Bangladesh Market Specialty Readiness Is Bangladesh Ready for a Third‑Wave Coffee Scene?

Before answering, let’s be honest about what the question actually means. “Third wave” gets thrown around a lot, often by people who mean different things every time they say it.

So: three waves. Plain language first. Then we look at Bangladesh honestly.

 Three waves, simply defined

 1. First Wave -Coffee as availability

Nescafé. Instant powder. The kind that dissolves in hot water. Nobody asked where the beans came from. The point was that it existed in your kitchen. Folgers, Maxwell House, 3‑in‑1 sachets  this wave was about getting coffee into cups, full stop.

In Bangladesh, that story begins with Nestlé’s Transcom joint venture in 1992, commercial production in 1994, and Nescafé becoming a household name through the mid‑ to late‑1990s. [1][2][3]

 2. Second Wave - Coffee as experience

Starbucks built this one. The leather chairs, the Wi‑Fi, the cup with your name on it, the latte art, the feeling of being somewhere. You weren’t buying coffee. You were buying a version of yourself holding a coffee. The beans were almost irrelevant.

In Dhaka, this is North End, Gloria Jean’s, Barista, and the cluster of cafés in Gulshan, Banani, Dhanmondi, and Bashundhara R/A. Espresso machines, pour‑over bars, cold brew on draft, latte art on Instagram. North End alone now has 14 branches in Dhaka and one in Ukhiya, and has been sourcing globally since 2011. [4][5][6]

 3. Third Wave- Coffee as craft

The farm. The altitude. The processing method. The roast profile. The brew ratio. Coffee treated as a craft ingredient the way wine or fine cheese is treated with specificity, knowledge, and genuine curiosity about what makes one lot taste different from another. The café is still there, but it’s in service of what’s in the cup, not the other way around.

This is the question: Is Bangladesh ready for that?

Where Bangladesh actually is

Bangladesh finished its first‑wave chapter. Instant coffee still dominates by volume, and the corner shop still sells 3‑in‑1 sachets. But the first wave is no longer the whole story. [7]

The second wave is happening right now  loudly. The cafés look the part. North End has built a following with multiple outlets and a roastery in Tejgaon. Gloria Jean’s has been operating in Bangladesh since 2012 and continues to open new locations. [4][5] The Coffee Festival Dhaka ran editions in 2025 and 2026, branding itself as the country’s first B2B specialty coffee event, with barista championships, brewing masterclasses, and exhibitions. [2][8] People are going out specifically to drink coffee which didn’t exist as a social behaviour here twenty years ago.

That is real progress. It is also still, almost entirely, second wave.

The customer ordering a caramel latte in Gulshan is not thinking about variety, altitude, or processing. The barista serving it often doesn’t know what country the beans came from. The café owner is almost certainly not sourcing directly from a farmer. The menu describes a drink, not a coffee.

There is nothing wrong with second wave. It built the entire commercial infrastructure that third wave needs to exist. But it is important to name it accurately.

The Readiness Scorecard

Five things third wave requires and Bangladesh’s honest position on each.

 1. Consumer awareness of origin  

Status: Early

Most Bangladeshi café customers don’t ask where their coffee came from, and most cafés don’t tell. Latte art matters more than lot numbers. A small, growing segment is curious follows specialty coffee internationally, asks better questions. But it is a minority, not yet a market.

Market research shows the coffee sector is projected to reach about US$48.97 million by 2029, up from roughly US$25.98 million in 2024, with double‑digit annual growth. [9][10] Most of that growth is in urban, premium, and instant segments, not in origin‑specific, traceable lots. [7]

 2. Trained baristas who understand extraction  

Status: Emerging

Third wave needs baristas who understand grind size, extraction yield, water temperature, brew ratio who can diagnose a sour cup and fix it. Bangladesh has some of these people. The Coffee Festival Dhaka now runs barista competitions, espresso masterclasses, and home‑brewing showcases, judged by coffee experts and industry figures. [8]

But training infrastructure is thin and inconsistent across the sector. Most cafés still train in‑house for speed and consistency, not for diagnostic skills.

 3. Roasters sourcing with intention  

Status: Very Early

Third‑wave roasting means building relationships at origin, understanding processing methods, dialling roast profiles to serve the coffee’s character. Bangladesh has North End and a small number of others developing this capacity.

North End publicly states that it sources specialty beans from around the globe and from the local Hill Tracts, and its portfolio includes origins from Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Sumatra, Guatemala, and more. [4][11][12] It also sells a Hill Tracts blend sourced from the Chattogram Hill Tracts, one of the first Bangladeshi origin blends on the market. [11][6]

But almost nothing is sourced with the farm‑level specificity that defines serious third‑wave procurement. Most “single origin” claims stop at country level.

 4. A specialty green coffee supply chain  

Status: Being Built

You cannot roast what you cannot import. The import infrastructure for specialty‑grade, origin‑specific green coffee in Bangladesh is barely formed working against an import duty structure that makes premium sourcing expensive before the first bag is opened.

Bangladesh’s National Board of Revenue customs tariff for 2025–2026 lists unroasted coffee under HS 0901, with combined duties and taxes that can push the landed cost of green coffee close to 60–90%, depending on classification and packaging. [13] This entire ecosystem needs to be built.

 5. Customers who will learn and pay for quality  

Status: Most Promising

This is the most underestimated factor and Bangladesh’s strongest card. A subset of customers actively wants this: young, connected, aware of what is happening in Seoul and Melbourne and Taipei. Not yet large enough to sustain a fully third‑wave café economically. But they exist, they are vocal, and they are growing fast.

Reports highlight rising demand for premium, organic, and flavored formats, as well as RTD and subscription models, especially via e‑commerce platforms. [7] The same demographic that fueled Gulshan’s second‑wave boom is now asking better questions just not yet at scale.

The honest answer

Bangladesh is not ready for a third‑wave scene. Not yet.

But “not yet” is not the same as “not soon.” The second wave here built faster than anyone predicted. Fifteen years ago, nobody expected a national coffee festival, a Hill Tracts cultivation program backed by BARI and the Department of Agricultural Extension, or hundreds of importing companies. [2][8][14][15]

The government is already implementing a Tk 211.84 crore project in the Chittagong Hill Tracts to expand coffee and cashew nut cultivation, targeting a jump from 2,000 to 6,000 hectares and a 50% production increase. [14] Coffee farming, which began modestly in the CHT in the 1990s, is now being pushed toward commercial‑scale production. [15] North End and USAID have jointly worked to grow coffee in the hill tracts, buying several hundred kilograms annually from Bandarban and selling a Hill Tracts blend for years. [6]

The countries that got to third wave fastest were the ones where someone built the supply chain early before the demand was obvious. Where traceable, interesting green coffee was already arriving by the time the cafés were ready to use it. Where roasters could walk into a conversation with a buyer and say: here is the farm, here is the altitude, here is the processing method, here is why this cup tastes the way it does.

That is the gap Bangladesh is sitting in right now. And it is exactly the kind of gap that closes quickly once the right people start filling it.

The bottom line

Third wave doesn’t arrive like a trend. It arrives like infrastructure piece by piece, until one day there are enough roasters who source well, enough baristas who understand extraction, enough cafés who tell the story properly, and enough customers who demand it.

That moment, in Bangladesh, is not five years away. It might not even be three.

The question is not whether it is coming. The question is who builds the supply chain before the demand becomes obvious because that is when it still matters to be early.

 What “early” looks like in Dhaka

 For roasters

- Run a single‑origin lot as a limited release; print origin, altitude, and process on the bag.  

- Co‑host a cupping with Surmount focused on East African profiles vs. your current blend.  

- Experiment with a Bangladesh Hill Tracts micro‑lot alongside your global origins.

 For cafés

- Add one filter option with full origin details and a two‑line tasting note.  

- Train baristas on one third‑wave metric (brew ratio or extraction yield) and put it on the menu as a story.  

- Feature a “Farmer’s Cup” week highlighting a single origin or Hill Tracts lot.

 For investors and partners

- Back a specialty green import line so that interesting lots are available before demand spikes.  

- Support barista training programs linked to competitions and masterclasses.  

- Fund traceability and storytelling around Bangladesh‑grown coffee.

Surmount Coffee Traders Limited is building the supply chain Bangladesh’s third wave will need traceable East African Beans, direct from origin, available to Dhaka’s roasters and cafés.

Be early. Talk to Surmount.

By Nadim

Head of Operations, Marketing and Branding 

Surmount Coffee Traders Limited 

Citations:

[1] History, Operations & Community - Nestle in Bangladesh https://www.nestle.com.bd/aboutus/nestle_in_bangladesh

[2] Previous Editions – 2026 - Coffee Festival https://www.dhakacoffeefestival.com/previous-editions-2026/

[3] a765be54-73ca-4ec9-a6af-920d2e0c01f0-151209053158-lva1-app6891 (1).pptx https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/a765be5473ca4ec9a6af920d2e0c01f0151209053158lva1app6891-1pptx/255226351?nway-=

[4] NORTH END coffee roasters https://www.northendcoffee.com/

[5] Gloria Jean’s Coffees open new Outlet at Badda, Rampura https://www.tbsnews.net/companies/gloria-jeans-coffees-open-new-outlet-badda-rampura-226348

[6] North End (café) - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_End_(caf%C3%A9)

[7] Bangladesh Coffee Market | Grow At 7.7% CAGR Till 2029 https://www.6wresearch.com/industry-report/bangladesh-coffee-market

[8] Coffee Festival - Coffee Festival https://www.dhakacoffeefestival.com/

[9] BD coffee market grows by 13.52pc, may hit $48.97m in 2029 - https://www.observerbd.com/news/473602

[10] As coffee expands in Bangladesh hills, conservationists worry about ... https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/as-coffee-expands-in-bangladesh-hills-conservationists-worry-about-ecosystems/

[11] North End country's largest coffee roaster https://www.bangladeshmonitor.com.bd/hotel-and-restaurant-details/north-end-countrys-largest-coffee-roaster

[12] Our Coffees http://www.northendcoffee.com/our-coffees/

[13] Customs Tariff Fiscal Year: 2025-2026 HSCODE https://customs.gov.bd/files/Tariff-2025-2026(02-06-2025).pdf

[14] A project for coffee and cashew nuts https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/project-coffee-and-cashew-nuts-3638626?amp

[15] As coffee cultivation catches on with farmers, Bangladesh plans to go commercial big time https://bdnews24.com/agriculture/as-coffee-cultivation-catches-on-with-farmers-bangladesh-plans-to-go-commercial-big-time

[16] Nescafé - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nescaf%C3%A9

[17] About Us | The NESCAFÉ Story https://www.nescafe.com/gb/coffee-culture/knowledge/about-us

[18] Nestlé in Bangladesh | PDF https://www.scribd.com/document/104504354/NESTLE-IN-BANGLADESH

[19] Nescafe https://es.slideshare.net/slideshow/nescafe-55960907/55960907

[20] The fascinating history of NESCAFÉ https://www.nescafe.com/mena/en-ae/coffee-culture/coffee-knowledge/nescafe-story

[21] NORTH END coffee roasters https://shop.northendcoffee.com/

[22] NORTH END coffee roasters https://www.northendcoffee.com/roastery