MIHIR AND MITHUN REBELLO, GANGA AND PAVAN HANBAL

Some of these coffee children decided to explore the world. But, in the end, the aroma of coffee was too strong. They jumped headlong into the art of coffee engineering. For these artisan roasters, it’s about giving coffee its identity. For Mihir (an architect) and Mithun Rebello (a tech supplier and entrepreneur) from Kuttinkhan Estate, and their partner Ganga (an ad professional) of Srilakshmi Estate, and her husband Pavan Hanbal (a business consultant) of Sasyakashi Estate, that shining red berry swaying in the rain and its expectant aroma called out, and they came back to their heritage, to change it, and give it the respect it deserves. The highly-inspired crew speaks of coffee with such ardour, it makes one a believer too, even a tea drinker! They call themselves The Coffee Mechanics, with a slogan — The art of coffee engineering — and are huddled together mechanising brews and blends. “We are starting our own space shortly and have a facebook page. We want to democratise coffee, and give it origin and identity,” Mihir says whose grandfather bought Kuttinkhan from a Britisher around 60 years ago. “We want to explore the finer nuances. If you roast coffee lighter, you get a fruity taste. We are blending, and giving coffee from our estates as single origin and traceable coffee. So you know where it comes from. There is no end to learning — wine has 300-odd chemicals, whereas coffee, when roasted, has upwards of 1,600. Using machines like gas chromatographers, one can separate each note, like grape fruit, lemon or even onion, it’s a whole spectrum of tastes,” says Mihir, whose card says chief roaster, taster and control freak while Ganga is the chief roaster, blender and toublemaker.

For Ganga, a year at the plantation, gardening and the monotony of a nineto-five job was reason to get back to the brew. “We aim to help people figure out their coffee by playing with roasts, customising and experimenting. We are all lucky to have witnessed coffee growing up, and we want to do justice to it, and bring that experience to the cup,” explains Ganga. “Our place (not named yet) will be a happy space where one can experience what coffee offers — the whole gamut,” she adds. Right now, the “mechanics” work out of Ganga’s home, as they zero in on the four walls for their coffee conversations. Mithun and Pavan add their expertise and guide the whole idea forward. “With Brazil producing 42 percent of the world’s coffee” these “mechanics”

want to engineer a change — by targeting smaller estates, and letting the young Indian learn its tenets. “There are many with a few acres, who sell on the spot as they require cash. We want to guide them — fermenting washed Arabica for two more hours makes a difference to taste, and we want to make this self-sustainable in India so we can buy and sell, and incur profits. Most importantly, people should know where the coffee is from. My dad and Ganga’s dad have been selling coffee which goes into the supply chain, and no one has a clue where it’s from. Ours is specifically from one hill on one estate,” explains Mihir. “Indian coffee is mostly shadegrown, people are converting to robusta or sun-grown coffee which is high-yielding and we feel Arabicas have finer qualities. We want to be able to keep its quality and bio-diversity, which is our biggest advantage,” explains Mihir, adding “In Colombia, there is a particular type of coffee called Colombian Miles, CM, Brazilian Naturals, or BN, is from Brazil. India has no such geographical coffee, apart from the Monsoon Malabar. Our coffee is not making a splash and it should. In Columbia, there was a lady — the grandmother of speciality coffee and what she set in motion in 1970, is reaping benefits now. If we begin now, 40 years later, we can see a brighter future,” say Ganga and Mihir.

In Colombia, there is a particular type of coffee called Colombian Miles, CM, Brazilian Naturals, or BN, is from Brazil. India has no such geographical coffee, apart from the Monsoon Malabar. MIHIR REBELLO