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Coffee cafes….now, tea cafes!

P S Sundar

P S Sundar

Following the success of coffee cafes, tea cafes are now being proposed in the country. This idea stems from the demands posed by the increasingly affluent youth in select sectors like IT, pharmaceuticals, biotech, multi media and entertainment, who tend to lead towards the western culture of patronising outdoor beverages and discussions - be they serious or for pastime - in a luxurious ambience. Therefore, the starting point of most such venues is Bangalore. Popular cafes have taken the bold step of establishing outlets in picnic spots like Ooty, frequented by the upper middle class. All metros subsequently follow in the branch list. It is only later that that other cities are considered for the expansion of outlets, no doubt owing to the high prices charged by such establishments.

Despite instances of entrepreneurs having burnt their fingers launching cafes in smaller cities where there is no market for high-end ventures, those who know their end-customers are successful. Café Coffee Day is one such example of a successful venture, with close to 500 outlets all over India, and the price of coffees starting from Rs 10 a cup. Barista, hailed to be the father of the high-end coffee culture in India, runs over 170 Expresso Bars and seven Barista Cremes in around 30 locations across the country. Here clearly, coffee is not just a drink, but an experience! The UK-based Costa Coffee which has franchise deals with Devyani International of R K Jaipuria Group, is also rapidly gaining popularity.

Of late, many individual cafes have cropped up, with coffee planters slowly, but surely stepping into the café business. Nearly a dozen of them have already opened cafes and another potential dozen are just biding time. However, many such cafes are not exclusive coffee outlets - they also serve tea and snacks. In Bangalore, young professionals patronise such outlets for breakfast, paying even up to Rs 150 a cover.

Glendale Speciality Tea packs launched in January which will be used in its Tea Cafes.

Tea cafes are, however, a recent addition. Individual high-end outlets function in select metros, but as a chain, they are not popular. In January, Tata Tea opened its 'Chai unchai' outlets in Bangalore and followed it up with an announcement to become a market leader in this business in the next five years. Such outlets are positioned between the upmarket coffee chains and the roadside tea shops, with freshly-brewed tea being sold at Rs 17 a cup onwards. At the higher-end, Glenworth Estate, which owns Glendale Tea Estate in Coonoor, has announced the opening of its tea cafes, with the technological support from US tea café major, Shangri-la Tea Company which runs 30,000 outlets in the US. "We will cover three segments: (a) high-end cafes serving as Tea Parlours, (b) exclusive centres in select spots like airports, railway stations, food courts and entertainment joints and (c) kiosks in high-bracket institutions. With quality teas, we will, as our contribution to generic promotion, distribute pamphlets highlighting tea's positive impact on health," said G Udayakumar, Glenworth's executive director.

In his words, "Ours will be exclusive tea cafes supplying freshly-brewed high-quality teas, and not instant teas. Shangri-la has bagged the American Tasters' Choice Award and has been holding the Gold Medal for the last seven years for its iced teas. Therefore, with their technological support, we will serve ready-to-drink teas, iced teas, flavoured teas and hot teas. Further, most of the speciality teas served in tea cafes abroad will be available in our Indian cafes, too. There will be a menu of 25 varieties of teas to cater to the changing youth preference".

Accordingly, teas from different regions of India and abroad will be used. "Our teas hold records at Las Vegas auctions fetching as much as US$ 600 a kilo. Therefore Indian tea connoisseurs and tourists can enjoy world famous tea preparations at our Indian cafes," Udayakumar said.