Though it’s our third year featuring coffee from India, this is only the second producer we’ve yet to showcase, so smitten were we with our first love from Chikmagalur — the Ratnagiri Estate. Though new to us, it would be misleading to imply that Kerehaklu is “up and coming” — by pretty much any measure, they’ve arrived. Currently helmed by father and son Ajoy and Pranoy Thipaiah, Kerehaklu (“the shelter by the lake”) has been in operation since 1953, and today is a sprawling 250 acres with far more than just coffee. Avocados, peppercorns, jackfruit, figs, ginger, and myriad other flora maintain a lush forest helping to moderate a climate that — when viewed on a map — would seem too low in elevation and too hot for coffee. All that plus an eco retreat, and you have a sophisticated, diversified business with coffee as just one of the critical elements.

Thankfully, every aspect of these operations is taken incredibly seriously. Pranoy, in particular, is a veritable expert in processing — in fact, he even had a hand in one of our other coffees this season — Uganda’s Kamogo, in which he applied a variation on the native yeast fermentation process that he’s perfected back at home. In tandem with the sheer variety of varieties found here (Selection 5B, 6, 795, Chandragiri (Sarchimor), 9, 10, Yellow Bourbon, Obata, SL14, SL 28 — not to mention 4 Robustas, some Liberica and some Excelsa) the results from Kerehaklu are diverse and, often dazzling. Which we’ll admit does perhaps make it seem a LITTLE funny that the lot that stole our hearts this season was one of their more CLASSIC, elegant, comforting offers: a washed Selection #10 that tastes like wafer cookies dipped in orange syrup, enjoyed in a sunny saloon. But hey — when we put it like that, hopefully it’s not too hard to see why we couldn’t pass it up 😉 

UNFORTUNATELY, we would be remiss not to mention that right now, in late August, India stands as one of the countries heaviest hit by The Tariffs. We were fortunate to receive our 2025 lots before the rates escalated to where they stand at time of writing — a whopping 50% — which, even with our enthusiasm for this provenance and our legendarily expensive taste, would be TOUGH to stomach, inevitably resulting in much lower overall purchasing volumes. To call current times volatile would be a hilarious understatement… so we won’t. What we’ll leave you with is: enjoy these gorgeous coffees while it’s not so terribly prohibitive to do so! We for sure will be sipping extra slow…