Coffee news - Tata Coffee Alliance with Starbuck by end January 2012

Coffee commodity news - Tata Coffee Ltd. will finalize its alliance with Starbucks Corp. by the end of this month and the international chain is expected to open its first outlet in India by the end of 2012, a top Tata Coffee executive said Thursday.

"Final formalities are being completed and we are on the verge of signing the agreement," Hameed Huq, managing director of Tata Coffee, told reporters on the sidelines of an international coffee festival.

India remains one of the big untapped markets for Seattle-based Starbucks, and its entry will come at a time of growing popularity of coffee outlets in the country.

Drinkers of tea traditionally, Indians have of late been taking to ordering espressos and cappuccino at quick-service cafes as a growing middle class increasingly adapts to Western tastes.

source: online.wsj.com