How a coffee artisan is making specialty coffee more approachable in India
Earlier this year, Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters made headlines by raising $30 million in their most recent funding round. When the roastery started in 2013, there were only a handful of coffee producers to now more than 100. In Matt Chitharanjan’s words, the co-founder and CEO of Blue Tokai: “This segment has been swelling from both the supply and demand end.”
There’s no doubt that given the population of India, being the highest in the world, the untapped potential of this segment is phenomenal. Price ultimately plays a big role here, it is a tea drinking nation after all and coffee here is considered a luxury.
India’s specialty coffee industry is a force to be reckoned with. Specialty coffee roasteries and cafes are on the rise. But this is not what this post is about. Lately, I have noticed many coffee enthusiasts on Instagram being involved in online discussions, educational content, and entertaining reels. All of them are based out of India and this is refreshing to see.
One account in particular got my attention. Alvin who runs @melowshot started posting about everything specialty coffee related from home brewing to cafe reviews. Keep reading to find out how he started his very own coffee company, how his brands — @melowshot and eventide pair up to make coffee approachable to the consumers, his take on specialty coffee in India, and much more.
Tell me a bit about yourself and how you started your coffee journey?
I’m Alvin from Chennai, India. Coffee has always been my favourite drink since I can remember. But as a South Indian, I’ve only been drinking the Indian version of filter coffee. I’ve had a fair bit of knowledge about coffee but never really dug deep into the world of specialty coffee or home brewing until very recently.
I’ve always wanted to start a coffee brand but felt I lacked the knowledge to do so, until a year ago, when everything seemed to fall in place. I stumbled upon people who could help me bring this idea to fruition.
I remember a year back when I sat down with Akash, a dear friend who also happens to be a brand consultant, to ideate and lift this brand off the ground. I was bound for a trip to Europe, and that changed everything for me. It gave me a fresh perspective on the coffee scene outside of India.
After my return, I attended a cupping session with Marc from Marc’s Coffees in Auroville. My foundation was set and gave me a boost of inspiration as I started conversing with Marc and other professionals from the coffee industry.
I didn’t stop there and a few weeks later I attended another course on the basics of coffee brewing and mixology by Sam Babu in Chennai. He is a roaster and a coffee consultant, and was kind enough to help me with roasting specialty grade beans on a regular basis. The cherry on the cake was when I found out that we happened to be a part of the same alumni.
I started my coffee blog on Instagram called @melowshot simultaneously. This was a space I used to connect with many individuals, to learn and share knowledge I had picked up along the way. During this time, I started getting feedback appreciating the way my content looked. I have also been hired to create content for different coffee brands.
The love for coffee became my ikigai. Things started falling in place when people started connecting with me through DMs which I eventually turned into a WhatsApp community for people to connect with each other over coffee.
I enjoy talking about coffee, learning from others, and the people who felt specialty coffee or brewing coffee at home was too complicated. They now had access to getting started through melowshot.
The journey with melowshot built a solid foundation for eventide coffee to get started. The formula seemed to work: People wanted to get coffee from eventide for the love of what melowshot has been doing all this while.
Looks like you are only getting started. It’s inspiring and if you stay the course I can predict exponential growth coming your way. I really like the name eventide. Can you give us a brief about your new venture, what is it about and what inspired you to start in the first place?
Eventide means ‘the end of the day.’ The true inspiration was the calm and tranquil side of coffee. We wanted to reach people who enjoy the art of brewing coffee and the quieter moments of the day while sipping on this magical drink to unwind. The name resonated with me on a trip to Kochi, Kerala. I was sitting by a harbour drinking coffee, the chaos around me disappeared as I enjoyed my coffee watching the sunset — this was a feeling of an eventide.
What are you currently offering to your customer base in India?
My first experience ordering specialty coffee from different brands in India felt overwhelming. I did not know where to start. So, when I was working on the brand with Akash, we knew we had to avoid the same mistakes and confuse someone who is just starting with coffee. We wanted eventide to be very approachable to someone who is fairly new to the coffee scene.
We are constantly working to curate coffee from the best roasters and producers that is suited to everyone’s taste. Do you like a nutty, chocolatey medium dark roast for your espresso? Or a bright fruity pineapple fermented coffee for your pourover? We even have an option for a casual coffee drinker who wants to relish on South Indian filter coffee.
Although there are a lot of brands who are burgeoning, our prime focus remains on a niche who are just starting out. Let me give you an example — don’t have a grinder? We will go out of our way to get a perfect grind for your brewing method be it French press, pour over or a moka pot.
How do you think specialty coffee in perceived in India and what direction is it headed?
The specialty coffee is still in its infancy in India. Although there are a lot of people who are knowledgable about it, the majority still don’t understand it, especially in south India. People are used to having their coffee a particular way. There is a predisposed notion that black coffee is bitter.
I need to say this — I feel the main reason behind why a lot of people are not getting into the specialty coffee scene is because their interaction with coffee aficionados that come out as ‘snobby.’ We need to take the snob out of coffee, be more inclusive, let people in and feel more comfortable asking questions.
I also really like your Instagram feed. You have got great home brewing videos, cafe experiences and educational content. Can you give us some tips that we can follow?
Like I said before, I want to make coffee approachable. When I first got into specialty coffee, I found it a bit hard to find someone who was relatable to me. I found some too excessive for my liking at the time or the coffee content I was consuming was not appealing. I wanted to bridge this gap and make aesthetic content of brewing specialty coffee at home.
I like the minimal approach when I make content. The inspiration stems from the Japanese. Artistic, clean, slow — throw a little bit of ASMR into it. One YouTube channel I really look up to is CAFICT. I try to capture the finer parts of brewing coffee with subtle transitions.
Can you name some specialty cafes in India doing great things?
I really love some brands like Naivo Cafe, and Curious Life Coffee Roasters. Blue Tokai Coffee and Maverick & Farmers Coffee Roasters are two brands that I repeatedly bought coffee from when I first started.
Where can we find you online, and how do we order your coffee?
You can find us at www.eventidecoffee.com and on Instagram - @eventidecoffee. All orders are directly accepted through the website or you can always DM us for any assistance.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Pictures credit: @melowshot, @eventidecoffee
