Drink ‘Selfie-ishly’

What if we told you that you can get two of your favorite things that you love in one go — selfie and a shake? Believe it or not, Drink Your Selfie, a café situated in one of the busy bylanes of Viman Nagar, is now serving Selfie Shakes — the idea is to get your selfie printed on the shake.
 
It took me a while to get convinced, but when Sabaresh Kumar, owner of the selfie-themed cafe, explained the process, I was pleasantly surprised by this innovative concept.
 
A CA by profession, Kumar always had an inclination to start his own business, more importantly, a café. “I quit my well-paying job to get into this field and I wanted to start off with something that I loved most,” he says adding that when he started his research he came across a café in the UK that was serving coffee with selfie on it. “However the coffee that they were serving did not have a coloured print of the selfie, that’s when it struck me that I should probably get this technology to India because Indians seem to love taking selfies all the time,” he adds.

When asked about the technique of printing a selfie on the shake, Kumar says that it works like any other regular printer, the only difference is that they make use of edible coloured ink. “Many people come to us with a concern — if this is edible and safe to have? We tell them it’s safe, in fact, the ink is tasteless so it does not interfere with the taste of the milkshake or the coffee. Moreover, the selfies are printed on a layer of whipped cream,” he explains.

At the café, there is a list of innovative shakes. Kumar says that he himself slowly developed the recipes and tried and tested them with family and friends before introducing them to customers. Another interesting thing about this café is that it’s not only targeted towards youngsters, anyone, including middle aged, senior citizens and even children, can walk in. “We want all of them to have a good time so we have a range of flavours to offer them —the Real Meetha Paan which is everyone’s favourite meetha paan but in the form of a shake; Shrewsberry which is made using Pune’s iconic all-time favourite cookie; and Kids’ Special made with Kit Kat and Gems and many more flavours to choose from,” he shares.

“We want to cater to everyone; we also host anniversaries, dates and recently even hosted a proposal, so the café basically welcomes all,” says Kumar further mentioning that his plan is to add one new shake or flavour every month to keep it fresh and exciting. “I want the customers to find something new to try every time they walk in and it will also motivate me further to evolve and put in my best,” he adds.
 
The newest addition to the menu is the Mug Cake, available in a couple of flavours. Kumar says that these cakes are freshly baked in mugs hence the name and are served with pure milk homemade ice cream. “We even had a special Zero mocktail that was available at the cafe during the release of the Shah Rukh Khan starrer-Zero. We have also tied up with a college for their fest and have made an exclusive shake which is festival specific and will be available only till the end of the festival,” he says adding that people seem to be loving this concept. All the beverages available at the cafe are purely vegetarian.

When asked if he would be adding more options to the food menu, Kumar says that he wants Drink Your Selfie to be identified as a beverage specific cafe. “However, we do have Nachos on the menu and a few additions are in the process but definitely not an elaborate food menu — just tidbits.” 
Kumar also mentions that on the business front he wishes to spread his franchise far and wide because he wants fellow Indians to post their selfie shake pictures online and, most importantly, indulge in the sinful shakes.    
   
So what’s the drill?
You step into the café and choose a shake from the menu. Then select a selfie you would like to be printed on the beverage and while you are sitting there, WhatsApp the image to them and you will have your Selfie Shake ready. Have it shaken or stirred, it’s your choice, but don’t forget to say ‘cheers’. 
 
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Drink Your Selfie cafe at Datta Mandir Chowk, Viman Nagar, is open from 12 noon-11 pm, daily