Mr. Singh is among a group of young entrepreneurs who are cashing in on a wave of specialty coffee consumption in small towns in northern India.
India has had a vibrant coffee shop culture for years, but it has been largely confined to the big cities, where homegrown food and international coffee chains dominate the market.
However, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, several second-tier cities are also seeing a boom in demand for such spaces as people adopt practices such as telecommuting and look for new places to meet up with their friends and families.
Cafe owners say more Indians are now willing to pay more for coffee roasted in smaller batches and customized to their preferences.
“Customers have become more roast-savvy and interested in the origin of their coffee,” says Bharat Singhal, founder of Billi Hu Roastery.
In fact, more than 44% of India’s population drink coffee, according to a 2023 report by marketing analytics company CRISIL.
While much of this comes from home consumption, growing demand for specialty coffee in smaller towns is playing a big role, says Bhavi Patel, a coffee consultant and dairy technologist.
The owners of the roastery say that the growth is also visible in the numbers. “Subscription orders have grown by 50% in a year,” says Sharang Sharma, founder of Bloom Coffee Roasters. “Customers have moved from French presses to espresso machines and espresso machines, embracing more sophisticated brewing methods.”
While India is often associated with tea, it also has a long history of drinking coffee.
The culture took shape in the 1900s, when Indian coffee houses became a hangout for intellectuals and the elite. Housed in colonial-style buildings, these coffeehouses served English breakfasts with hot coffee and offered a place to discuss politics and mobilize support during key periods in history.
The shift came in the 1990s, when economic reforms opened India to the world, allowing entrepreneurs to open private coffee shops frequented by young people who saw it as a fashionable experience.
