With its charming 17th century themed furnishing, laid back comfort and its snug capacity to accommodate no more than sixty coffee lovers at a time, this café serves up a great tasting experience. From the time the OPEN sign flips over at eight am each day to when it heaves a sigh of relief at the close of day at eleven thirty and flips back to CLOSED – the café is full on with its team of expert chefs and attendants bustling in and out of the kitchen and store rooms, serving up a storm in a coffee cup! Situated in the city’s hub of activity and giving customers a shopping experience at the very same time, the location couldn’t be far more perfect! Although its foundations are on prime property down Ward Place, Colombo 07; its prices seem to consider the wallets of the average middle class. Using the best of Italian coffee, Sarath and Madujith (the brains and brawn behind COCO Veranda) have been able to realize their vision of creating a Sri Lankan brand into the coffee culture that has washed ashore from the western worlds. Much to the amazement of many local and foreign customers, COCO Veranda is a one hundred percent local brand and is not part of an international franchise. This is probably what makes COCO Veranda special and most endearing to all its customers. The fact that it keeps to international standards and has understood very well the western coffee culture, COCO Veranda functions with that special Sri Lankan touch.

Sarath Sathiamoorthy of COCO Veranda answers a few questions for Colombo Spirit in this special feature. Find out what plans he and Madujith have for the café and what goes into COCO Veranda’s special cuppa..

What made you lease out the building? What were your ideas’ initially for the building?
Initially we rented out this space for our floral company Maat Flora and then thought flowers and coffee were quite a duo that we should explore. I had the idea of introducing the coffee culture into the city far before the city was introduced to it. It’s quite remarkable how a great tea drinking community like ours has been transformed to this coffee culture over the previous years. We have also sub let the building to other stores so that there is a total shopping experience for our customers. COCO Veranda seems to be the perfect way to unwind after shopping or chill whilst your girlfriend is shopping.

How long has it taken for the Café to come alive?
I had this dream for a long time and it’s interesting to see how the local palette has adjusted to coffee, more so cause there have been many youngsters living overseas during their university years who have been exposed to this culture in western countries. It’s through these groups of people that the culture has grown steadily and influenced their peers to follow suit.

It basically took us eight months from concept to realization – it also took us through a physical transformation because we both lost around four kilos of weight running around and getting involved in everything. The COCO culture is very close knit and we along with the staff work towards COCO’s success as if it’s our own baby. It’s somewhat a shared love that we all want to breathe life into.

Tell us about the COCO Veranda concept and what it promises to serve up?
We can certainly say we offer a unique experience since we are not part of an international franchise, but an entity that is governed by our own instincts and aspirations. We take it upon ourselves to ensure that our customer’s needs are always met. We offer a very flexible service and are all ears to our customers’ suggestions and recommendations. We make ourselves easily accessible to our customers and we aim to be small enough to always maintain the personalized service we pride ourselves on extending. We try our best to accommodate all requests, even if customers want us to alter ingredients we gladly do so. We are health conscious ourselves and have a choice of ingredients that customers with special needs will require.

Getting to the coffee in itself, we sell a brand of coffee from Italy called Filicori Zecchuni (which has been in operation for the last 90 years) and everything we brew (whether hot or cold) at COCO Veranda is made using this premium brand of coffee. We wanted to serve up great tasting quality at an affordable price. Our customers love the flavor and the blend is usually rich enough to forego sugar or sweeteners. Our team of experienced chefs with extensive local experience, work on the standard menu that we have set at the café and are trained to alter menu’s to customers’ requirements when the need arises. We have a range of burgers, pasta’s, sandwiches and cakes to tempt the most stringent weight watchers.

COCO Veranda and its range of coffees? What is its secret?
The range of Fillicori Zecchuni coffees has the best combination of Arabica and Robosta coffee, which blends Grande Crema de li Cato and Grande Cremato Forte to give the most special of blends. Fillicori Espresso blends are certified by the Italian Espresso Association which is a high standard for consistency that few coffee makers attain.

The best compliment you’ve got since you’ve opened?
Our hard work has paid off and we are fortunate enough to have so many loyal customers who compliment us on a regular basis, this in itself is a great compliment and we are able to sigh in relief. But it certainly doesn’t allow us to take our hands off the steering wheel! I think the best possible compliment we have received is when someone asked us if we were part of an international franchise!! This goes to show that we have managed to keep up a premium international image and have consistent quality and taste!

What drinks can one try; to give a good pep up? Unwind after a stressed day or sip during a hot summer day?
Due to our terribly hot weather, most often we find ourselves far more worn out than we are technically supposed to be. We have a range of hot and cold beverages that can help to soothe, revive or rejuvenate our customers.

If you want a great pep up during a tiresome day, then I’d suggest you try our ‘Melting Hot Chocolate’ which uses a blend of special Fillicori hot chocolate powder mixed with cream, marshmallows and chocolate drizzle.

Try the ‘Mint and Lime Squeeze’ to definitely unwind your senses. We use homegrown organic mint leaves that are blended with fresh lime to add that special zing after a weary day. The Mint and Lime Squeeze is best compared to a Virgin Mojito.

You can try out either one of our two favorites for scorching hot days – Fillicori Dark Chocolate or the COCO Veranda Deluxe Frappe.

Ask us what latest items we have on offer and we will be glad to take you through the list and recommend the best to suit your taste buds. All the above items are also available in virgin blends (non coffee) so just let us know your preference and we will brew up a great tasting coffee for you.

Tell us about the interior and design at COCO Veranda
Well the design is completely the work of Saran Abeysundera of ‘Taru i.e.’ – he has been a part of this whole concept and has worked alongside us. His inspiration for the interiors was based on the COCO Veranda logo and brand name. The lady depicted in the logo is enjoying great coffee and is in deep contemplation. The mood for the settings was kept rich, retro yet elegant. Saran used 17th Century inspirations for the interiors and worked with local furnishers to custom make our furniture.

What’s the capacity it can hold and what special services does it offer?
We can accommodate sixty people and also extend special services to people who love the venue and want to hold private functions here. But we always strike a balance and make sure our walk in customers get served.

What’s a must try at COCO Veranda?
Well I couldn’t possibly narrow it down to one item, so make sure to look up the following items on your next visit to COCO Veranda. The Paneer Burger, the range of sandwiches, the cakes and variety of breads on offer are all a must on our menu. Death by Chocolate is a hugely popular chocolate cake that has our customers coming back for more!

What else can we expect to see in the future from COCO Veranda?
Well we’re in our initial months of operation and currently we are reviewing some customer suggestions and will look into tweaking certain ingredients based on their recommendations. Apart from that depending on the success of COCO Veranda in Colombo, we may look at taking it beyond the borders of Sri Lanka!

Any significant people that helped you make it a reality?
There have been a significant amount of people that have helped us with our launch and we would like to appreciate their time, advice, hard work and support extended to the COCO team. Taru, Saran, our parents, the Ward Place neighborhood (who have been very patient and kind in putting up with us), the dedicated team of COOC Veranda and of course our customers! We are always receptive to constructive criticism and recommendations from just about anyone and use this as a chance to evaluate ourselves and improve the café.