The Mistress of Spices

I remember walking through the corridors of what is now Pepper House Cafe during the first Kochi-Muziris Biennale in 2012–13. Back then Kochi’s café wave was still a ripple.

Paris and Vienna’s cafes have long served as creative hubs. Writers, artists and thinkers often converged in these spaces that sparked key cultural movements. Kochi’s evolving cafés, on the other hand, don’t just mirror international trends, but offer a unique connection with the city’s storied past.

Kochi’s unique strategic location as a global hub of the spice trade has shaped its multi-cultural history. The Portuguese might have first arrived in Calicut (now Kozhikode) in 1498, a key event during the Age of Discovery that opened a direct sea route from Europe to India. But it was Kochi that became the venue of the first European settlement in India, back in 1500. The Chinese (during the Ming dynasty) arrived even earlier. The Dutch got here as Kochi became the battleground for the lucrative spice route.

Which brings us to Pepper House Café, housed in a space that was once a warehouse along the waterfront. It is made up of two godowns split by a typical Dutch-era courtyard and part of it has been converted into the atmospheric cafe. It continues to be one of the must-visit venues during the biennale.

If most big city cafes are a hub for coffee snobs, Kochi’s eclectic offering is a melting pot for solo travellers, Kochi’s very own creative minds and a whole new generation of young travellers cashing in on the photogenic appeal of these cafes for validation on social media. And traditional media, too: Pepper House has been immortalised in popular culture thanks to Premam (2015), one of the many modern examples of Malayalam cinema that is expanding its audience with imaginative storytelling. Many of Malayalam cinema’s creative minds brainstorm at these cafes, too.

While the cafe culture in many cities has been carefully cultivated, Kochi’s cafes have benefited from the city’s rich history and heritage. Fort Kochi is ground zero for the city’s cafes. Many of Kochi’s visitors spend days soaking in the area’s rich history shaped by colonial powers like the Portuguese and the Dutch. They are rarely disappointed. Cycling tours are a great way to explore this historic destination. I teamed up with Shagzil Khan, a local history expert who likes to call himself a cultural interpreter. He’ll tell you fascinating stories about the city’s once thriving Jewish community. The Paradesi synagogue in Mattancherry is one of the surviving links and one of the stops on the cycling trail. (A spot not to be missed even if cycling isn’t your thing!)

Our 18km trail took us through Mattancherry’s wholesale spice market that is a throwback to a glorious past. Muziris was the centre of the Indian spice trade since ancient times. This port was destroyed by the massive flooding of the Periyar River in 1341, forcing the spice hub to move to Kochi as we know it today. There are references to Kochi in books written by Ma Huan, a Chinese voyager, as far back as the 15th Century. You will see Chinese fishing nets along your cycling trail that make this connection. The iconic nets, held up by huge mechanical contrivances that look stunning at sunset, date back to the 14th Century when they were introduced by Chinese explorers. There’s even a theory that the name Cochin is derived from the Mandarin “co-chin”, (meaning ‘like China’).

It’s not just Pepper House, art has seamlessly converged with other Kochi cafés too. Kashi Art Cafe blurs the lines between an art gallery and a café. Some of the objects make for interesting photographs but you’re more likely to photograph their French toast.

If croissants are the mainstay of Parisian cafes, Kochi’s cafes are obsessed with their French toast. I’d also recommend a leisurely stop at Loafers Corner Café that serves its French Toast through the day. Two fluffy brown bread slices complement a mini fruit platter in this charming eatery with several cosy nooks. It’s one of Kochi’s many cafes perfect for solo travellers who would like to unwind with a coffee and a book as they take in the street views.

Another great spot is Loving Earth Cafe, Fort Kochi’s first vegan café that combines a yoga space with a charming cafe — the garden seating area transports you to an idyllic tropical getaway even on a sultry afternoon. The cafe’s unique cashew-based vegan cheese (try the cheese toast and pizzas) is a big draw.

Once refuelled, be sure to stop at some of Kochi’s most historic churches and religiously significant shrines. There’s St Francis Church, one of the oldest European churches in India that dates back to 1503, where the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama was originally buried before being relocated to Lisbon. Santa Cruz Basilica is one of nine basilicas in the state and was elevated to a cathedral in 1558 by Pope John Paul IV.

Not far from St Francis Church is one of Kochi’s most popular cafes from the current decade, in a building that dates back more than four centuries to Kochi’s Portuguese era. Lila Art Cafe is explicitly designed to reflect a theme of unapologetic femininity. It combines an art gallery, home improvement store and laidback café. The menu has some favourites like Turkish Eggs but the locally inspired dishes are the stars, including their signature Kandhari Prawns with Butter Croissant and the Ghee rice with Chicken Curry. Sitting at one of the tables overlooking the street, it’s easy to be transported to another era as you gaze out onto the historic section of Fort Kochi.

That’s the thing with Kochi’s cafes, they are not just great spots to unwind but also to capture the essence of the city’s unique history. It’s why they are a quintessential element in Kochi’s appeal as one of India’s best slow travel destinations for evolved travellers.