How This Surat Based Cafe Is Trying To Redefine Indian Coffee

What was the whole idea of setting up this café?

I had the passion for coffee making from my student life. I used to search for good cafes serving good quality of coffee. But after a rough search, I wasn’t able to find one. That was the first time when I thought of entering into this business serving people with real taste and meaning of Indian coffee.

Tell us about your journey.

I was born and brought up in Surat. I did my schooling too from here after which I moved to Pune for my engineering course. That is where I started to make my own coffee. Once I came back to Surat, I bought a few machines for myself making my own coffee. I always wanted to open a café but lacking experience and knowledge in this industry ended me on starting with an in-house café. I had the entire coffee set in the house itself serving for three hours a day. Later, I realised that things are not going to work in this bounded area and time, so we shifted from there opening a proper café shop which is now Meraki- The Coffee House.

What was the idea behind naming your café as Meraki?

Meraki is a Greek word related to soul, creativity or love. The creativity and love I have for coffee making led me to this name. And, we are doing the same at our café. Serving people with the best quality of Indian coffee is our primary motive. We are passionate about our coffee and are into serving people with the best they can get.

What was in your mind while planning the décor of your café?

I wanted to keep the coffee shop very decent without investing a lot on the interiors. We preferred spending on the machines instead of doing on the décor and interior. We had our main focus on the quality of coffee that we will be serving. I just wanted a place which looks decent, simple with relaxing ambience where people can come and enjoy the coffee in peace.

From where do you get the supply of raw materials?

We get our raw materials from cities like Jaipur and Mumbai.

What are the varieties of coffees that you serve at your café?

We have a variety of hot coffees, manual brews, iced coffees, frappe, hot chocolates and mojito’s. Espresso, cappuccino, latte and macchiato are something which is most loved by the customers.

Are you planning to switch towards the online platform too?

Not really. I am not much into technologies so I believe that I’ll not be able to give my best when it’s about switching on to online platform.

What will be the suggestion from your side if someone wants to have their own café?

The most important thing will be how passionate are you towards what you are planning to do. Usually people these days open a venture as they are having huge amount of money and properties as an investment. So, I believe that to make your business successful, you have to be passionate about your work. That will be the key towards success.

Is there any expansion plan towards growing your presence in the market?

For now we have no plan for expansion. But we will be looking towards it in the upcoming time.