Krshna Moriani wasn’t supposed to have a career in coffee. As the son of a Hong Kong Indian watch merchant, he was expected to take over the family business.
Moriani’s paternal grandparents had to flee what is now Pakistan during the Partition of India in 1947. They later settled in Mumbai and built a textile business.
His father, Lall, had no interest in the family business and instead came to Hong Kong in the 70s to try his luck – and it paid off. Lall ended up building a successful import-export business dealing in mid-range watches that spanned Asia, Africa and the Middle East. But Moriani, like his father, was not interested in taking over from the older generation.
Upon graduation from Monash University in Melbourne in 2016, Moriani tried to find work in Australia. “It was tough if you’re not in accounting or IT. I first found a part-time copywriting job for a pet supplies company and then I went into recruitment,” the coffee entrepreneur recalls.
However, six years earlier, his father had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and Moriani was told his father’s condition had deteriorated to the point where they needed him by his side.
Just when he thought he was getting a foothold in independence and adulthood he was told: if he was going to take over the family business, he had to start now.
Malaysian coffee farmers hope to draw tourists to Borneo region
Malaysian coffee farmers hope to draw tourists to Borneo region
“I came back to Hong Kong not knowing anything about watches and I was trying to learn the ropes from my dad,” said Moriani.
It was then that the idea of starting Barista Baba Coffee started brewing in Moriani’s mind.
“I moved back to Hong Kong with my fiancée, Catherine and, being a Melburnian, she was very concerned about getting a good cup of coffee. I didn’t have a good answer for her.”
Unfortunately, his father’s condition worsened quite rapidly. “Very soon, he just couldn’t go to the office any more. So I attempted to take over, but he was too sick to sort of teach me anything. We set up a lot of meetings which we never ended up going to,” he says.
Not long after his and Catherine’s wedding, Moriani’s father died, on New Year’s Eve 2020.
I think Hong Kong is a great location to start something. The city is small but so dense and everyone likes trying new things
Moriani worked in a marketing job while researching and preparing to launch his coffee business.
The city eventually emerged from the Covid-19 pandemic, and while many Hongkongers were moving overseas, Moriani decided not only to stay, but to start his coffee business, selling roasted beans and pods from Australia.
“I love Australian-style roasted coffee and I think it’s one of the best coffees you can get that’s under-represented in Hong Kong. Coffee by Italian, French and even Japanese roasters you can get in a lot of shops or markets, but it’s very hard to find coffee roasted in Australia in the supermarkets or even a good collection online,” he says.
Conscious of the work-from-home trend persisting after Covid-19, Moriani made sure the Australian coffee was available in pods for home consumption.
There are recycling and repurposing tips for the coffee pods if you go to the link on the QR code that comes with the box of pods, since coffee pods have such a bad reputation when it comes to sustainability.
Acutely aware of the never-ending quest for plant-based milk alternatives to have with coffee, Moriani has also put on his labels which blend suits which milk alternatives.
“I love Hong Kong. I grew up here. I think Hong Kong is a great location to start something. The city is small but so dense and everyone likes trying new things. The coffee culture is growing as well.
“With people working from home more, they’ll need to find coffee solutions. I have confidence there is a place in the market for good-quality coffee pods from Australia,” he says.