Rhythm coffee: Chennai’s hidden brew for coffee lovers

If you, like me, have a permanent residence on one particular social media app and live in Chennai, you must be subjected to the endless tirade of videos calling everything from Erode Amman Mess to a local thrift store a ‘hidden gem’. Naturally, it did not take long for the internet to present the same title to the newly opened Rhythm Coffee in Alwarpet. 

This Harry Potter’s cupboard-under-the-stairs-esque coffee bar with minimal seating and a well-tested menu, is the new feather added to Chennai’s coffee cap. “I was a South Indian filter coffee drinker initially. Then I ventured into black coffee with Americano when I had to stay up late for work. Home brewing began eventually, and it kept going from there,” says Roshan A S, the owner of Rhythm, a cafe in Alwarpet, serving four specialty roasts for the pourovers.

“Each bean we have comes from a different estate. Currently, two are from Tamil Nadu and two from Karnataka, and each has been processed differently and gives different results. We want to keep these beans rotating every year with the harvest season,” he says. 

Blanc 2.0
| Photo Credit:
Sangita Rajan

The beans available currently are — Vaanam from Valparai, which has floral and citron notes; Solai from Kodaikanal, a rare Yellow Bourbon Arabica with notes of allspice and citrus; Kairee from Chikmagalur, a raw mango fermented bean; and Maalai from Chikmagalur, dried with rose petals with notes of rose and lychee. 

Apart from speciality pour-overs, Rhythm serves a range of coffees, matchas, and non-caffeinated beverages. The orange pound cake latte is scented with orange peel and olive oil and has a rich finish that would have been more enjoyable if served hot instead of lukewarm. 

Mango matcha and Spanish latte
| Photo Credit:
Sangita Rajan

Rhythm also does an Indian take on the Mont Blanc called the Blanc. It is a cold brew layered with sweet lime juice instead of orange and topped with a cold foam and zest — a refreshing twist that works well unexpectedly. The Spanish latte is the perfect drink for those who prefer a sweet milky coffee. Both the vanilla cloud and the mango matcha were done well. 

The coffee bar is not the place to hang out for longer than 10 minutes. It can comfortably seat six people or four with their laptops, so takeaways are recommended. 

They also serve some cakes and pastries, alongside a couple of savoury options, and each is paired with a coffee. Roshan and his baristas are knowledgeable and happy to help even those who are just starting out on their coffee journey and only need a cup to stay awake. For that alone, the place is worth a shot.

Rhythm Coffee is at Alwarpet. A beverage costs approximately ₹350.