Pune has hills at its edges, universities in its middle, and a habit of long conversations. It is a city that brews properly, and we would like to send it coffee that deserves the kettle.
A bag ordered from Pune is roasted after the order, rested a day, and sent by courier. It usually arrives within a few days.
The weather here, and what it does to a bag of coffee
Pune sits about 560 metres up on the Deccan, on the dry side of the Western Ghats, and the weather is easier on coffee than Mumbai's. March to May are hot, with afternoons near 38 to 40 degrees, and the air is dry. The monsoon from June to September is gentler than on the coast, around 700 millimetres, though Bavdhan and Pashan on the western edge get more from the hills. From November to February the mornings are cool, 10 to 12 degrees before sunrise, and the afternoons are warm.
Dry air means a sealed bag keeps well in Pune. Keep it closed, out of the sun, and out of the fridge, and a 500 g bag will hold its aroma for a month. In the monsoon weeks we would still buy the smaller bag and finish it faster.
The cool winter mornings are pour-over weather, and Pune has more pour-over cones and AeroPresses per household than any other city we send to. The light roast is our suggestion for those mornings. In the hot afternoons of April, a cold brew from the medium roast, steeped overnight in the fridge, is what we would drink.
Where in Pune the bags go
Most of the Pune bags go to Koregaon Park, Kalyani Nagar, and Viman Nagar, to Baner, Aundh, and Pashan, and to Kothrud and Deccan. The offices at Hinjewadi, Kharadi, and Magarpatta bring a second wave: people who brew at home before the drive and order the medium roast ground for a moka pot.
Wakad, Pimple Saudagar, and Bavdhan are on the same courier routes. Camp and the peths in the old city are usually the quickest. Shipping is free everywhere in the city.
Festivals, and the roast we would pour
Ganeshotsav is Pune's festival, and it has been a public one since Tilak started it here in the 1890s. For ten days the city moves between the mandals, from Dagdusheth to Kasba Ganpati and the five manache Ganpati. Evenings fill with visitors, and the coffee at home is made in quantity. The dark roast in a French press, served with milk, is the one for that week.
In June or July the Wari passes through, and the palkhis of Dnyaneshwar and Tukaram walk down towards Pandharpur through the city. It is a rainy, early-morning week, and a moka pot of the medium roast is what we would take to the window.
In December, Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav runs late into the cold nights, and the coffee that comes after a raga at midnight is a small, dark one. For Diwali and Sankranti, when the house is full and the tilgul is out, we would make the medium roast in a French press for the table.
Which roast, when
These are the pairings we would make for a Pune week. Tell us your brewer when you order and we will grind for it.
- A cold December morning before the drive to Hinjewadi
- Medium roast, moka pot.
- A pour-over cone and a Sunday
- Light roast, whole beans if you have a grinder.
- April afternoons
- Medium roast as a cold brew, twelve hours in the fridge.
- Ganpati evenings with the house full
- Dark roast, French press, with milk.
- After a late concert in December
- Dark roast, a single small moka pot.
How the coffee reaches you
We buy green arabica from one small farm in the coffee hills of Karnataka, a few kilos at a time. We roast it at home on a small drum roaster, in batches of a few hundred grams. We roast your bag after you order it, so it leaves within days of the roast and not months.
You choose light, medium, or dark, or you tell us the notes you like and we roast toward them. You can have whole beans, or tell us your brewer and we will grind for it. A 250 g bag is ₹750 and a 500 g bag is ₹1,200, with free shipping in India.
Who you are buying from
We are a small roastery with one roaster in a home kitchen. There is no cafe and no warehouse. When you write to us about a grinder or a shot that came out sour, the person who roasted your bag writes back, and has made the same mistakes at the same counter.
Questions people ask
How long does delivery take?
We roast after you order, let the beans settle for a day, and hand the bag to the courier. Most cities in India receive it within a week of the order.
Is shipping really free?
Yes. Free shipping in India on every bag, 250 g or 500 g.
Which roast should I start with?
If you are unsure, start with the medium roast. It works in a moka pot, a French press, a pour-over, and an espresso machine, and it forgives a grind that is a little off.
The shop has the three roasts and the custom roast. If you are not sure, write to me at chanda.sayonsom@gmail.com and tell me how you brew.
Go to the shop