# Advice for coffee shop in India



## Andy M (Mar 29, 2016)

I am moving to India in the summer and myself and my wife are looking to open a coffee shop.

I have a worked in a couple coffee shops in the UK in the past and currently live in Ireland.

We are moving to Karnataka which is famous for its coffee and we would be close to Kerala which is also a coffee state. I want to travel to (fair-trade and organic) coffee farms in the area and track down the best for my shop. Where I intend to sell multiple beans with varying characteristics to offer the best possible choice of coffee for customers. All with a "bean to cup" quality and fair trade ethics that I can personally stand over.

I am starting to research importing coffees back to the UK, but I am a bit overwhelmed by the volume of information on the web. Can someone tell me how someone should get started? I have got the impression that it is perhaps the easiest to deal directly with coffee roasters over here, and go from there? If so do they tend to help with the logistics of shipping? If anyone can give me any tips on doing this on a fairly small scale id be very grateful. I have booked a ticket to Caffe Culture show in London in May with a view to brush up on my skills and knowledge and make some good contacts should I go down the export route.

The other thing I am considering is what coffee machine to go for.....I would imagine that I would be selling a much much lower percentage of hot drinks then your average UK coffee shop given the climate an this probably means the specifications I am after will be different form your usual UK cafe coffee machines. I am moving in late June an can perhaps buy over here and take it with me rather then buying on out there. Or maybe I should buy an Indian one in India? If anyone has any experience in Indian coffee machines or an idea of benefits vs drawbacks please let me know. I would like suggestions as to a reliable, simple and affordable coffee machine. Reliability is huge for me as I am unsure of how easy it would be to find someone to carry out repairs. Perhaps there is a brand or make or model that even a none expert can service and change parts when needed? What I suppose I am after is the land rover of coffee machines. Any advice would be welcomed.

I have already decided to have a back up in the form of a ROC Expresso which is a "manual non-electric expresso maker" Maybe I will even get two. An also a none electric steamer. Then in the even in the event of a power cut I can stay operating.

Even if you have any off topic advice I would be grateful. This is my first time setting up a business I will take all the help I can get.

Thanks you in advance,

Andy


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## Jumbo Ratty (Jan 12, 2015)

Looks like a beautiful part of india you have chosen.

India certainly has a flair for showmanship with regard to hot drink and the serving of, although unsure of why slooshing scolding water all over the work surface prior to filling the cups with coffee is necasary


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## Andy M (Mar 29, 2016)

Great video of the competition, very mesmeric. I watched a couple of times! Thanks!


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## Missy (Mar 9, 2016)

Jumbo Ratty said:


> slooshing scolding water all over the work surface ]


It looks like my house after attempting to make a quick brew.... I'm forever slooshing water/coffee/milk everywhere.


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## foundrycoffeeroasters.com (Jun 19, 2014)

Do you mean importing the green beans you find into the UK? Why would you want to do this? - are you thinking of selling them to roasters or thinking of roasting them yourself?


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## Andy M (Mar 29, 2016)

foundrycoffeeroasters.com said:


> Do you mean importing the green beans you find into the UK? Why would you want to do this? - are you thinking of selling them to roasters or thinking of roasting them yourself?


Yes importing green beans to a roaster. Or perhaps to sell in small quantities to coffee shops or individuals who roast themselves. I thought it would be a good way to supplement our income. I won't have the resources to roast them myself in the UK so was wondering what options might be open to me? Or who out of the above I would have the best chance of doing business with?


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

@Andy M A commercial machine will need backup and spares. You cannot afford to have it sitting idle if it breaks down. I would look more into what is available over there or you could ring the likely commercial suppliers and see if they have agents in India.

http://dir.indiamart.com/impcat/coffee-machine.html


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## foundrycoffeeroasters.com (Jun 19, 2014)

Andy M said:


> Yes importing green beans to a roaster. Or perhaps to sell in small quantities to coffee shops or individuals who roast themselves. I thought it would be a good way to supplement our income. I won't have the resources to roast them myself in the UK so was wondering what options might be open to me? Or who out of the above I would have the best chance of doing business with?


I think this would be pretty challenging, especially if you only have small quantities to export. There is a whole infrastructure developed around this already so you'd probably be better off talking to an exporter at origin. You could store your coffee in the Uk using a warehouse who could then deal with shipping out to your roaster(s).


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## Andy M (Mar 29, 2016)

Thank you for the advice I will go down the Indian coffee machine supplier route. I may well be looking to you guys for info when buying a machine. I think that it will be much more difficult in India because there is not a much choice. An the websites aren't as easy as uk ones for comparison between machines. Also they have these bean to cup machines everywhere an they are awful. I will maybe run equipment off a generator if and when power cuts happen. An have a non electric back up too as I can use it at home if it turns out to be of no use.

Thank you for the advice on the exporting. All this advice is much appreciated. Cheers.

1 Day Ago


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## sakrag (Apr 14, 2016)

Street conditions in this video but what a passion


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## Smiffysmum (Apr 29, 2016)

We go to Kerala twice a year and I have found an amazing coffee roasters in Trivandrum city. They are called Sankers and are on the MG Road I believe. When I was there in December, I bought some lovely roasted arabica beans called Peaberry. They went quite strong enough to fill the capsules with my nespresso (pre filled too expensive), however I have stored in sealed ceramic jar in France and used with a Melitta grinder and my V60. They are extremely helpful and knowledgeable. Maybe worth a contact?


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## BluRay (Jun 3, 2016)

Andy - Southern India is a coffee heaven and each city as local roasters with regular supplier of beans( Robusta and Arabica). Been last year could see more coffee shops popped up along the highway.


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