For long the 'India Coffee House' in various cities used to be the favourite meeting place for people for a leisurely chat with sips of hot coffee and authentic south Indian dishes at pocket-friendly rates.
From the wooden tables and chairs and the turbaned waiters that used to be the trademark of the India Coffee House, Coffee, in its new avtar - cappuccino and latte etc - too is becoming popular among the urban elite for a leisurely chat.
Bidisha Nagaraj of Cafe Coffee Day (CCD), says, CCD pioneered the concept of a 'cafe' for the Indian consumer, largely a 'tea drinker'.
"It was in 1996 and our cafe staff had to educate the consumer the difference between different varieties of coffee like the 'latte', 'cappuccino', 'mocha' etc. However, today the consumption of coffee has shown a steady increase. This can be attributed to the popular 'cafe' culture that coffee shops like us have popularised," she says.
According to the Coffee Board of India, the consumption of coffee in 1991 was 55,000 (quantity in MT) which has gone up to 80,200 (quantity in MT) in 2005.
Barista, another popular chain of coffee houses offering different varieties too are happy with the response by coffee lovers.
"We have different varieties of coffee and the most popular are Coffee Americano, Irish cream cappuccino, Coffee caramel, Espresso Italiano and Vanila caramel Latte", says Shakti, Guest experience Manager, Barista.
"We also have international varieties like Costa Rican Double Sho, Kenya Double Shot etc. Apart from coffee, we also have varieties of add-on such as vanila, whipped cream, caramel sauce, chocolate fudge etc, and they are like a fresh cherry on cake," he adds.
