The ease of a pick-me-up at your favourite café may not be feasible, but that doesn’t mean you drink gunk at home. Here are some good quality homegrown coffee and tea options that you might have not explored yet

COFFEE

Maverick & Farmer

Coffee is personal for me, and I’m very serious about what I give a chance to, when I start my day. Maverick & Farmer launched some unique coffees this year, out of which Ol’ Smoky’, a cold-smoked coffee, the notes of which are smoke, pineapple, and toffee, is a personal favourite now. The other one — Orange You Curious? — is an orange juice fermented coffee, with citrus and cherry wine as its tasting notes, and will make for a good, post-work cuppa. Maverick & Farmer have taken the artisanal coffee wave a step further with these new ones.

Ainmané

Coorg’s Ainmane Coffee, also in Bengaluru, produces Civet Coffee, one of the most expensive varieties of coffee in the world. I know a lot of people are grossed out at the idea of civet coffee, but the taste of it is worth it. If you’re new to the game, they have single origin coffees from estates in Karnataka that you can try, or go for a Monsooned Malabar in the specialty coffee range.

Subko Coffee

If you’re in Mumbai, and haven’t tried Subko yet, well, now is a good time. Subko was launched during the pandemic by Rahul Reddy and Daniel Trulson, sources its Arabica beans from coffee plantations in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Meghalaya. In fact, they created a contactless social distancing store, which they now call the Bombay Hyperlocal Store, where you can place your order for pick up or delivery. A bunch of single origin options, and some pourover filters too for those who don’t like fussing with coffee machines too much.

SLAY Coffee

SLAY saved me from the office coffee machine, before the office became home, and now it saves me at home. They’ll deliver a handcrafted gourmet cup to your place, or you can order their signature roasted ground. Their hazelnut coffee with an extra espresso shot is my go-to. Quality wise and economically, SLAY fits the bill.

Corridor Seven Coffee Roasters

Based in Nagpur and started by a coffee lover and a certified Q grader, Mithilesh Vazalwar, Corridor Seven is for all you artisanal coffee lovers. Other than the good old single-origins, they have a category called Experimental Lot, which features all the new processes they have this year. Corridor Seven does some earnest, good quality coffee, and is a brand worth experimenting with.

TEA

Samaara Tea

The age-old Jivraj Tea’s brand, Samara Tea has Assam’s finest tea blends. Their black tea (loose) is a best seller, and they focus equally on doing desi kadak chai as well as a variety of green teas, so your evening chai as well as the pre-workout green tea needs are taken care of.

Vahdam Tea

Looking for a range of wellness teas? Vahdam has a wide range of really interesting blends, right from some detox kahwa, to spicy cardamom for good gut health. Vahdam is also launching some more blends in the coming days, so wait and watch, and add some unique blends to your list.

Satori Tea

Satori is a one-stop shop for all artisanal tea choices, and they have teas which are sourced directly from family-run estates in the country. From floral notes, to some citrusy ones, Satori seems to have teas for all taste buds and moods. A good Sunday relaxing cuppa, maybe?

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