The Coffee : Todi
Estate : Krishnagiri Estate
Roaster : Kapikottai
Varietal : Arabica (?SLN 795)
Process : Washed
The EsTate : Krishnagiri
Krishnagiri Estate is a coffee heritage gem located in the captivating Baba Budan Giri region of Chickmangalur, Karnataka. The estate is managed by Himakirthi and Karunya Gowda and covers 100 acres at an elevation of 1500 meters above sea level. The estate enjoys an abundant annual rainfall of 100 inches. Krishnagiri Estate is well-equipped with drying yards, a top-notch washing station, and a new color sorter. This allows them to process coffees as washed, honey sun-dried, and naturals. Arabica varieties such as S795 and Chandagiri thrive on the estate. The estate’s origins can be traced back to the legendary journey of Baba Budan, who smuggled seven coffee beans from Yemen and ignited India’s coffee journey. (1)
The Roaster : Kapikottai
Barista on Bike AKA Binny suggested that i visit this roaster a few blocks from home, who was roasting coffee on his OTG. Akshay showed me the whole process, but who undoubtedly charmed me was Bumbles – the amazing doggo and mascot of Kapikottai. Akshay is a musician who plays the Chitravainika and hence the raagams for the names of the coffee. However, he is under strict orders from regulars to never rename Mind=Blown and Curveball. OG Classics. He’s now roasting on a Ailio Bulledt R1V2 which makes his coffee extra superbly awesome but he still drinks half the bag in the name of QC checks.
Started in late 2018 , Kāpikottai (literally coffee beans in Tamil) is an attempt at highlighting the excellence and uniqueness of Indian coffees and getting the conversation started about traceability, social equity and low environmental impact in the Indian coffee ecosystem. We are very committed to trading directly with the farms we source from and establishing a long standing, empathetic business relationship with the planters involved. Growing and processing good coffee in India is hard work and we do our best to understand the challenges this throws up. This venture began life as a passion project (started out of a home kitchen, of all places) in Chennai, where there is a lot of coffee but not much that is either traceable or speciality. Therefore, our main focus is to make excellent coffees more accessible and hopefully get people wondering about the journey taken by their cuppa’ Joe or piping hot tumbler of filter kapi! Based in Kilpauk (a leafy Chennai suburb), Kāpikottai HQ is the base for our green coffee storage, roasting and ops. Green coffee is carefully stored in climate controlled conditions, in hermetically sealed bags. We find that optimum storage goes a long way in ensuring ideal coffee quality (a lot of trial and error was involved to come to this conclusion and set up!) (2)
The Bean : SLN 795
795 is the most popular variety of Arabica given its widely adaptable nature; most resistant to CLR (Coffee Leaf Rust). 795 developed in Central Coffee Research Institute (CCRI) in India by Mr. R.L. Narasimhaswamy
SLN 795 = SLN 288 (Arabica x Liberica) x Kents (Typica hybrid)
795 boasts of a balances body, good acidity and good flavour that is accentuated by whatever process it is exposed to.
The process : Washed
My thoughts
this is my first time trying krishnagiri coffee. the coffees tastes like caramel with a hint of salt. not tarty more rounded, umami-ish. i found this a tad too dark (compared to akshay’s usual roast profile so i mostly brewed this on an aeropress using my favourite three paper trick – two paper filters + a metal filter with the paper filters touching the coffee. this cuts the “darkness” and the oils leaving me with a beautiful cup!
My Recipe Card for Todi
Tags: Coffees of 2025, kapikottai, krishnagiri, SLN795, todi, Washed coffee