Matt Chittaranjan, the founder of Blue Tokai, came to Chennai from the US in 2011 for a job opportunity. The city held a special place in his heart, since his dad was born there. This move marked the starting point of a completely new journey.

Around that time, the third wave of coffee was rising globally—a movement championing the farm-to-cup concept, transparency and traceability. Inspired by this shift, Matt began to wonder: why wasn’t this taking shape in India?

Specialty coffee—with all its nuance, freshness, and respect for origin—was nowhere to be found. The Indian coffee market was dominated by mass-produced blends and street-side kiosks, where coffee was more of a background beverage than a well-crafted experience.

Moved by this, Matt teamed up with his partner Namrata and moved to Delhi in 2012 to start what would soon become Blue Tokai. They began by building a website, teaming up with a packaging company and locating farmers for sourcing beans. Their mission was quite straightforward: source high-quality Arabica beans directly from Indian producers, roast them fresh, and introduce people to what coffee could truly be.

They started small—with a 500gm coffee roaster, operating right out of Namrata’s family home. By 2013, they launched Blue Tokai’s first outlet.

In 2015, Shivam Shahi joined in on the journey as the third partner and took on the role of Chief Operating Officer.

How Shivam joined the coffee crew

Shivam hails from a small town in Uttar Pradesh, where conventional career paths were the norm. He recalls, “I studied hard and made it to Canada on full scholarship with a dream to do a PhD, but getting a job there wasn’t my end goal. I wanted to do something impactful back home.”

While in Canada, he got exposed to coffee. “Growing up, coffee was the regular mass-produced variety or street-style beverage. Being exposed to a different type of coffee was an eye-opener,” he shares. The harsh Canadian winters also helped develop his passion—drinking three to four cups a day became a survival strategy for him.

After returning to India, Shivam joined a tech company, which unfortunately shut down once they ran out of money. Left without a job but full of curiosity, he found comfort in coffee. “During those days of struggle, I’d often take a bus to visit a café, just to enjoy a good cup from a premium brand,” he says. It struck him then—if he was willing to spend more on quality coffee, others might be too.

That’s when he stumbled upon Blue Tokai online and reached out to Matt via LinkedIn. Matt was impressed by Shivam’s enthusiasm and invited him to meet in-person. “At the time, the main outlet was still under construction. I officially joined Matt & Namrata in January 2016,” Shivam says.

Initially, Shivam worked across multiple teams, taking a very proactive approach. Over time, he took charge of expanding operations, while Matt led product and Namrata steered design and marketing.

Brewing the product: It goes beyond coffee

According to Shivam, Blue Tokai’s journey always starts with two questions: what if someone asks where this coffee came from? Or how did they make their croissant or bread? This spirit of accountability and transparency runs through everything they do.

The founders believe in being deeply involved across the entire value chain—from farm-to-cup. This includes everything from process improvements at the farm level and advising farmers on how to improve quality, to roasting, packing, and distributing coffee across multiple channels and formats. They create every product from scratch, taking pride in manufacturing everything in-house.

Shivam says. “Our breads too are made in just three days at our own factories.” With this approach, they emphasize patience, craft, and intentionality. “Everything we make is about delivering an authentic experience. We’re not just trying to meet demand—we’re trying to create something meaningful.”

Even the design of their cafés reflects this belief. Each space is created to offer a moment of pause—a break from the rush, where customers can slow down and savour a delicious brew.

According to Shivam, the team also emphasizes education for customers, fellow members of the café community and budding entrepreneurs. Every year, they invite people to visit the farms, aiming to deepen appreciation for Indian coffee and grow the category itself. They also offer brewing lessons for anyone willing to learn more.

Expanding the brand: Growing beyond borders

In the early days, Blue Tokai knew they were ahead of the curve. “We didn’t hire aggressively until 2023 and worked with a small team in those initial years,” Shivam says. But things changed significantly after the COVID-19 pandemic. “That’s when the business really took off. We grew 4x after that.”

Today, as per the Blue Tokai team, their food offerings—including bestselling items like almond croissant, butter croissant, mushroom sourdough sandwich—play a big role in their overall growth, outside crowd favourites like Vietnamese style iced coffee, cappuccino and trioccino.

Currently, Blue Tokai runs 155+ outlets across eight Indian states and Japan. Of their business mix, 45% is beverages, 40% is food, and 15% is retail. “About 95% of our business comes from four big cities: Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, and Bangalore,” Shivam notes. “Our plan is to dig deeper into these markets while expanding into newer ones where we see the potential to grow.”

The Japan effect

The idea of going international started in an unexpected way—at their Sikanderpur outlet. It was here that the founders noticed a steady stream of Japanese visitors. “We realised they were very particular about taste and valued everything we stood for—quality, origin, stories,” says Shivam. This discovery led to their first overseas café in Japan.

While growing, they made sure to customize their offerings by location. “In Japan, people prefer darker roasts so we adjust our roasting accordingly.”

Their global presence has also extended to Dubai, where they’ve established an FMCG distribution network—driven by growing international interest in Indian coffee.

Collaborating with Zomato: Scaling greater heights

Blue Tokai onboarded on Zomato in 2017 to scale its reach through delivery. “We’ve been able to expand the number of people we reach, all thanks to the platform services,” Shivam says. “With ads and other digital levers, we’ve been able to grow the brand further and better deliver our products.”

With plans to enter Hyderabad and Dehradun, and a sharper focus on key cities, the brand is only diving deeper into the brewing journey. Once started with a 500gm roaster and a few passionate individuals, Blue Tokai has now become a brand which weaves a story with each cup.