Coffees in India have such complex flavor notes it is hard for the typical tea person to gift coffee to a friend who drinks artisan coffee! It is easy to gift coffee to a regular instant coffee drinker. Just buy Davidoff! This article gives you a decision tree to help you on the path!
This is not meant to replace the tome of Indian coffee recommendations on Spill The Beans, but give easy directions for one-time purchases.
Artisanal coffees basically fall in two broad simplistic buckets for gifting:
A. Darker roasts are better for folks who prefer milk based drinks or “strong” Coffee such as espresso.
B. Lighter roasts are better for folks who like light fruity coffees that have a sweetish taste when lukewarm
In an ideal universe, they would tell you which coffees they like, or you can check their Instagram. Here’s a few rules of thumb to guide you on that journey:
- Are they long time non-artisan coffee drinkers?
- Here are the archetypes:
- South Indians who are not really passionate about artisan coffee
- Nespresso owners
- Cappucino drinkers
- Such folks are used to STRONG flavors and often dislike lighter roasts:
- Attikan estate or Vienna Roast from Blue Tokai (Amazon links)
- Marvahulla or Doraikanal from Koinonia
- Here are the archetypes:
- How long have they been brewing coffee? If they’re new this fresh romance would be the flavor of the month on their Instagram! 🙂
- For newbies, sampler packs are ideal to gift with variety you cannot go wrong with:
- Blue Tokai: Pick a sampler pack with Kalledevarapura Estate, Attikan Estate and Silver Oak Estate (in order of strength) which will help them discover a range of flavors from slightly fruity to STRONG non-fruity
- Koinonia have a dark roast sampler pack which suffices the purpose!
- For newbies, sampler packs are ideal to gift with variety you cannot go wrong with:
- Which device do they use to brew coffee?
- V60 / Chemex / Kalita:
- These devices allow the extraction of delicate fruity flavors. Simply buy the Medium Roast taster pack from Koinonia. My all-time favorite is the Red Honey, which is best had lukewarm. Let it cool ~8-12 min post brewing and then sip the sweetness!
- Cold Brew:
- What you can’t go wrong with?
Koinonia Cask Aged which gives beautiful chocolatey flavors (out of stock Nov 2020)!It has the very best aroma of any coffee in my limited experience! - Fruity brews: Blue Tokai Cold Brew Light. It is my standard “out of home” coffee product to purchase when on the go! Brewed at home, it is just as amazing
- Strong brews:
- Dope Polaris – I do not like this (or any strong coffee) but many folks do. It has been fine-tuned for a strong ANTI-FRUIT flavor
- Blue Tokai Cold Brew Bold – A rich, slightly more complex less bitter blend than the Polaris
- What you can’t go wrong with?
- V60 / Chemex / Kalita:
- If you know absolutely NOTHING about their coffee preference or equipment? Fret not. Blue Tokai sells amazing easy pour sachets to brew coffee without any equipment for those wanting to try it out! Attikan is a safe bet. Try the mixed bag of light to dark roasts to truly play it safe 🙂
Note: Any non-amazon links here have been personally used by me extensively before recommending. It is safe to order directly from these companies and give them a fraction extra revenue in COVID19 times.