Hai Dear local guides, I am happy to introduce Jessa to you guys and the community. She owns a Coffee shop called Eve’s Coffee in Pettah, Trivandrum, India. Basically the coffee shop is women-owned and Lgbtq+ friendly, Beta [ her husband ] also helps with her. Currently she’s not in town as she has gone to visit her family but she gives much help to me and permission to introduce them to you guys.
Questions ( answered by Jessa and Beta)
- A. What was the cause/reason for you to start this enterprise?
We Wanted to start a business where we can network and we can socialize, because being foreigners after being settled outside for the majority of your life.
IT was necessary for us that we can involve and its possible for us learn and not to depend much on skills sets and manpower
- B. Are you the sole proprietor of this shop?
We are Co founders of Eves coffee. Jessa and Beta. In legal terms currently it is enrolled as proprietorship. As during the incubation period, she being Filipino.( foreigner )The legality seemed much difficult to be undertaken to have a shop under her name which had lots of huddles and simply seemed impossible.
We simply have our task in hand where she ensures to have a hand on every element of this shop including the menu items and preparation and I undertake only the service element.
- According to you, how is Google Maps helping you?
Google maps, especially our location and review has been our sole sign to show the world our success story. Eves coffee has been a concept which is kind of new for the city of Trivandrum. Whenever people ask, how is your business? It’s our pride and joy to show them how much we succeed based on the review in the Google map. To take pride to address that we are rated No.1 in Kerala in terms of individual coffee brands. That is indeed no small achievement.
In Fact we always say to our customers the reviews in google maps is indeed state the story of our hardship, blood sweat and tears.
Above all its Google map is one of the reasons people search and travel to us from far away places. . Which is an absolute bliss and joy.
It’s a joy beyond any normal words.
3.How are you supporting “Accessibility” in your café?
We do try our level best to cater to terms of accessibility.
Unfortunately. Since it’s a pre-existing structure and 40 year old house has been converted to accommodate the commercial needs of our shop. There is always something more we need to complete or work on. .
Our commitment is genuine and we hope in the event of an expansion. We ensure to abide by the most accessible coffee shop in the future.
- What do you want to say about “Cost - Quality - Quantity” of your food?
Eves coffee takes pride & would happily challenge any players In the market that the cost to quality element of Eves is far superior than any café, restaurant or coffee shop in town. .
We insist on using ingredients which are used by top notch chefs and establishments in town .
We are keen to ensure to serve the best quantity of items considering even our drink size standards are always higher than most restaurants and coffee shops . Most shops serve 250 to 300 ml glass for their drink whereas we serve our drinks in 450 ml glasses.
Or 250 ml ceramic cups as standard in our hot drink session. Which is basically far above the market standards.
Despite low margins we always insisted and inspired to set standards and change the culture and inspire the general public . We insist on these experiences to be enjoyed by all classes and sectors of Trivandrum general population.
So we can definitely say with pride. That cost and value for the service we provide is truly unbeatable.
- Which are the most selling food items here?
Coffee and sandwiches are the most selling items, especially in terms of Hot and for cold coffee , frappe with our signature mix and simple and plain freshly prepared sandwiches will always be our best sellers.
Jessa and her husband started this coffee shop in 2018 and it was difficult at first as Jessa was a tourist and Beta was working as a HR outside of Kerala. But they find their way through all that, just to contribute to the local society and what they dream of together. I got the chance to have a small interview with Beta who was also a local guide for 6 years and after that I told there’s a platform for local guides to connect and talk. He was excited and started his local guide connect account [ @Betajayakumar ] .
In between the interview session with Beta, we discuss how google maps helps their business. He actually corrected me that his shop is a coffee shop and not a café which has a really big difference. A café is where they have a big menu with lots of foods, dishes and drinks to offer. It can also be a quiet place to sit around. Café is a place of sharing knowledge, ideas and of course coffee. They might not have much dish to offer but have beverage varieties and group or people interaction. That’s what Beta wants from his shop to be known as a Coffee Shop.
Apart from the coffees they provide, they have books that we can read. As today [ June 19th ] is a National Reading Day in India, I recommend local guides to read and gain knowledge. The shop actually offers a great variety of books that have been donated or collected by the owners. Anime, manga, novels, short stories, you name it they all have it. Books are the windows into the mind and that’s why they placed books for the customers to read for free.
![toys [playable/on sale] displayed on the shelves](https://d34vm3j4h7f97z.cloudfront.net/original/3X/7/9/79f3513f8a6748bd550577d54186d8cb0e03e1e2.jpeg)
Eve’s coffee also supports and helps local communities like toy distributors by helping their toys in the shop’s counter [ they don’t take any profit/money when they get sold]. They also support local gaming and toy communities like lego and other various communities. By doing this, they don’t expect anything like revenue or income from various communities. They also conduct small events like summer camps or in part with communities mentioned above and likewise, they don’t charge anything for using their space.
Cappuccino and paneer cheese sandwiches are one of the best foods in Eve’s Coffee. They all hand made the dish fresh with the mind that customers should enjoy the food more than the price of it. They have at least 20 different types of hot drinks with milkshakes, mojito and snacks following. They also make their own sauce for the momos and personally asked Beta to share the recipe [ which he did ]. I was amazed when Beta told me that they produce less or no plastic waste as they use recyclable straws and tissues. Used coffee grounds are used for their garden. Interesting fact is that the whole shop is run by solar power and the shop is indeed green and eco friendly. They also help and support the local community by purchasing food products.
They also provide Gender-neutral toilets and are free to use the books, games and toys and provide Wi-Fi too.
I thank Beta for giving me an interview and to spare some time for it. He is just a wonderful and sweet guy and that reflects in his customer’s response.
I made this interview only after some visits because of the care and importance they give for the customers which I have only seen in some shops/businesses.
I am sorry of this post being lengthy but I have show how they works and helps local community and people.
Share your local business like this in the comment ( photo would be helpful if uploaded).
Note : There’s no exchange of money or sort of in making these interviews and reviews I gave for them. This is purely in my interest as a local guide to show you guys how shops/business around us has evolved. This post has no connection with Eve’s Coffee shop business.
I thank @TravellerG for creating questions and telling the words “go for it” as I discussed with him. I also thank every local guide who has been with me till now and into the future.
@StephenAbraham @TusharSuradkar @AjitThite @Gurukrishnapriya
Thank you so much for introducing them to our community. And a warm welcome to 
