WNS Global Services' Keshav Murugesh is a unique coffee connoisseur

Just like many of his corporate compatriots, Keshav Murugesh, group chief executive officer, WNS Global Services, is addicted to good coffee. But unlike others, this coffee connoisseur has taken his passion up one notch — he also collects machines that make his favourite drink. Murugesh currently has about five kinds of coffee machines (at one point he had 10) at his home. Being the sole coffee drinker in his family, the onus of maintaining the machines falls on him. "No one touches them except me. Even when we have guests, and my wife inquires about coffee, they look at me and say, ‘Yeah, from him’," Murugesh says proudly. In fact, he reveals that whenever his family is travelling and gets him a gift, it is related to coffee.



His love for coffee began as a child. "Being a good South Indian, I have grown up on filter coffee," says Murugesh. "It’s a very traditional way of making coffee." On one of his business visits to Cologne, Germany, Murugesh recalls how he had two agendas after the meeting. "I had to see the Cologne church, and buy a Krups coffee espresso machine. That whole day, I was carrying this machine everywhere," he says with a laugh. For drip coffee, Murugesh uses the simple Philips coffee drip machine. Then there’s the Dualit machine from London. It makes two coffees and is perfect for a milder coffee.


It stands to reason that if one has the machine, one has to stock up on the ingredients that go in it too. Murugesh, therefore, also has an assortment of coffees. There is the German coffee Tchibo, then there is Davidoff, the latest being Australian Campos. He buys his stock of south Indian filter coffee from Matunga.



"One thing I have learnt is when you like a particular blend, stick with it. The Columbian coffee that I use is from Costco in the US for $12 (two pounds of coffee). It’s not expensive, but the taste has been consistent for the last 10 years," says Murugesh.



What to buy?

"Italian and German machines are right on top. They are the Rolls-Royce of coffee machines," Murugesh says. He also recommends starting with the simple south Indian steel filter machine and learning how to make the decoction. "After that, get a simple Philips or Krups drip coffee machine. It’s easy to maintain."