2013 was definitely one of the most special years of our lives - the year we launched Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters. It’s been 10 years since, and it still feels so fresh!
We’ve recounted the years preceding Blue Tokai’s launch several times in our conversations, always left feeling humbled by how far we’ve come. In the early 2010s, despite being one of the world’s largest coffee producers, India reserved its specialty Arabica mainly for export, leaving lower-grade commodity coffee as the only option for coffee-drinkers in the country. The need to have good coffee ourselves and simultaneously address the huge market gap, we decided to change things around and launch India’s first specialty coffee company. That year not many believed that Indian specialty coffee would be an industry to watch out for, but after a decade it has proven to be a thriving industry - one that is attracting attention of coffee drinkers globally.
When we started, we bought a tiny sample roaster from Taiwan and were so excited when we picked it up from the post office. We started roasting 3 days a week with the roaster consistently giving up at 10:30 every other night, and Matt having to sit on the floor with a screwdriver trying to fix it - a memory that, clearly, won’t be leaving us anytime soon. We used to track our website for hours each day for orders, and still remember the day when our first order came in close to midnight. We were delighted that in our first month, a day hadn’t gone by without an order.
This journey has been extremely rewarding, to say the least. From a handful of specialty coffee producers to now more than 100, from only Blue Tokai to now several new roasters in the country, from most of the specialty coffee demand coming from metro cities to now a strong demand coming in from tier 2 cities - it’s been an absolute joy to kickstart the specialty coffee movement in India. But none of it would have been possible if we didn’t have the love and support from our partner farms, community and team members.
Several new farms, products, cafes, partnerships and celebrations later, it’s been a memorable ride! As we step into our next decade, we are extremely excited to see what unfolds next. As part of this milestone year, we’ve curated experiences and products that we hope you love. If you happen to visit our cafes this month, don’t forget to get your hands on our Party Pours and Birthday Blend - each made with some of the finest coffees we’ve launched over the years. These coffees are also available on our website and can be ordered from the ‘Easy Pour’ and ‘Roasted & Ground Coffee’ tabs under the ‘Shop’ section.
Do share your cherished Blue Tokai stories on getcoffee@bluetokaicoffee.com, they mean the world to us.
Thank you for all the love, and happy brewing!
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