True Black Coffee

It’s not hard to guess why Hyderabadis love True Black. Maybe it was the gentle flirtation with flavours that the city had never seen paired with coffee before. Maybe it was the Japandi-style interiors. Maybe it was the fact that it grew from one to five outlets in just under three years. True Black was, essentially, one of the first big explorations of third-wave coffee culture in Hyderabad, and that’s got to strike some type of chord.It’s got brewing veteran – and founder – Rohit Chennamaneni’s hands all over it. The Valencia Orange Coffee’s bright, clean, and slightly rebellious. The Vanilla Cold Brew’s smoothly sophisticated, and the Espresso Tonic delivers a sharp, slightly unexpected, fizzy jolt. Even the more fusion-esque items work, somehow. The Coco Matcha’s a holiday in a cup and the Brookie (brownie-meets-espresso-meets-ice-cream) might ruin a dessert version elsewhere.

It’d be disappointing if the food wasn’t up to the mark, but thankfully, it is. They’ve got lots of  classic items like the Ham and Cheese Croissant Sandwich, which are all done well, but a particularly great item on the menu’s the Black Hummus Toast, which features a lush mushroom-hummus mix.