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Lavazza- Redefining the aroma of Guwahati

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Lavazza coffee

A coffee mug is something that always stands on my desk, irrespective of whether I am at home or at my workplace. I wasn’t a coffee fanatic until the caffeine rush hit me during my finals one day. And since then, it has been my favorite choice of beverage.

Growing café culture of Guwahati

While Guwahati is blooming in the different spheres of trade, communication, and lifestyle, advancement in its sub-categories, too is rising rapidly. In the last two-three years, Guwahati witnessed a massive growth of cafes, restaurants, and hotels. But often it is disheartening to discover that behind those gracefully crafted cafes, its visitors could barely track down a good cup of coffee. Only a spattering of cafes like 11th Avenue, Kalita Café, or Café brew bakes tends to serve an aromatic cup.

In the quest to procure a pure cup of caffeine, oftentimes, people here, dive into a puddle of pesticides and chemically preserved coffee. I realized that the veil draped by instant coffee is hard to tear when my mother complained about the freshly grounded coffee packet that I brought from Nagaland. To my horror, she said she had replaced the packet with a Nescafe jar.

An aromatic entrant in the city

lavazza Coffee workshop

Beyond the flawed practices like brewing coffee in boiling water or drinking plain premixes, Guwahati brewed a neat aroma on 24th May. Lavazza, since 2008, has been cultivating better coffee brewing culture in India. Consequently, with a brisk upsurge in café trends in Northeast India, the company hosted its first-of-kind coffee workshops in Guwahati and Shillong.

Baristas, chefs, café owners, and coffee fanatics from the eight states, are connected to brew an impeccable essence in the region. It was rewarding.

Abdul sahid khan
Coffee connoisseur, Mr. Abdul Sahid Khan

Coffee connoisseur and Training Manager of Lavazza, Mr. Abdul Sahid Khan, adroitly persuaded the participants to brew luscious aromas all over Northeast. He narrated how by playing with different techniques, procedures, and equipment, one can experiment and invent recipes of their own. Besides guiding to attain flawless shots of espresso, he also demonstrated frothing milk and supervised latte art.

Cooking with chemicals

Coffee Cavier, prepared using the molecular gastronomy method

Among those numerous coffee recipes that he exhibited, what thrilled me the most was the molecular gastronomy technique. A concoction of my curiosity and fate mingled with astonishment when I ate espresso. Coffee Cavier is an exclusive recipe of Lavazza. It is prepared by converting liquid to a solidified state. This process is done using calcium chloride with alginate.

Spoon of cavier
When I ate espresso

The workshop was a pure indulgence of bliss and contentment, in particular. This workshop was a much-needed grasp for the region that believes in pouring a fantastic cup of coffee.

About Lavazza

Ruling for the last 120 years, Lavazza is one of the biggest manufacturers of coffee products from Italy. The company combines coffees from different parts of the world. These are then harvested, processed, mixed, and roasted to create several different and balanced blends, as well as satisfy the coffee-tooth of every fanatic.

Here are some of the pictures from the Guwahati as well as from the Shillong session.

lavazza workshop lavazza workshop lavazza workshop Lavazza workshop in Guwahati

Lavazza workshop in Guwahati
Participants from different states of Northeast India

lavazza workshop

Note: If you are in Northeast India and wish to get hold of some finely roasted beans of Lavazza, you can ping Jyoti Brothers (Jyotishman: +91 9864311100) or Sumon Bora (Area Sales Manager: +91 9707639828).

Also, feel free to knock us for any queries or questions related to coffee/coffee making. Until then, like this article and don’t forget to share it in your circle.

A restaurant in Guwahati abused its customer for complaining about food quality

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Over the years, Guwahati has developed gracefully with a number of restaurants, cafes, pubs, and clubs blooming amid the support of its inhabitants. These wings have flapped smoothly with time, offering excellent services and hospitality to its customers. Consequently, there are also some restaurants, who, with their appalling services, have disheartened many of the city’s food fanatics.

I remember visiting a café in Rajgarh road, Guwahati, sometimes back. As a café hunter, I popped to this restaurant in search of good coffee and ambiance. To my utter disgust, I was served with green chutney and chickpeas (chola) salad with pasta cooked with an emptied bottle of parmesan dressing and a cup of error-filled coffee.

I left the place and swore never to go back there or recommend anyone. But when I thought to drop a review on Zomato, I was surprised to see their enormous all-good reviews with four and five stars. And later that evening, a magazine carried an exclusive article praising their food. Horrible!

Another grievous tale

With tight deadlines and demanding schedules, it often becomes an arduous chore to balance family and career life. As a means to connect with those lost dots, 23 YO Rahul Rajkhowa, a musician by profession, thought of taking his family on an elegant dinner to a restaurant called Chung-fa, located in Zoo Narengi Road, Guwahati.

Because one pays a substantial amount to spend quality time with their loved ones, how can they not whine the uncooked food that was served after an hour of waiting?

On complaining about the “rubbery” under-cooked noodles, the waiter called the manager who instructed him with, “Array Garam kar de, phir kha lenge.”

When they questioned about serving them cold food and re-heating it, the waiter started arguing why they can’t eat that food or packed it home. And later with emotive throws like “You cannot talk to me like this just because you are from a stable economic background.”

As they moved to the cash counter, the owner, hiding behind her computer, began tossing them with rebukes. Furthermore, the waiter, along with another waiter started attacking him and his parents with abuses of being a liar.

Rahul took his social media account to shared his sour experience with Chung-fa restaurant.

This is what he wrote:

restaurant in guwahati, bad review

More horrifying abuses

 

restaurant in guwahati, bad review

 

Isn’t it distressing to pay a hefty food bill and earn such harassment in turn? Well, this reminds me of the scam momo sellers of Guwahati perform. The dispiriting onions and cabbage fillings (in the name of chicken and pork momos), covered with thick-unhealthy layers of maida, makes one realize how terribly these restaurants have deceived them.

And then comes the servers, who often gives you the feeling that you work for them, and your job is to feel fortunate whatever you get.

What are your views to change such a degrading scenario?

Let us know in the comment section below.

 

For busy people: Easy and effective hacks to stay healthy

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stay healthy ways

Sedentary lifestyle, hustling schedules, and the race to stand tall among other competitions has disturbed numerous lives. Competitions have killed the world’s sleep and eating habits more than an outbreak. Lack of time is a major account why people buckle under unhealthy eating and sleeping patterns. As a result, prevalence rates for the number of ailments and afflictions have increased rapidly.

The body achieves what the mind believes. Thus, it is essential to watch out both the mind and the body in order to maintain the balance.

Highlighted below are some of the easy and effective ways that will help one engage in a healthy state, physically as well as mentally.

  1. Exercise it out:

    Man doing exercise
    Source: BBC

    Engaging in physical exercise is a great way to eliminate toxins from the body. Besides toning the muscles and tissues, regular exercise also helps in the release of the brain’s reward chemicals, the ones necessary to enhance one’s state of mind.

  2. Cut off the intake of caffeine

    no to coffeeThe widely used mood-altering drug in the world, caffeine, when consumed in moderate proportion can yield a number of health benefits. Unlikely, heavy intake, more than 500-600 mg of caffeine a day, on the other hand, can lead to health issues like insomnia, nervousness, irritability, an upset stomach, restlessness, aggravated anxiety, and muscle tremors.

  3. Switch to chamomile tea

    chamomile-tea
    Source: Medical news

    Chamomile tea possesses a number of health benefits. The beverage is stacked with antioxidants that cut risks of life-threatening diseases like cancer and diseases of the heart. Additionally, chamomile tea treats sleep disorders, promotes digestion, better skin, controls blood sugar, boosts immune health, as well as helps one to relieve from mental clutters like anxiety and depression.

  4. Expose to sunlight:

    woman exposed to sunlight Vitamine D

    From regulating the level of insulin to maintaining cardiovascular and lung health, Vitamin D plays numerous roles in keeping the body hale. Exposing to sunlight, at least 15-minutes every day can also help in breaking-free from stress

  5. Listen to good music

    woman listen to good music

    Music has the ability to influence one’s mental and physical state. The American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) announced music therapy as a therapeutic and effective means to combat problems of the mind. Distinguished philosophers like Plato, Confucius, and the kings and monarchs pronounced music as an effectual medium to heal aggravating conditions of their mind.

  6. Replace your regular cup with green tea

    green tea cup of green tea green tea benefits
    Source: Prehab

    Green tea has been known as an effective agent to treat issues of the stomach, skin, and brain. Besides, green tea also helps to curb blood pressure and drop an escalating heart rate. Amino acid or L-theanine present in green tea is an important agent required to abate stress and anxiety.

  7. Yoga and meditation:

    woman doing yoga
    Source: Woman fitness org

    Accepted since ancient times, yoga, and meditation are powerful antidotes for a healthy body and mind. Pranayama (breathing techniques), asana (body postures), meditation, and the ancient yoga philosophy, has strengthened millions of people with positivism and a new perspective on life.

It is not always possible to maintain a healthy diet. In such, balancing with alternatives can work wonder as well. Keeping alongside ditching smoking and drinking at least 8 glasses of water every day, sleep is an important factor to grasp while considering one’s health.

Albeit there are numerous ways to stay healthy, practicing a few simple and basic steps can prove beneficial in retaining one’s health in the long run. So, which are you going to adopt? Let us know in the comment section below.

Also, don’t forget to share this article in your circle.

You may also like to check out Asanas For Weight Loss.

Glamor of the hills- Meghalaya

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The morning beams that penetrated through the gauzy curtains interrupted my dreams. It was late morning when I woke up. Although I was never a morning person, hectic job schedule and demand to maintain punctuality in office compelled me to dispose off my late-night routine.

And thus, weekends became my savior. I would sleep my heart out, keeping myself aloof from all the earthly pleasures. I would always ward-off the plans for joining someone for coffee, hanging out for parties or shopping, or mingling for a weekend getaway with friends with my lame excuses.

Likewise, it was another weekend of my life. I made a cup of hot chocolate, and augmented the tempo of my newly bought JBL Bluetooth speakers. Life would have been such a comfortable bed without any responsibilities, I wondered, trying to warble the Spanish lyrics of Despacito.

The phone’s beep depressed the sound of the song.

“Pack your bags; we are leaving at 6 pm,” Prasanta texted.

And before could I write my excuse text, he interrupted with another one.

“Don’t take it as a request. Because I am not going to listen to any of your post- menstrual mood flicks. Get ready; I am coming to pick you in an hour. Biswajit and Sarvanu will join us too.”

It was around 6.30 in the evening when we headed to, well, we did not have a map to Cherrapunjee or Dawki, so Meghalaya would be precise.

Meghalaya, as they say, is all about floating in abode of clouds. As we waved goodbye to Guwahati, a dark night, stirred with a blanket of mist and grey glimpses enveloped us in no time. Although I had been to this peppy paradise before, the experiences are vastly different on each call. Remarkably, every time I pick a trip to this paradise, I grab a story along with me.

It was late November. The roads were inundated with fog. Visibility of the surrounding dimmed with each rotation of the car’s tires. A little later we realized how terribly the clouds had convoluted us.

Prasanta uttered, “When confusion strikes, go left!” Unable to decide which way to take, we decided to pick the road less traveled.

Prasanta, deciding which way to take.

It was late midnight, around 2 o’ clock. Subsequently, we got the picture of a grey blanket of fog that had covered us, completely. Even the white divider line that we were following, became indiscernible.

The fog became denser with each passing moment. After much contemplation, we grasped that there was no way to surpass the thick mantle as one could barely see the other person or object standing near them.

Biswajit stopped the car. Everyone got down. It was a No Human Land where the hills came alive with its giant spells.

The sight of an indistinct light at a distant, landed us to an eerie-looking house at the cliff of a majestic hill. Being an ardent fan of horror movies, stroked me to envisage how the house carried every trait of an eerie scene. Dimmed lights, indistinct chirps of birds, drops of water tripping at a vessel from the roof, four torn-out couches at the veranda, a dog loitering around and sniffing, reminded me of psycho killers of the Wrong Turn movies.

Anxiety started knocking us, brutally. Before long could we wait for any of us to get hit with a panic attack, we rushed to our car. Although it was difficult and risky to drive with such hazy visuals, nevertheless, Biswajit decided to take the risk as it was a better option than getting our heads chopped and bodies minced.

After driving for nearly three hours, we saw some lodges, lights, and heard voices of people working. That was a huge heave of sigh for all. Biswajit halted the car and we decided to rest our weary eyes for some time.

I woke up at Sarvanu’s boisterous voice, “Yaay! We are finally in Dawki.”

It was an absolute respite for all. While Biswajit and Prasanta yearned for few minutes of rest, Sarvanu decided to get tea for us.

Morning tea at Dawki

The latter part of the day followed with a series of amusing adventures, capturing breathtaking views, gobbling with traditional delicacies and street food, and more. This was one of my wildest adventurous trip that snarled in my memoir cozily, until date.

Below are some of the snaps from the rest of our journey.

Dawki

Meghalaya Dawki

Meghalaya Dawki

Dawki meghalaya

Meghalaya Dawki

Meghalaya Dawki

Meghalaya Dawki

Editor’s call: Do you have an adventurous story to tell? Write to us at [email protected].