Barista opened its first coffee lounge in 2000 with headquarter in Okhla, New Delhi. Since then, it has been called as one of the best espresso bars in India. In 2007, Barista was acquired by Lavazza and started knowing as ‘Barista Lavazza’. ‘Barista Coffee Company’ is the leading force behind Barista Lavazza.

After one year of establishment, more than thirty-four percent of Barista’s equity stakes were sold to ‘Tata Coffee’ and the rest of the shares were bought by C Sivasankaran from the ‘Amit Judge-controlled Turner Morrison’ in 2004. Later in 2007, Sivasankaran’s ‘Sterling Group’ bought the stakes from Tata Coffee and in the same year, Barista was sold to the ‘Lavazza’ group. Since then, Barista changed its name to ‘Barista Lavazza’.

Lavazza’s roasting firm, ‘Fresh and Honest’ supplies the coffee beans in Barista Lavazza. At present, Barista Lavazza has more than 225 outlets in India and has also became the fastest Indian brand to reach the top of the phenomenal companies that changed India. It also received the ‘Brand of the Year’ from ‘Times Group of Business’ in 2002. Barista Lavazza is estimated to have annual revenue of 200 crore.

source: http://www.siliconindia.com / Silicon India News / Home> News> Business / by Silicon India / Monday – May 20th, 2013

Bangalore :

Indian coffee estates are moving slowly to gain US’ roasters interest.

As a first step, the Sethuraman Estates located at Magundi in Chikmagalur after showcasing its produce at various speciality coffee events in the US has now become the first Indian coffee estate to get ‘R Grade’ certificate.

‘R Grade’ certificate are given for washed robusta coffees by the Coffee Quality Institute (CQI) which is an arm of Speciality Coffee Association of America (SCAA).

GETTING PREMIUM

The SCAA recently tested Sethuraman Estate’s robusta coffee submission at the CQI and found to have all the required quality parameters. This certificate facilitates the estate to sell and charge a high premium in the US .

The certificate and recognition allows Sethuraman Estates to sell its entire submission of 15 tonnes speciality robusta in the US market spread over a year by using the CQI and SCAA logo.

“The ‘single-origin estate-branded’ coffee of Sethuram Estates has so far fetched a premium of over 30 per cent over the domestic market prices. Currently the domestic washed robusta coffees is trading at Rs 145 a kg,” said Nishant R. Gurjer, Managing Partner, Sethuraman Estates.

ENTERING US

“This certificate and recognition will allow us to enter the lucrative US café market as well,” he added.

The Sethuraman estate located at Chikmagalur began in operations in the 1950s. In the US market, the company is marketing estate-branded coffees – the Sitara Parchment Robusta and the Ne Plus Ultra of Robusta coffee brands.

The US, a traditionally arabica-consuming country, is slowly replacing it with robusta coffees and few companies have initiated moves to source from various countries for create blends.

SHIFT TO ROBUSTA

This has led to the Coffee Quality Institute, which used to certify only Arabica coffees, now has introduced separate certification for robusta coffees.

RATINGS

According to the institute’s finding of Sethuraman Estates, the following are the rating with baseline score of 7.14. Aroma 7.58 , flavour 7.42, aftertaste 7.42, acidity 7.83, mouth feel 7.42, balance 7.50, Uniformity 10, clean cup 10 Sweetness 7.42 cupper points 7.58.

Gurjer said, “We entered the US market in 2006 by exporting just two containers (36 tonnes) and so far have reached the level of 8 containers (144 tonnes) of speciality robusta coffees.”

source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> Industry> Agri-Biz / by Anil Urs anil.u@thehindu.co.in / Bangalore – June 21st, 2013

When thinking of museums in Cambodia, it’s usually ancient carvings and Khmer sculptures that come to mind. But there’s a new museum in town, and it doesn’t have even the slightest connection to Angkor Wat.

Instead, the Golden Mountain Coffee Museum is dedicated exclusively to celebrating everyone’s favourite pick-me-up: a good old cup of joe.

Perhaps an unexpected addition to Siem Reap’s caffeine scene, the one-month-old museum is owned by Kim Jong Yoon, a Korean coffee lover keen to share his passion with others.
“Most people drink coffee” he states, “But they don’t understand where it comes from, and the process of making it. I want to introduce people to the story behind coffee.”
And that’s exactly what the museum does.

Alongside artistic black and white photographs of all things coffee, the walls of the bright airy museum are covered in colourful displays detailing every step of the journey from bean to brew.

Visitors start by learning about how coffee is grown, selected, and harvested, before moving on to different types of coffee making machines.
Ever wondered how a French press or a vacuum pot actually works? Or perhaps how to brew traditional Turkish coffee? The answers are here.

Other displays give tips on grading, rating and roasting beans, infographics of coffee ingredients, and information on the allegedly many health benefits of drinking coffee.
And yes, ‘hangover cure’ makes the list.

Also on display is Yoon’s personal collection of coffee grinders. “They’re from all over the world” he says proudly. “I’ve always loved coffee, and have been collecting these grinders for years.” After all that learning this visitor was in need of a cup of coffee herself, and as luck would have it Yoon has opened a coffee shop beneath the museum.
“The idea is that visitors will take some time to learn about their favourite drink, and then come downstairs to taste it with a better knowledge of what they’re enjoying” says Yoon. “So far, it is working well.”

Aside from being an obvious addition to a coffee museum, Yoon wanted to re-create the stylish coffee shops he’d loved while living in Bangkok.
“I didn’t find anything like that here in Siem Reap” he says, “so I decided to build it myself.”Excitingly for the coffee addicts – and soon-to-be-experts –Yoon’s café stocks a vast variety of coffee beans from all corners of the globe.

“We offer coffee from eight different countries, including many in Southeast Asia. We import some coffee, but we also have five of our own blends from Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, and of course Cambodia. We roast and package them here so they’re fresh.”
That is right; Golden Mountain has its own purpose built “roasting room”, so that the coffee served up tastes as fresh as possible. Nosy guests will also be pleased to hear that a glass wall allows people to watch the entire process.

When asked about his best coffee, Yoon does not hesitate to recommend the “elephant dung” coffee that he imports from Chiang Rai in northern Thailand.
For the uninitiated, this coffee is made from coffee beans that elephants eat, digest, and then return to nature. They are then retrieved, cleaned, and readied for roasting.
“The elephant coffee doesn’t smell so good” he admits, “But the taste is naturally very sweet.” That may well be true, but at $10 a cup this is a caffeinated treat for the brave of palate and large of wallet.

But there are many other coffees available, including a strong black Dutch coffee served with ice and a little sugar syrup – a perfect choice for a typically humid day.
Yoon also has some interesting plans for his coffee shop.
“At the moment it is low season, but next year when there are more people in Siem Reap I would like to start offering tasting classes. Then my customers can learn even more about coffee.”

The Golden Mountain Coffee Museum is at the front corner of the Charming Tourist City complex, and opens daily from 8am-10pm.

Sourced: The Phnom Penh Post
source: http://www.tourismcambodia.com / Tourism of Cambodia / Home> News> Local Travel News / Saturday – June 27th, 2013

Tata Starbucks plans to open around 100 Starbucks cafes in the country by next year to match up to established rivals and is building a war chest for expansion by more than trebling its authorised capital to Rs 220 crore.

The 50-50 joint venture between US cafe chain Starbucks Coffee Company and Tata Global Beverages will increase its authorised share capital from Rs 70 crore by creating additional 150 million equity shares of Rs 10 each, amounting to Rs 150 crore, the unlisted firm said in a board resolution filed last week with the Registrar of Companies.

While Tata Starbucks said it does not release financial information or future store count, its spokesperson said the company is committed to India. “The joint venture will invest over time, based on the demands of the business and the requirements of our customers, to build a strong presence in the market,” the spokesperson said.

The US coffee chain has already signed two dozen properties, including in the suburbs of Mumbai and Bangalore, a real estate official aware with Starbucks’ expansion plans said.

Starbucks is displaying an urgency to scale up at a time when most quick-service restaurant operators including Jubilant Foods and McDonalds have reported slowing sales growth in the country due to a consumer slowdown.

Experts say Starbucks has been very selective in opening stores in the country.

“Starbucks has been opening stores only at locations where the catchment area can value its premium positioning,” Ruchi Sally, director at boutique retail consultancy Elargir Solutions, said. “For them, the key strategy is return on investment from their stores and not just scale at the moment.”

Starbucks, which entered the Indian market in October last, currently operates 18 stores in the country.

In comparison, rival Cafe Coffee Day has more than 1,500 stores while Barista Lavazza and Costa Coffee has more than 100 stores each. The Indian cafe market is estimated at $230 million, or about 1,400 crore, and is expected to grow about 13-14% a year over the next five years. Globally, most cafe consumers are attuned to a takeaway culture, which helps retailers add margins with very little cost.

In India, however, many office-goers and students go to cafe to relax and spend hours on coffee and snacks. Also, real estate costs are high in India, making it important for retailers that average price realisation per square feet of space.

Starbucks in India seems to have done well on the profitability front. During Tata Global Beverages’ quarterly performance presentation earlier this month, the company said Starbucks stores are already making cash profit. In a shopping mall in Mumbai the average monthly business of a Starbucks outlet is double the combined sales of two other coffee chains on the premises, an official of the mall operator said.

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz had last year said that he expected India to be one of the top five markets for Starbucks. “India represents one of the most significant opportunities that we have in all of Starbucks. India should be one of the largest markets in the world for Starbucks. I would say one of the top five over time,” he had said in an exclusive interaction with ET late last year.

source: http://www.articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com / The Economic Times / Home> News> News by Industry> Services / by Sagar Malviya, ET Bureau / August 19th, 2013