CHENNAI: Starbucks may be the world's biggest coffee chain but it could be in for one of its toughest battles yet as it seeks to make a dent in the filter kaapi capital of India — Chennai . The Seattle, US-based company will enter this coffee-crazy city on Tuesday by launching three outlets.To do well, Starbucks will not only have to contend with some stiff competition from traditional names such as Madras Coffee House , it will also have to jostle with the various Kumbakonam degree coffee outlets dotting the city. Added to this, it will also be vying for space with upmarket rivals Café Coffee Day Costa Coffee and Gloria Jean's Coffee consumption in India stood at 90,000 tonnes in calendar year 2013. Of this, Tamil Nadu accounts for more than 40 per cent. "Chennai is and will definitely remain the hardcore coffee market in India," said Ramesh Rajah, president of Coffee Exporters' Association of India Starbucks ventured into India with an equal-stake joint venture between Starbucks Coffee Company and Tata Global Beverages . It rapidly scaled up and opened 12 Starbucks stores during 2012-13 in Mumbai and New Delhi. As of July, it has 49 stores in India.Coffee experts told ET that coffee drinkers in Chennai want the traditional taste and even if they opt for other varieties it's mostly during weekends. Also, the city's coffee lovers visit upmarket outlets for variants such as cold coffee — hot coffee accounts for less than 10 per cent of sales at most of these outlets."People who (have) worked in the US or the expat community will associate themselves with Starbucks as they are the market leaders in the US and well known for their ambience. But for a person in Mylapore (in Chennai), it's the traditional coffee that matters and not (the) ambience," Rajah added.Harish Bijoor, brand expert and CEO of Harish Bijoor Consults, said Chennai will be the ultimate testing ground for Starbucks. "In markets such as Mumbai and Delhi it is easy for any coffee maker to experiment. But Chennai is known for coffee heritage and experiments don't work here. They have to find a new strategy." Tata Starbucks could not be reached for comments.R Saravanan, who heads the domestic operations of Saravana Bhavan chain of hotels, said his restaurants and canteens in Chennai alone sell 30,000 coffees every day. He said big brands will not eat into the business of the smaller outlets, which know the art of making traditional coffee. "Every coffee maker has a niche market and it all depends on how you position yourself and command a premium."But KT Srinivasa Raja, managing director of Adayar Ananda Bhavan and the president of Chennai Hotels Association , said he has lost 5-10 per cent market share in the past two years to the many small coffee shops that have come up in the city. His 70 branches across Tamil Nadu sell around 30,000 cups of coffee per day with Chennai accounting for 15,000 of them.