty postcards and letterheads. “Go ahead,” Mohit Gupta, co-owner of the Goan café encourages us, “Write a message for someone to find, express yourself or pay forward for someone else’s coffee, but don’t write your name.” His partner, Vinay Bhasin, tells us that the idea of the café is not to only serve coffee and cereal bowls but to also allow people to go back to handwritten expression and give them an opportunity to write.
The café itself, is cosy and charming, housed inside Mustard restaurant which, in turn, is situated inside a picturesque bungalow in Anjuna. On the menu are a range of hot and cold brews, courtesy Varun Gupta of Nangoo Coffee and cereal bowls, and smoothies from Gouri Gupta of Gouri’s Goodies. There is something delightfully charming and comforting about the handcrafted coffee experience teamed with some innovative dishes using cereals from Gouri’s Goodies.
One of the reasons for starting the Post Box Cafe was also to be in touch with the consumer directly. “Over the last six months, Gouri’s Goodies has consciously moved out of retail as we realized that it leads to a lot of food wastage. We are a zero-wastage company,” says Gouri, as we sit and enjoy the wonderfully refreshing Coconut & Pineapple smoothie bowl. With her understanding and emphasis on seasonal foods and clean products, Gouri wanted to do something creative with her cereals. “The cereals already, are ready-to-eat clean foods. It just becomes fun to play around with them and get creative with them,” she says. So, at Post Box Café, you can expect to be served her rice-based cereal with orange juice and even her own take on the traditional Goan Godshe!
When it comes to the coffees, there are hot and cold brews from Nangoo Coffee, using coffee beans that have been meticulously handpicked from carbon positive shade grown coffee estates In Meghalaya, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka. “I spend a lot of time with farmers, forming closer relationships so we can increase cup quality further,” explains Varun. The whole idea of Post Box Café being an analog product, they don’t have an espresso machine. “Our fastest coffee takes around four-and-half-minutes to five minutes to brew. There are pour overs and house cold brews. There is a lot of thought and labour involved in them,” he adds.
As we take in the aroma of the freshly-brewed coffee and take in a moment to appreciate the charming green, white and brown interiors, the coffee bar and the shelves full of Nangoo Coffee and Gouri’s Goodies that one can buy from them directly, Gouri tells us how slowing it down, actually gives us time to appreciate the little things in life. “The post-box brings back a time and a lifestyle where we enjoyed life. We could lose ourselves in the little things. So, we want to bring all that in. Enjoy the coffee and its aroma, write a letter to someone, eat the clean and wholesome food,” she says.
Thankfully, Mohit and Vinay don’t want to stop at just one café. “The intent is to open more, with the next one coming up at Mahe. We want to keep different menus for every café we open, taking maybe one or two from here. Since the cafes will be inside restaurants, the idea is to incorporate their style. For instance, we have an Avocado buttermilk at the one in Mustard, a Bengali and French restaurant. Mahe is a modern coastal food restaurant, so we might do something with kokum or solkadi. Gouri has millions of creative ideas for her cereals and we want to experiment with the dishes,” says Mohit. And hopefully, keep adding more Post Box Cafes to take us back to the good ‘ol times.
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