The coffee market has always been a quality driven market. Consumer awareness has increased with regard to the different quality aspects of coffee. This has led to many different offshoots in the filter coffee market, such as Single Origin Coffees and Make to order coffees. This market has seen a sharp turn towards quality-specific coffee.
Coffee Consumption in the past has been more prevalent in South Indian Markets compared to North India. With the increased awareness of coffee, it is seen that coffee consumption has risen slowly but steadily over the last 20 years, even in North India. Hotels/Restaurants/Cafes serving liquid coffee are also on the rise both in the urban and rural areas.
Many leading brands are opening up cafes in metropolitan areas and are providing unique experiences for the coffee connoisseur. Similarly, people can experience coffee shops sprouting up in semi-rural and rural areas. All of these go to indicate that the awareness of coffee has increased and is motivating the consumer to consume more coffee regularly.
Coffee has been a part of our daily routine; people tend to have coffee for breakfast or with their afternoon snacks. However, despite it being absolutely rooted in our routine and social customs, the truth is that we do not always focus on the factors that distinguish the qualities of a nicely brewed coffee.
Nowadays, we come across many customers who want their coffee blends as per their formula/requirements. Nithara Coffee is a family of coffee growers with a long history in coffee cultivation and the sale of coffee. Nithara, meaning “deep-rooted,” represents its fundamental ideals being Quality, Consistency and Service. Its coffee products are manufactured just in time to ensure that the coffee has the highest degree of freshness.
The proof of the recipe is always found in the pudding. “Having said that, Nithara Coffee invites you to try its Coffee Products to experience Coffee at its Best.”
A Delight in Bequest
Nitish Harihar, the Founder expresses, “We have implemented novel practices unique to us, which include rigorous quality control measures to ensure that the customer’s experience while drinking coffee is at its best.”
Nithara Coffee do not overstock finished goods. Rather, the company incorporates novel practices that are unique, which include rigorous quality control measures to ensure that the customer’s experience while drinking coffee is at its best.
He further adds, “As I see it, the way forward is to customise the coffee for each customer after understanding the kind of coffee they are expecting. For a newbie to coffee, Nithara Coffee always have its standard blends, which the company recommends try for starters.” Compared to instant coffee, filter coffee takes more time and effort to brew. However, the filter coffee experience remains at the zenith as it is brewed and served freshly.
Embracing the Fundamentals
The market is also now becoming more aware of the different brewing methods available such as Moka Pot, Aeropress, and Siphon, which are a little different from the classical way of brewing filter coffee using the Stainless steel/Brass South Indian Filter.
These different brewing methods have also aroused customers’ curiosity to try differently brewed coffee. Hence as a coffee grower/roaster, Nithara Coffee is always on the edge to ensure that the customer ultimately is happy with the coffee they are drinking.
A filter coffee customer would like his/her coffee freshly to the ground and have a consistent taste year-round. The brewed coffee should have Good Taste, pleasing Aroma, Consistency in every purchase, a pleasant Mouthfeel, and a Lingering Aftertaste.
These aspects of brewed coffee are essential for a hotelier/restaurant as coffee is usually the last drink consumed by a customer before he/she leaves the hotel premises. Hence, the coffee is of excellent quality and should have an excellent lingering aftertaste. The taste must be a good balance of Sweetness, Sourness and Bitterness.
Nithara Coffee procures its coffee from its own award-winning estates and other leading estates from the southern hills of India, mainly from Chikmagalur, Kushalnagar and Wayanad.
This is done only after rigorous quality checks and positive cup tasting. We take the guidance of a good team of cup tasters who cup-taste the coffee even before we procure it. This ensures that the raw material of the green beans is of excellent quality. Coffee is roasted only on an order basis, and we maintain a very bare minimum stock of roasted coffee at our premises. This is to ensure that the coffee does not become stale.
When coffee is roasted and ground freshly, it gives a better experience to the coffee customer. Once the coffee is roasted at our premises, it is transported to our company-run outlets, where we grind it freshly and pack it in the presence of the customer.
This ensures that the coffee retains maximum freshness before being brewed and consumed. We have invested in world-class imported roasting machinery and grinders which are used to process roasted coffee and powder. This ensures that there is no compromise in the roasting quality and grinding quality of the coffee powder.
Being the Prominent Choice
“Our customers always request for the same quality of coffee powder all year round. Hence, it is important to maintain consistency in the product being processed,” expresses Mr Nitish. The last and most important is Service. Coffee has to be freshly ground, packed, and delivered within short spans of time to ensure that the coffee delivered is fresh and flavourful. Hence Nithara Coffee strives with a Mantra, ‘Quality, Consistency and Service!’
Nithara Coffee is positioned as a B2B and D2C brand in the market. We sell coffee at wholesale prices to the HoReCa (Hotel/Restaurant/Cafes) Establishments and also to customers directly through its Physical Branches situated in select cities in Tamil Nadu; Nithara Coffee also courier coffee directly to its customers and also through its shop on its website Nithara.com. Its products are also available on leading e-Commerce websites.
With a Continuum of Superlative Services
Nithara Coffee’s Roasting Unit was started in the month of January 2020. “Our roast and ground outlets are presently available in Coimbatore, Erode, Salem and Chennai. We are slowly moving into other cities in Tamil Nadu to widen our presence and improve service. We also courier coffee powder to our customers who are not able to access our R&G Branches,” shares Mr Nitish.
Nithara Coffee’s just in Time policy sets it apart from others in this segment. The company aims to reach the product to the customer within the shortest period of time to ensure that the coffee is fresh, fragrant, and tasty. Adding to this, Mr Nitish shares, “This is the reason we have set up many stores in and around Tamil Nadu to cater to our customer’s needs.”
Quality is the most crucial factor that the company upkeeps in the whole manufacturing process. Quality in the procurement of raw coffee beans, quality in processing equipment, quality in processing methods and quality in service.
Enriching Significance
Nithara Coffee has two segments of coffee. The first is the Filter Coffee Blends. The company has three categories of filter coffee it produces.
The first is the “Superior/Signature Blends,” which is roasted and blended for our retail customers, i.e., those who brew coffee at home. The company maintains a minimum stock of coffee beans at its retail outlets and grinds them only on a need basis when ordered by its customers.
“We give our customers options on the grinding size of coffee powder which basically depends on the kind of brewing equipment they use. These coffee powders are available both as pure coffee and also blended with 20% chicory. Our Pure Coffee is named “Nithara Coffee Classic PB (Perfect Blend),” shares Mr Nitish. “Our Chicory Blended Coffee (80% Coffee and 20% Chicory) is named Nithara Coffee Premium,” he adds.
The second category of blends is Economy Blends. These blends are blended and roasted in a way where the decoction can be stored for a longer time and may cater to the hotel/restaurant’s need which is a good balance between quality and cup page. It offers pure coffee named “Nithara Coffee Unique,” a 90:10 blend named “Nithara Coffee Best,” an 80:20 blend named “Nithara Coffee Perfect,” and a 70:30 Blend named “Nithara Coffee Prime.”
The third category of coffee blends is purely dependent on the wholesale/hotel customer. The company provides customized coffee blends for wholesalers and large hotel chains for their use. These blends remain unique to the buyer, and they can maintain their own taste profile of coffee at their establishments.
Nithara Coffee’s Estates Ramagiri and Krishnagiri are situated in Chikmagalur. Its Ramagiri Estate has been awarded “The Best Among the Arabica – Bababudangiri Region” in the “Flavour of India – The Fine Cup Award 2012” Competition.
Its Krishnagiri Estate has been awarded “The Second Best Among the Arabica – Bababudangiri Region” in the “Flavour of India – The Fine Cup Award 2011” Competition. Nithara Coffee was awarded the “Food & Beverage Start-Up of the Year” on August 17-18, 2021.
Embracing the Future Roadmap
The future roadmap for Nithara Coffee is to improve its presence all over India, starting with South India. This is done to ensure that all its products reach the customers within the minimum time possible, which then ensures the quality of the product.
“The company is improving its production capacities and sales team to ensure that its products are reachable for the purchase of coffee products,” concludes Mr Nitish.
