Kaapi and the Café

My last visit to the Café Coffee Day (CCD) was eventful. Not that it was filled with events, but so many interesting things went over my head and there seemed to be no end to it. I did leave with disturbing questions though.

First was the business model of CCD. I thought it was rather bold of CCD to have started and created a lifestyle over coffee in India. I mean, if you exempt cities like Bangalore and Bombay and take a look at tier-II cities, CCDs are pretty much considered as one of THE ‘hip’ places for youngsters to go. It was like this opportunity was waiting to be captured for a long time.

Second was the pricing adopted by these coffee chains. I guess they would’ve done a proper market study and all, but I don’t really know if the prices are justified. Given the time people spend in such cafés, it’s understandable that prices have to be somewhere high up, but cosmetic versions of coffee and cold drinks at 40 bucks? I’m not sure. But then, if coffee over book-reading and wireless internet browsing is what they are planning to offer, they better price it high. I somehow believe a kind of differential pricing – depending on the cities – would be a good idea. While coffee for 40 bucks might not be a big deal in Bangalore, I guess it’s a big deal in tier-II cities. [I’m not entirely sure if isn’t done though.]

Third was the most interesting. Over a question of which ‘version/flavor’ of coffee everyone liked, my friends differed. Some opted for Irish coffee, some for Hot Chocolate, but I digressed. The best coffee I’ve ever had was the South Indian Kaapi in the Sagars – Shanthi Sagar etc - in Bangalore. One of my colleagues introduced me to the ethereal taste of those kaapis, and we became very, very regular visitors to those Sagars. Ofcourse, additional business of much larger value - like dinners and lunches - flowed to them, all because of our love for their kaapi. That kaapi was THE best because it was served real hot and had the 3 ingredients that we’ve heard in the ‘3 Roses’ tea ads – Niram, Thidam and Suvai in Tamil, roughly translated to color, kick and taste. Simply put, the kaapi was just perfect. The nearest competitor was the morning coffee that accompanies The Hindu in many of the South Indian homes.

Although the Sagar Kaapi used to cost just around five bucks, we sure wouldn’t have minded paying much more. It was worth the money and the long walks amidst office time. Those being the best coffee – atleast according to me, the coffee I pay the most for are the ones at CCD. So, my doubt is why the typical South Indian coffee is never available in any of these modern coffee chains. It sounds perfect – best hot coffee at the costliest price. It could be disguised in one of those hip names – like Coorg Dew Coffee or something – and priced similar to the entry level ones. I know a bunch of people who would surely visit CCDs and Baristas much more frequently just for this type of coffee. It’s like Bangalore’s tasty trademark coffees being made national. With their infrastructure, having one more option in their menu wouldn’t require much of an effort. If it’s so simple, why haven’t they done it yet?