Costa Coffee in India is like one of those older premium chains that has somehow become part of the airport / mall / office-complex ecosystem. Not exactly the Starbucks equivalent, because Starbucks also exists here and is clearly doing its own loud aspirational third-place thing. Costa is more like the slightly less dramatic version of that. Calling it a millennial spot might be too specific.

I went there twice this month, and both times were honestly pretty good. The first time was at the airport, which is usually where coffee goes to die, but I got an iced cappuccino and it was actually very good. I don't really have any complaints. The second time was while shopping, and I got an iced americano. Again, it was very good. Nothing crazy or life-changing, but just a solid drink. I think that is probably the main appeal of Costa. You are not really going there for some insane specialty café experience, but you also are probably not going to get something terrible. Sometimes that is enough.

My dad loves this place, so maybe that has also made me think of it as more important than it is. For the longest time, I thought it was an Indian chain, until recently when I was on their website and realized it was not. That kind of surprised me, but also not really, because everything about it feels like it was designed to be everywhere.

Overall, Costa is just a very reliable chain. I do not think I would go out of my way for it, but if I am at an airport or a mall and need iced coffee, I would probably choose it without thinking too much.