Meet Ajitha Challa, coffee connoisseur whose 'Karafa' has redefined Hyderabad’s café landscape

Hyderabad: In the bustling café landscape of Hyderabad, Karafa stands apart—not by design or trend, but by principle. At its core, it’s a space built around one deep-rooted idea: coffee, as it should be.

NewsMeter sat down with Ajitha Challa, founder of Karafa, to understand what drives her, how Karafa came to be, and why she refuses to chase trends. Excerpts:

NM: Let’s start at the beginning. What led you to open Karafa?

Ajitha Challa:

My husband has been in the coffee business for over 21 years, primarily working in the instant coffee segment. So I’ve been travelling with him to various coffee-growing regions and meeting coffee enthusiasts for about 10–11 years now. I then started tasting a lot of specialty coffees and eventually studied them. In 2016, I had the idea of starting something of my own in the specialty space. By 2019, we decided to go ahead with it. Around that time, specialty coffee in India was beginning to pick up, especially in cities like Bengaluru and Delhi.

NM: What did you envision when you thought of Karafa?

Ajitha Challa:

I wanted to create a space where people could experience coffee from all around the world. Beverage is a very personal thing, and I wanted to offer a range that reflected that individuality. But at the same time, I wanted it to be rooted—rooted in quality and Indian coffee.

Indian coffee is excellent. It’s shade-grown and hand-picked. When it comes to the coffee from Araku, it is naturally organic. The simplicity of coffee is part of its strength, and I wanted that to reflect at Karafa.

NM: What does the name ‘Karafa’ mean?

Ajitha Challa:

It’s a play on the word carafe, which is a coffee pot. We wanted a name that sounded familiar but also slightly different. And that’s what Karafa is. Familiar and different, both at once.

NM: Coffee aside, the food at Karafa also gets a lot of attention. Was that always the plan?

Ajitha Challa:

Yes, always. In our culture, coffee is rarely consumed alone. There’s usually something to eat with it—be it a biscuit, a piece of cake, or even something savoury. So we wanted the food to be an extension of the coffee experience.

We serve continental food with Indian inspiration, and also French desserts and Indian chocolate, which is farm-to-bar. All of it is curated to pair well with different types of coffee. Everything is made in-house—from the cakes to the sauces to the breads, we make sure it adheres to a specific standard and quality. That’s one of our biggest USPs.

For example, we recommend our avocado toast with a flat white or cappuccino, our classic chocolate cake with any black coffee, and a butter croissant with a shot of espresso.

NM: You mentioned Karafa doesn’t follow trends. Can you explain that a bit more?

Ajitha Challa:

I think it’s easy to get lost in what’s trending—whether it’s Dalgona one day or matcha the next. We do serve matcha, and it’s of excellent quality, but that doesn’t mean we’ll become a matcha café. Our heart is in coffee. That’s our foundation. We know our core, and we’re not going to dilute it.

Of course, it’s a competitive market. Hyderabad always wants something new. But I believe if we continue to maintain quality in food, coffee, and service, people will slowly understand what Karafa is about. It takes time. That’s okay.

NM: Was it difficult entering an already saturated café market in Hyderabad?

Ajitha Challa:

Absolutely. There’s no denying that the market is saturated. But we weren’t trying to copy what already existed. We knew what Karafa was going to be. And I believe that if you stay true to your concept and put in the work, you will find your place.

We haven’t done much marketing yet. This first year has been more about observing, fine-tuning, and understanding how people are experiencing Karafa. We’ve only just begun; there’s a long journey ahead.

NM: How many types of coffee do you serve at Karafa?

Ajitha Challa:

We currently offer about 30 different types of coffee—from pour-overs to cold brews, single origins to signature blends. Our idea was to offer specialty coffees from across the world. We wanted that richness to be accessible here in Hyderabad.

NM: What keeps you going when there are ups and downs?

Ajitha Challa:

It’s a business—there are always ups and downs. What keeps me grounded is the vision. I know why I started Karafa. I know what I want it to be. If you’re clear about that and willing to put in consistent effort, you don’t need to panic every time something doesn’t go your way.

It’s also about staying relevant—not by following every new idea, but by improving what you already do. And doing it with sincerity.

NM: What do you hope people take away from a visit to Karafa?

Ajitha Challa:

I hope they leave with the sense that coffee matters here. That everything, from the food, desserts, ambience, to the music, to the cups we serve in, has been thought through. That it isn’t just another coffee shop, but a space with intention.

And I hope they come back—maybe not for everything, but for that one cup or one slice of cake that made them feel something.

Karafa isn’t trying to be everything to everyone. It’s a space built slowly and deliberately—around quality, around intention, and most of all, around coffee. Whether you’re someone who knows your beans or just wants a quiet moment with a good cup and something warm to eat, Karafa leaves room for both. It may take time for the city to fully understand what it’s doing, but that doesn’t seem to worry Ajitha Challa.

She’s not in a rush. She’s in it for the long brew.