The Ratnagiri Estate has been in the Patre family for just shy of a century, cranking out fine pepper in addition to specialty coffee. Despite this impressive longevity, it was only last year that we first had a chance to try any of it, and boy oh boy are we now hoping to make up for lost time…

What took so long, you ask? Well, a lazy answer is that there simply have not been enough connections between American specialty importers and India’s specialty producers until quite recently. That said, when our pals at Osito announced they’d spent some time out there this last winter and intended to bring coffees stateside for the first time later in 2023, we jumped on it.

David Stallings, Osito’s Director of Sales & Sourcing for East Africa and India, said that he “witnessed the most impressive and intentional processing I have ever seen, surpassing anything I had experienced before” when he visited the Ratnagiri estate for the first time. The range of cup profiles reflected in our first spread of samples was certainly impressive, with two particular was an all-day orange peanut butter bomber that’s not such a far cry from this very Catuai you’re currently considering purchasing, but the other one? Welp, it got away, and like ALL the ones that get away, we never stopped thinking about it. So THIS year, in addition to securing much more of this everyday nut butter banger, we’ve also got something a little wilder waiting in the wings for the Fall ;)

As was the case with last year’s introductory Ratnagiri, what we’ve got with this Catuai is perhaps best compared to some of the loveliest coffees from Brazil you’ve ever had: nutty and velvety, with a coating finish that sticks around for days. Applying superbly high standards to every single one of their lots, the effort pays off here in a gorgeously reliable everyday offering that’s perhaps best appreciated as a stalwart espresso option. No matter how you make it, this is a coffee that keeps on giving, and we are endlessly appreciative of it.