Coffee today is more than just a silent party to conversation – with so many initiatives, it is more an indulgence. But has all the foreplay added extra forth to the brew? Here’s what has been brewing between the hotels and the bean world!
By Madhulika Dash
One has begun to question, if India is a tea or coffee drinking nation. With preferences undergoing a change, a plethora of tea centres and coffee places have come up adding to the competition. But CS Nitin, partner, Cothas Coffee, one of the premier coffee manufacturers and suppliers of coffee in the country, does not see the two beverages competing in any way, admitting that tea consumption is far too high in India as compared to coffee. But coffee consumption is certainly growing rapidly and not at all restricted to health conscious consumers.
Among the many fascinating things about the delectably put together Pullman Aerocity Delhi is Café Pluck. Explained often as the “Coffee Lounge” (coffee shops are truly passé now), it is designed to be a coffee drinkers little haven – and this does not mean the array of specialised coffees from different countries that the menu boasts of, but the Coffee Roasters.
Undoubtedly the first in the capital (and perhaps the country as well) to have the set up, Café Pluck not only prides itself at serving the freshest of coffees, but also proprietary blends that are made in-house by live roasting the green beans. In that manner Café Pluck (and in turn Pullman) becomes the first hotel to actually introduce the concept of bean to cup in hotels. And if one has to go by the sheer footfalls (up to 65% of the guests visiting the hotel come to experience the coffee at Café Pluck) this unique facility gets to the hotel, then the brand has clearly rivalled the common perception that coffee isn’t as serious a business in Indian hospitality as tea is. But that is not the only place that coffee rules. Pullman (and Novotel) are among the early players to introduce Nespresso (replete with coffee capsules and a demo card) in its in-room facility. This is an idea that quite a few other brands (including Shangri La) are considering as part of the renovation strategy, at least in their in-room luxury.
But specialised roasters (from Probat) which are designed to, explains Vishrut Gupta, director, F&B, Pullman & Novotel New Delhi Aerocity, “utilise the air to create blends that have that unique colour and flavour, and hence bring in an indulging quality in a cup like at Café Pluck” are but one side of the bean story; the other is the association. “Gone are the days when instant coffee would cut the grade, today guests who come in for coffee want the same consistency that they had earlier,” says Tuhin Jain, director, sales & marketing, Indulge Beverages Pvt Ltd, which supplies artisanal coffee capsules to brands across India under the name Bonhommie. “In fact, it is the consistency and the freshness that,” adds Saurabh Khanna, GM, The Park, Calangute, Goa, “marked the arrival of coffee machines into the hotel, rapidly around the 1992.”
And just like that, adds Dinesh Varma, EAM, F&B, The Leela Ambience Gurgaon Hotel & Residences, Ambience Island, “coffee, especially traditional filter coffee and the ones you got with the old steaming machine became redundant. Coffee language had new favourites like cappuccino, mocha and latte. ”
Interestingly, adds Arun Arora, GM, Radisson Blu, Paschim Vihar, “not much has changed since then. For Indians even today the coffee vocabulary is still limited to three big variations, with newer flavours being the recent fad. So you would often hear guests order a Hazelnut Latte instead of the classic version.”
So is it safe to assume that the coffee topography inside the hotel has remained steady with few peaks that are a result of promotions. Not in totality, says Gupta, who believes that the coffee culture, especially in the past two-three years, has seen a makeover. “Coffee & Conversations is the new mantra becoming increasingly synonymous with stimulating and intellectual chatter. No more are coffee shops mere hangout places, they are informal business centres and idea hubs, frequented by business associates, young couples and even professionals who want a quiet place to complete their work.”
About 15 years back, there were coffee masters/chefs in hotels, says Nitin. “But with the advent of various coffee making apparatus, the job of making good coffee has improved a great deal with consistent quality cup after cup. The association of coffee brands and hotels is gaining momentum, as all are keen to ensure a fine quality of coffee served to the guest,” he believes.
Adds Khanna, “Coffee has, over the past few years, transformed the mundane coffee shop into this perfect marketing avenue that, when presented intelligently, creates potential patrons.” This realisation made him turn the open air, sea-facing bar Peace into a coffee lounge, where not only coffee but coffee-based liquor are also served. And the result has been much like a warm cup of mocha.
This realisation, coupled with the rise of standalone coffee chains, has also played an important role in nudging the hotels to up-grade their coffee offerings. “While instant coffee is acceptable in the room and to some extent at the breakfast buffet, in the coffee shop, the guests – both residential and walk-ins – expect to be indulged,” says Arora.
This was the reason that even when Shangri La’s Mister Chai was designed as an ode to the tea and snack culture of India, it did develop an interesting collection of coffee varietals (both hot and cold); and Pullman decided its initial artisanal offering to include blends from across 15 countries comprising exotic varieties like the Café Maracchinoo, a coffee made of Ristretto, milk foam and cocoa powder from Italy, The Gibraltor and Long Black from USA to Café Cortado from Columbia, which, according to Gupta, have plans to revise with more in-house special blends in the future.
At The Leela Ambience Gurgaon Hotel & Residences, too, serving up the good old coffee and cappuccino has been dunked for the more chic coffee drinks like Frappuccinos (crushed iced creamy Cappuccino) and Affogato (a combination of rich espresso and creamy Frappuccinos), says Varma, who believes that a good collection of coffee makes a miniscule contribution revenue wise, by initiating and familiarising the drinker to the hotel – and eventually its other attractions.
Indulgence apart from competition, says Jain, has been instrumental in changing the role of coffee, not only in coffee shops but also in other F&B outlets. And then, he adds, “investing in the right kind of technology that doesn’t occupy space or up the operating costs becomes imperative. Because the right resource will not only ensure that the consistency is maintained but also enable upscaling as and when required while easing the work.” This aptly explains why one-serve Bonhomia coffee capsules are such a big hit today and the sudden flush of newer varieties including decaf and organic, it also reasons well on the chef’s fascination with the brew. Perfect example of these are the coffee infused desserts like the Filter Coffee Molten Chocolate Cake at Waterstone’s Hotel and the coffee blend ice cream with coffee flavoured pralines in The Park, Calangute Goa. Flexibility and feasibility, says Gupta, “are other factors for the coffee brand and hotel association. Like our Coffee Roasters can serve coffee with the same aroma and flavour to nearly 1,500 people.”
So clearly, while coffee in Indian hospitality hasn’t touched the fascination like that abroad, “A coffee today can no way determine the fate of a hotel, F&B though slightly,” says Arora – it has even in its minuscule way maintained its significance as a prime time beverage, considering the coffee sessions that hotels are conducting these days.
“It still isn’t a drink of hurry. A coffee drinker, even those occasional ones, would love to sit down, take the aroma, decide on a drink and then sip it at leisure, while having a conversation or alone. And that is where you can use the brew along with other offerings to tap your potential guest,” adds Saket Gupta, GM, Marketing, Waterstone’s Hotel, who concurs with an idea of Coffee Bar being an excellent marketing initiative for the hotels in the coming years, but believes that it would not be a determining factor at least in India to choose a brand.”
How well, adds Arora, “you package it (like free Wi-Fi or having individual coffee plungers), will determine how well the coffee works for you.”
Sufi saint Sheik-Abd-al-Kadir had once serenaded the roasted bean as: “Coffee is the common man’s gold, and like gold, it brings to every person the feeling of luxury and nobility.” Little did he know that in those words, he defined coffee future in hotels: indulgent, luxurious and just a bit extra is all that is required to create that buzz!
