Mr Singh is among a crop of young entrepreneurs that are benefitting from a wave of specialty coffee consumption in small north Indian towns and cities.
India has had a vibrant cafe culture for years – but it has been largely restricted to big cities where homegrown specialty and international coffee chains dominate the market.
However, post-Covid, several tier-two cities are also seeing a boom in demand for such spaces as people embrace practices like remote working and look for new places to meet their friends and families.
Cafe owners say more Indians are now willing to pay more for coffee that’s roasted in smaller batches and customised as per their preferences.
“Clients have become more knowledgeable about the roasts and are interested in the origins of their coffee,” says Bharat Singhal, the founder of Billi Hu roasteries.
In fact, more than 44% of the Indian population now drinks coffee, a 2023 report by CRISIL, a marketing analytical company, shows.
While a lot of it comes from home consumption, the growing demand for specialty coffee in small cities plays a big part, says Bhavi Patel, a coffee consultant and dairy technologist.
Roastery owners say the growth is also evident in numbers. “Subscription based orders have surged by 50% in one year,” says Sharang Sharma, the founder of Bloom Coffee Roasters. “Customers have moved from French presses to pour-over or espresso machines, adopting more sophisticated brewing methods.”
While India is often associated with tea, it also has a long coffee-drinking history.
The culture took shape in the 1900s when Indian Coffee Houses emerged as a hangout spot for the intellectual and elite class. Housed in colonial-styled buildings, these cafes served English breakfasts with steaming hot coffee and offered a space to discuss politics and mobilise support during pivotal periods in history.
A shift occurred in the 1990s when economic reforms opened India to the world, allowing entrepreneurs to open private coffee shops frequented by young peeople, who saw it as a hip experience.
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