COFFEEEE!!!!!!!!!

Did i mention that I love coffee? Oh right, I just happened to mention that I was an addict!
Ma takes her coffee with spoons of sugar. That I say is the way coffee should not be drunk. Sugar and even milk kills the taste of coffee.
The heady drink has a long history. The life of coffee began in Ethiopia when a shepherd called Kaldi noticed that his sheep became very active after eating some red cherries. The Turks were the first to use it as a drink. It came to India when Baba Budan, an Arab fakir(?), smuggled a few beans and sowed them in the hills of Chickmagalur. Yes, it was the very same Baba Budan whose final place of resting is today the bone of contention between Hindus and Muslims, leading to many calling the place 'the Ayodhya of the South'. Come on, everyone loves coffee and this person gave us that. Thank the Lord he was a smuggler and let him be, for coffee's sake!
Anyway, http://coffeetea.about.com has some good stuff on coffee with detailed history, recipies and the like.
Cafe Coffee Day: Their outlets are great most of the time. Avoid the ones in the main areas and stick to the 4-table places inside bookstores or malls. These tiny places are great to sit and write or concentrate on doing nothing. The waiters dont bother you and you can sit for hours with good music in the background.
Their coffee is expensive but not way over the top. The blue juice in a tall glass with a loooot of ice is great for a hot day. It has a tangy taste that stays on. I forget what its called though. Cappuchino is good and so is the Expresso. The food is not worth it unless you are desperate. All in all, good place.
Another great place I discovered in Bangalore is Koshys on St. Marks Road. The place is totally devoid of people which is the best thing about it. Music is good, cool ambience. No one disturbs you, the coffee isn't too expensive (its just okay though) and the people who do stop by are not the yo-man-wassup,- me-rocking kind of teen crowd.
Coffee House below Deccan Herald on MG Road has an old world charm. I liked the ambience, reminded me of a homely manager at the front desk, fat with money and happiness who knew each one of the people who came to drink coffee, knew where their kid worked, got invited to all functions.... you know, that time when people had time and when they talked to each other and not into their mobiles.
More on Coffee in Madikeri next time... until then, keep drinking!