THE RISE of ARTISANAL ROASTING in INDIA Bringing Specialty Coffee into the Mainstream By Reshil Charles 62 ROAST MAGAZINE JULY | AUGUST 2021 63 THE RISE of ARTISANAL ROASTING in INDIA ABOVE WHIPPED, A BAKERY IN DELHI, shops that have come up in the last few years and Jugmug Thela Café in India, is not known for its coffee. Over the years, are serving a range of freshly brewed coffee, along Delhi. Photo courtesy of the establishment earned a household name for its with croissants and cookies. Our customers had also Jugmug Thela. cheesecakes, baked goods and gelato. Residents and started asking questions about coffee that surprised offices around the area order cakes on a whim, while us. While we are primarily a dessert boutique, we PRECEDING PAGE others stroll in to order an assortment of goods or could not ignore this.” For a bakery to incorporate Baristas at K C Roasters. indulge on the spot. When Whipped moved up the coffee into its remodel indicates the evolution taking Photo courtesy of K C road to a new location, a coffee section was added in place in the Indian coffee scene. More so, the fact Roasters collaboration with a Delhi-based coffee roaster who that an aspiring coffee connoisseur like me noticed brought in beans from plantations in the south. The the bakery was pricing its Americano at double that staff was trained to pull espresso shots and steam of an espresso shot (and promptly pointed it out) is a milk, along with their existing skills of slicing cakes testament to how consumers are also evolving in our and scooping gelato. Whipped is now a place where basic knowledge of the coffee industry. people stay longer mingling over in-house blends that In recent years, artisanal coffee shops, roasteries change periodically, adding an element to the bakery and homegrown brands selling beans to retail outlets that owner Alcie Arora never imagined creating when and consumers have emerged in large numbers he began in 2009. across Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Goa, “Until last year, we had a push-button coffee Chandigarh, Pune and other parts of India where machine in a corner and it was simply an add-on for coffee has always been second to tea. Restaurants and anyone who wanted a cup, or to add in hot chocolate,” cafes not previously focused on coffee now source says Arora. “We are surrounded by artisanal coffee from various brands to ensure a freshly brewed cup is 64 ROAST MAGAZINE JULY | AUGUST 2021 65 THE RISE of ARTISANAL ROASTING in INDIA LEFT always available. Even some convenience stores and coffee industry as well. The social enterprise Araku Maverick and Farmer’s salons brew a pleasant surprise while the customer Originals started in 2008 in Andhra Pradesh, bringing coffee estate in Coorg. shops or gets a pedicure. farmers and experts together to take coffee from the Photo courtesy of Maverick Parallel opportunities are being created for region of Araku Valley to the global coffee market. and Farmer’s manufacturers and importers of manual-brewing There was a vacuum waiting to be filled though, equipment, espresso machines, roasters, grinders and Keshav Devan explains it well. His father started RIGHT and take-away cups. Design and packaging are Devan’s in 1962 in Delhi, selling spices and tea, Devan’s at Lodhi in taken seriously, putting an emphasis on artwork along with coffee beans from plantations in South Delhi, a coffee shop and and identity. Brands rely heavily on social media to India (initially through the Coffee Board and later roastery in Delhi. Photo market, communicate and grow communities around through direct relationships with plantations in the courtesy of Devan’s Coffee their products, cafes and experiences. Tasting events, Chikmagalur region). They roasted the beans in one coffee-cocktail evenings and innovative promotions uniform manner for the small but loyal segment of are becoming more common. Barista training facilities non-instant coffee drinkers in the city. Today he were established in a few cities, pushing the scope roasts beans light, medium and dark and grinds them even further. While a lot of this is new, coffee is not. coarse and fine, while his son—who completed his Indian coffee plantations, mainly in South India, barista training in Italy—runs a coffee bar next door need no introduction. Filter-coffee—a traditional with a variety of blends and brewing styles to choose method where the coffee is brewed in a two-section from. “These new brands are simply doing what other filter—is a morning ritual across homes, streets and coffee roasters and brands have already done the world establishments in the region. Coffee from plantations over. They are buying from the plantations, roasting has also been available over the years in many non- in their own ways and doing a great marketing job. traditional coffee cities, though initially was only We sometimes sell the same plantation’s coffee at half available through The Coffee Board of India. In 1990, the price, minus the fuss,” says Devan, a seasoned a rule was passed allowing roasters and wholesalers to roaster. Although he does not have a heavy social approach plantations directly. In the early 2000s, the media presence, he boasts a long-time, loyal clientele homegrown multi-city coffee shop chain Café Coffee across individuals, stores, cafes and restaurants that Day popularized the cappuccino as a trendy alternative stock his coffee in the North Indian belt. to Nescafé. Starbucks also made a grand entry in 2012 While Devan bursts the bubble with a prick, it and now has over 200 stores across India. Costa Coffee is exactly what he is not doing that the new wave of and Lavazza have a significant presence in the Indian young Indians in the coffee business are doing. They 66 ROAST MAGAZINE JULY | AUGUST 2021 67 THE RISE of ARTISANAL ROASTING in INDIA have bet their business plans on the fact that there is a large number of people in cities and towns across the country who have an appetite to try the next new trend. There is also an abundant artsy and corporate crowd that seeks to visit out-of-the-ordinary cafes. The mix of the two characteristics leads to conversations around products and places that make those who have not experienced them feel left out. Specialty and single origin coffee (from within India and imported from other countries) may have been around for the loyalists, but this growing segment of people had not tasted it. Plus, they also have the money. Together, the combination of characteristics was enough for Matt Chitharanjan to start Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters, Rizwan Amlani to bring in some funk with Dope Coffee, Ashish D’abreo and Tej Thammaiah to join with a tennis player’s plantation and create Maverick and Farmer, Ashwajeet Singh, Arman Sood and Ajai Thandi to take a chance on cold-brew with Sleepy Owl and Manvi Gupta to set up El Bueno. The list only gets more innovative with names like K C Roasters, Bili Hu, Third Wave Coffee Roasters, Ainmane, Black Baza, Woke Cold Brew, Corridor Seven Coffee and others who do a mix of brews—hot and cold—and work with business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) models. "The majority of plantations were growing commodity coffee, which gets sold as arabica or robusta blends or mixed later with chicory for South Indian filter coffee," Chitharanjan says. "We felt there would be other consumers like us who were not looking for this traditional filter-coffee flavour but wanted the variety and flavour that you find in specialty coffee. So we went down south and visited farms that were producing high-quality coffee that was specialty grade in contrast to the normal commodity coffee. Hence, it also became important to us that we roast the beans ourselves, highlight the farms that we were sourcing from in our packaging, and also have some education TOP Arshiya Bose, Founder, Black Baza Coffee. Photo courtesy of Black Baza Coffee to explain to customers what the difference between ABOVE Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters founders Matt Chitharanjan and Namrata Asthana. this and the traditional filter coffee or instant coffee Photo courtesy of Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters that they had been drinking." When they started Blue Tokai nine years ago, it was just Chitharanjan and his 68 ROAST MAGAZINE JULY | AUGUST 2021 69 THE RISE of ARTISANAL ROASTING in INDIA wife Namrata delivering coffee to people from their “We look at Dope Coffee Roasters as a platform home-roastery in the National Capital Region (NCR). where Indian street artists can showcase their work They opened their brick-and-mortar shop to an on our packaging and branding,” says Rizwan Amlani, enthusiastic welcome into the market, as Blue Tokai founder of Dope Coffee Roasters. “Creative people was the first cafe with a roastery to open in Delhi. can splash themselves across our social media and Currently, Blue Tokai is potentially the fastest web, and ‘Its Dope’ is our initiative to recognize and growing venture in the industry with cafes in Delhi, acknowledge people and initiatives across the country Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kolkata, along that are making it a better place every day. We’re loud with a huge online clientele for its beans and a host and proud about our coffee plantations and want that of hotels and restaurants serving its blends. The to show in ways that go beyond [the coffee’s] gorgeous expansion is the result of major funding that came from taste!” serious investors along the way. It is now common for Other brands are also showcasing a mix of artwork start-ups to get a seat at the table and pitch for funding, on their packaging, with themes ranging from wildlife provided they have the right blend of marketing, social to regional landscapes, languages and fonts.