Tata Coffee Ltd, which inked a deal last year with Starbucks to source and roast premium coffee beans for the global coffee chain, will soon kick off a modern roastery in Kushal Nagar, Coorg in Karnataka.
The Rs 3-crore, 375-tonne-a-year roastery is fully-automated, said Mr Hameed Huq, Managing Director, Tata Coffee. Mr Huq told Business Line that the roastery, which conforms to the best food safety standards, will source and roast the best Arabica coffee beans from Tata Coffee estates for Starbucks as well as other coffee retailers.
While the new roastery will supply in India to Starbucks, which will roll out its cafes later this year, Starbucks can send the beans to its outlets abroad as well, pointed out Mr Huq.
Tata Coffee had entered into an agreement with Starbucks Coffee International Inc and Tata Starbucks Ltd, an equal joint venture between Tata Global Beverages Ltd and Starbucks, for roasting coffee produced in the company's estates using the global coffee major’s knowhow and technology. The coffee is to be distributed to Starbucks cafes, to be set up by Tata Starbucks in India, as well as to Starbuck operations overseas.