From making coffee for close friends, to owning a cafe, Brijesh Bachkaniwala, just 23 year old, has come a long way, just because of his passion for coffee. ‘Meraki – The Coffee House’ owned by Brijesh, is one of its kind cafe, solely dedicated to Coffee. His journey from being a graduate of chemical engineering, to owning Meraki, is an inspiring one, specially for people who believe in chasing their passion.

Brijesh comes from a well settled family, traditionally into textile business. He remains attached with his roots, by working at the market in the mornings, and afternoons. He spends his evenings in the coffee house, where his passion for making the perfect coffee comes to play. He did his graduation from Pune, which was the place where he discovered his passion for coffee. Later, he turned this passion turned into a career.

James Freeman, the pioneer of Blue Bottle Coffee, was the one who inspired Brijesh, into taking the risk of being a Barista. He initially made and served coffee at his home for six months, later opening this cafe. The initial experience proved to be the learning experience, that helped him keep his pace with the cafe. While most of the surtis still remain unaware of the intricacies of coffee, he has his loyal clientele of coffee lovers, from all over the city, coming down to the place daily, and he considers them his community.

His father is his greatest motivator who has always accepted, and supported his passion; while his 3 close friends are his best critics. He considers his staff his support system.

His future goals involve improving, and maintaining the quality of his Coffee, and expanding to 3 cafes without compromising on the quality. His journey is exemplary, because of the fact, that he has made a name of his own in such a short period of time without making concessions on his dreams. ‘Be honest with your passion, be dedicated to the work, and nothing will stop you, from achieving success’, is what Brijesh believes in, and he proves his words true, with his success.