India’s top 15 artisanal coffee disruptors all coffee lovers should know about
1. Maverick & Farmer Coffee Roasters
This Bangalore-based, wildly-popular coffee brand is renowned for its unconventional offerings. They recently launched three new artisanal coffees—‘Orange You Curious,’ an unusual orange juice fermented coffee, ‘Milk & Honey,’ a lactic acid bacteria fermented coffee and ‘Ol’ Smoky,’ the world’s first-ever cold smoked coffee. You can try Maverick & Farmer’s coffees at their cafes in Delhi and Bangalore or order them online.
2. Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters
Founded in 2013, this roastery sources their coffee beans from over 10 estates across Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Blue Tokai, started by Matt Chitharanjan and his wife Namrata Asthana, retails a wide variety of freshly roasted coffee beans, ground coffee, easy-pour sachets, nitrogen flushed cold brew bags, coffee making equipment and even speciality teas. Our favourites from their menu are the Attikan Estate and MS Estate coffees.
3. Nandan Coffee
This award-winning coffee brand grows and roasts their coffee at their own estate, which is located in the heart of the Kodaikanal Wildlife Sanctuary. Their certified organic coffee beans grow under a double canopy of silver oak, rosewood, jackfruit, mahogany and avocado trees. Nandan Coffee’s bestsellers are the Nandan Royale, Nandan Espresso and Nandan Gold.
4. Araku Coffee
A non-profit venture by Naandi Foundation, Araku is a certified organic, terroir-based coffee, which has been developed in collaboration with international coffee experts. This coffee brand has a selection of four coffee varieties—Signature, Selection, Micro Climate and Grand Reserve. Additionally, the company retails a line of Moka Pots designed exclusively for Araku by Norwegian designer duo, Anderssen & Voll.
5. Dope Coffee Roasters
Founded by coffee enthusiast Rizwan Amlani, Dope Coffee Roasters partners with over 80 coffee estates in India. This year, the company introduced the country’s first whiskey barrel-aged speciality robusta, and they plan on launching four small-batch limited-edition coffees as well. Furthermore, Dope has collaborated with SOCIAL to serve their coffees at various SOCIAL outlets.
6. Coffeeza
Located in Goa, this e-commerce coffee brand has a large selection of coffee capsules and coffee machines. Their coffee beans are sourced from around the world, which are made into intense coffee blends that are packaged into convenient coffee capsules. Furthermore, Coffeeza has recently launched easy-to-use, Pour Over Coffee Bags, which are available in four variants.
7. Kaffa Cerrado
Founded by a family of certified coffee roasters, Kaffa Cerrado’s offerings feature the most diverse range of single-origin coffees from countries such as Papua New Guinea, Kenya, Peru and Costa Rica. Along with delectable coffee, Kaffa Cerrado also has an array of coffee making equipment and coffee cups to choose from.
8. Halli Berri
Sustainably farmed, handpicked and shade grown, Halli Berri’s coffee is grown at their estate in Chikmagalur, Karnataka. This all woman-owned estate makes full bodied, 100% arabica coffee, which is known for its natural, honey-dew flavour that lingers on your palette. Guests are welcome to stay at their estate as well.
9. Fresh Brew Co.
Fresh Brew Co. offers freshly roasted coffee from the best coffee estates of India and across the world, in Nespresso compatible, biodegradable capsules. This brand also has a variety of coffee accessories such as insulated tumblers and reusable stainless steel straws. Moreover, their latest coffee range comes in pour over bags.
10. Sleepy Owl Coffee
Set up by three friends, this company’s mission is to create innovative products that simplify the coffee brewing process, without the use of any equipment. Their coffee is made using 100% arabica coffee beans from Chikmagalur, Karnataka. Sleepy Owl Coffee’s current portfolio includes cold brew packs, hot brew bags, and ready-to-drink cold brew bottles.
11. KCROASTERS by Koinonia
This Mumbai-based roastery retails innovative coffees made from high quality, single-origin Arabica coffee beans sourced from the most sustainable farms in India and abroad. KCROASTERS’ latest launch is a Christmas Blend, which is a juicy, comforting coffee featuring a rush of tart with a sweet, oaky finish.
12. Roastery Coffee
Founded in 2017 by Nishant Sinha, Roastery Coffee was established with the goal to create great and consistent coffee and share it with as many people as possible. This brand’s bestseller is the Cold Brew Blend, which has a medium body with sweet caramel notes and a clean mouthfeel. Roastery Coffee has its own cafes in Hyderabad and Kolkata.
13. Classic Coffee
A multi-award winning artisanal coffee brand, Classic Coffee has two coffee estates in Karnataka. Their coffees showcase a unique palette of flavours and taste profiles ranging from hints of spice, fruity and floral notes. Presently, they offer two types of coffee beans—Mountain and Pride and four varieties of ground coffee—Blaze, Matinee, Sundowner and Afterhours.
14. Home Blend Coffee Roasters
With a mission to create a plethora of diverse types of coffee, this roastery is the go-to brand for coffee connoisseurs. Their portfolio includes a variety of specialty coffee beans, ground coffee and drip coffee bags sourced from estates in India and Indonesia. Their Mysore Nuggets Extra Bold and Mandheling Grade 1 are very popular!
15. Green Sense Organic
While Green Sense Organic is not technically a coffee brand, it makes it to our list for its array of one-of-a-kind organic latte mixes, which are available in three flavours—Turmeric, Cinnamon and Saffron Rose Infusion.
