is a multi-roaster specialty coffee house in Bangalore, devoted to celebrating Indian coffee. The name means shade or shelter in Kannada: a canopy for the roasters, estates, and growers it pours from.

Since 2022, Nerlu has poured hundreds of different coffees from every corner of India. This site tries to archive all of them: every menu, every roaster, every origin.

Shade is where coffee thrives. The forest canopy shelters arabica on Indian hillsides; the cool understory slow-ripens the cherry. A café, in its way, offers the same. A place to sit beneath the canopy and taste what Indian coffee has become.

Open menu
Currently pouring 4 coffees

The Journey So Far

Across 358 coffees, experimentals (103) and naturals (88) run almost neck-and-neck, from 65 estates across 12 Indian states. A living vocabulary of 467 distinct tasting notes, led by Peach.

By the numbers

Distributions

Roast level

  • Light 81
  • Light-medium 128
  • Medium 138
  • Medium-dark 11

Process family

  • Natural 88
  • Washed 54
  • Honey 38
  • Anaerobic 56
  • Experimental 103
  • Other 14

Species

  • Arabica 341
  • Robusta 6
  • Liberica 6
  • Blend 5

Coffees per state

  • Karnataka 212
  • Tamil Nadu 54
  • Nagaland 19
  • Odisha 8
  • Andhra Pradesh 2
  • Mizoram 2
  • Sikkim 2
  • West Bengal 2

Menus per year

  • 2022 7
  • 2023 20
  • 2024 17
  • 2025 14
  • 2026 6

Most featured

A flavour vocabulary

The 467 notes Nerlu has logged across the archive, weighted by how often each has appeared. Larger words have shown up on more coffees.

  • Peach
  • Caramel
  • Plum
  • Raspberry
  • Raisins
  • Milk Chocolate
  • Berries
  • Orange
  • Rose
  • Grapefruit
  • Jasmine
  • Floral
  • Blueberry
  • Vanilla
  • Mango
  • Guava
  • Honey
  • Apple
  • Red Grape
  • Strawberry
  • Red Apple
  • Brown Sugar
  • Pineapple
  • Mixed Berries
  • Jaggery
  • Green Apple
  • Sugarcane
  • Black Tea
  • Chocolate
  • Passion Fruit

A map of processes

Every coffee at Nerlu has been processed somewhere on this taxonomy. Each lane is a family; each chip is a distinct process Nerlu has featured, sized by the number of coffees.

Natural

88

Washed

54

Honey

38
  • Honey 15
  • Red Honey 8
  • Pulp Sun-dried 6
  • Black Honey 4
  • Yellow Honey 2
  • Hydro Honey 1
  • Amazake Fermented Honey 1
  • Dark Honey 1

Anaerobic

56
  • Anaerobic Natural 41
  • Anaerobic Washed 6
  • Anoxic Natural 6
  • Anaerobic 2
  • Anoxic 1

Experimental

103
  • Fermented Natural 60
  • Carbonic Maceration Naturals 19
  • Nitrogen Macerated Natural 4
  • Carbonic Washed 4
  • Koji Fermented 4
  • Pineapple Ferment 2
  • Rum Barrel Aged 2
  • Whiskey Barrel Aged 2
  • Banana Ferment 1
  • Grappa Fermented Natural 1
  • Barrel Aged 1
  • Thermal Shock Natural 1
  • Wine Barrel Aged 1
  • Terroir Inoculated 1

Other

14
  • Frozen Cherry 7
  • Monsooned 6
  • Washed & Natural Blend 1

Notes on curation

Single vs multi-roaster menus

39 single-roaster
25 multi-roaster

Dedicated roaster spotlights and themed multi-roaster showcases, in near-equal measure.

Northeast India, the emerging frontier

23 coffees · 6% of the archive

Coffees from Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim. Young estates in the hills above the plains, with processing experiments that rarely reach the rest of the country.

Where it all comes from

Every coffee at Nerlu traces its roots to a specific corner of India. The Western Ghats of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala anchor the story, from Chikmagalur and Coorg to the Nilgiris, Shevaroys, and Palani Hills. The map reaches further: Andhra Pradesh's Araku Valley, Odisha's Koraput plateau and Similiguda hills, the rarely-mapped Satpura Range above Chikhaldara in Maharashtra, Darjeeling in the Himalayan foothills, Sikkim's Kangchenjunga slopes, and the young, fast-emerging Northeast across Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Assam. A single menu might carry coffee from eight states and several mountain systems, each estate tended by farmers who know their slope by hand.

  • Chikmagalur
  • Shevroy
  • Unakki Coffee Collective
  • Araku Valley
  • Palani Hills
  • Tat Tvam Asi Organic Farms
  • Yercaud
  • Kohima
  • Mon
  • Zunheboto
  • Coorg
  • Bermiok
  • Kangchenjunga
  • Darjeeling
  • Kalimpong
  • Khar
  • Nilgiris
  • BR Hills
  • Sakleshpur
  • Valparai
  • Unakki
  • Mokokchung
  • Koraput-Odisha
  • Skia Coffee
  • Balehonnur
  • Belur
  • Daringbadi
  • Bualpai
  • Koraput
  • Theni
  • Nelliyampathy
  • Bababudangiri
  • Kodaikanal
  • Chikhaldara
  • Similiguda
  • Kellar
  • Chikamangaluru
  • Kodai Reserve
  • Wokha
  • Kaimara Belt
  • Pulney
  • Pulney Hills
India coffee origins map Karnataka Tamil Nadu Andhra Pradesh Meghalaya Assam Mizoram Nagaland Sikkim West Bengal Odisha Kerala Maharashtra Chikmagalur Shevroy Araku Valley Palani Hills Yercaud Kohima Mon Zunheboto Coorg Bermiok Kangchenjunga Darjeeling Kalimpong Khar Nilgiris BR Hills Valparai Mokokchung Koraput-Odisha Balehonnur Belur Daringbadi Bualpai Koraput Bababudangiri Kodaikanal Chikhaldara Similiguda Kellar Chikamangaluru Kodai Reserve Wokha Kaimara Belt Pulney

From the Archive

Menu History

26 May 2026 to 10 Jul 2026

Aramse Limited Editions

4 coffees

20 Apr 2026 to 25 May 2026

Coffeeverse x Riverdale Estate

5 coffees

24 Mar 2026 to 19 Apr 2026

Anecdote Coffee Roasters

4 coffees

27 Feb 2026 to 23 Mar 2026

Broot Coffee Roasters

6 coffees

6 Feb 2026 to 26 Feb 2026

Roasters of Bengaluru (9-Roaster Special)

9 coffees

14 Jan 2026 to 5 Feb 2026

Rossette Coffee Lab (2026)

6 coffees

5 Dec 2025 to 13 Jan 2026

Hill Groove Coffee Roasters

7 coffees

13 Nov 2025 to 4 Dec 2025

Roasters of Chennai (8-Roaster Special)

7 coffees

21 Oct 2025 to 12 Nov 2025

Titri Coffee Growers

6 coffees

23 Sept 2025 to 20 Oct 2025

Ratnagiri Estate (Multi-Roaster, 2025 Harvest)

9 coffees

30 Aug 2025 to 22 Sept 2025

PRISM: Ground Zero Coffee × Ratnagiri Estate

1 coffee

19 Aug 2025 to 29 Aug 2025

Fluent Coffee Roasters

5 coffees

28 Jul 2025 to 18 Aug 2025

Eventide / Brewed Awakening / WAQA (Three-Roaster)

7 coffees

13 Jun 2025 to 27 Jul 2025

Coffeeverse

5 coffees

8 May 2025 to 12 Jun 2025

Home Brewers of India × Nerlu (Event Special)

7 coffees

7 Apr 2025 to 7 May 2025

Roastery Coffee House

4 coffees

12 Mar 2025 to 6 Apr 2025

Genetics Coffee Roasters (Koffie Genetics)

6 coffees

21 Feb 2025 to 11 Mar 2025

Kapi Kottai + Caffè Burraio (Two-Roaster)

7 coffees

29 Jan 2025 to 20 Feb 2025

The Caffeine Baar

3 coffees

6 Jan 2025 to 28 Jan 2025

Capulus Beans Coffee Roasters

6 coffees

3 Dec 2024 to 5 Jan 2025

Quick Brown Fox Coffee (unlisted in Phase 1)

5 coffees

4 Nov 2024 to 2 Dec 2024

Rossette Coffee Lab (2024)

6 coffees

8 Oct 2024 to 3 Nov 2024

Half Light Coffee Roasters

5 coffees

25 Sept 2024 to 7 Oct 2024

Bewild Forest-Friendly Produce

3 coffees

9 Sept 2024 to 24 Sept 2024

Ground Zero Coffee Roasters × Ratnagiri Estate (SWIRL.SMELL.SIP)

1 coffee

22 Aug 2024 to 8 Sept 2024

Beachville Coffee Roasters

4 coffees

2 Aug 2024 to 21 Aug 2024

First Crack Speciality Roasters

4 coffees

7 Jul 2024 to 1 Aug 2024

Harley Estate

4 coffees

17 Jun 2024 to 6 Jul 2024

Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters

6 coffees

22 May 2024 to 16 Jun 2024

Ground Zero Coffee Roasters

7 coffees

1 May 2024 to 21 May 2024

Black Baza Coffee Co.

6 coffees

12 Apr 2024 to 30 Apr 2024

Tulum Coffee

4 coffees

20 Mar 2024 to 11 Apr 2024

Naivo Café

6 coffees

26 Feb 2024 to 19 Mar 2024

Genetics Coffee (Ratnagiri SL 28 & SL 34 Feature)

4 coffees

14 Feb 2024 to 25 Feb 2024

Handcrafted Cafe & Roastery

6 coffees

31 Jan 2024 to 13 Feb 2024

End of Season Celebration of Naturals

6 coffees

12 Jan 2024 to 30 Jan 2024

Tamilnadu Estate Selection (Multi-Roaster)

6 coffees

15 Dec 2023 to 11 Jan 2024

2023: Coffee Retrospective (Multi-Roaster Year-End Menu)

6 coffees

29 Nov 2023 to 14 Dec 2023

Salawara x Nerlu (Single Estate, Six Processes)

6 coffees

11 Nov 2023 to 28 Nov 2023

7000 Steps Coffee (Mokokchung, Nagaland Limited Drop)

1 coffee

8 Nov 2023 to 10 Nov 2023

Kokoro Coffee (Roasted by Beanrove) — Kalledevarapura Estate

6 coffees

29 Sept 2023 to 7 Nov 2023

Home Brewers of India

7 coffees

15 Sept 2023 to 28 Sept 2023

Nerlu Recommends (Multi-Roaster)

7 coffees

28 Aug 2023 to 14 Sept 2023

Rohan x Nerlu (Balanoor Plantations Multi-Roaster)

5 coffees

1 Aug 2023 to 27 Aug 2023

Grey Soul Coffee Roasters

5 coffees

12 Jul 2023 to 31 Jul 2023

Nerlu x Arpan (Discover / Guest Curator)

7 coffees

13 Jun 2023 to 11 Jul 2023

Nerlu Recommends (New Season)

4 coffees

29 May 2023 to 12 Jun 2023

Nerlu@Beruru Recommends (Multi-Roaster)

6 coffees

11 May 2023 to 28 May 2023

El Bueno Coffee Roasters

6 coffees

25 Apr 2023 to 10 May 2023

@ninedotcoffee Selection

6 coffees

4 Apr 2023 to 24 Apr 2023

Bloom Coffee Roasters (A Bloom-ing good day at Ner.lu)

6 coffees

17 Mar 2023 to 3 Apr 2023

Ner.lu Recommends (Multi-Roaster)

7 coffees

18 Feb 2023 to 16 Mar 2023

Ner.lu Recommends (Multi-Roaster)

6 coffees

3 Feb 2023 to 17 Feb 2023

Bermiok Roasters (Northeast Coffees Series 3)

3 coffees

1 Feb 2023 to 2 Feb 2023

Kilta (Nagaland Coffee) — Northeast Coffees Series 2

4 coffees

30 Jan 2023 to 31 Jan 2023

Discover Northeast Coffees (Series 1)

5 coffees

3 Jan 2023 to 29 Jan 2023

Naturals Week (Multi-Roaster Discovery Menu)

11 coffees

13 Dec 2022 to 2 Jan 2023

This Week at Nerlu (Monsooned Malabar Showcase)

7 coffees

28 Nov 2022 to 12 Dec 2022

Prajwal's Selection (Harmakki Coffee x Nerlu, 10-Roaster Guest Curation)

10 coffees

16 Nov 2022 to 27 Nov 2022

Tattvam Asi (Special Limited Coffee)

1 coffee

15 Nov 2022 to 15 Nov 2022

This Week at Ner.lu (Multi-Roaster)

8 coffees

3 Nov 2022 to 14 Nov 2022

Pranoy's Selection (Discovery Menu, Kerehaklu Estate)

9 coffees

17 Oct 2022 to 2 Nov 2022

Ratnagiri Week at Ner.lu (10-Roaster Showcase)

10 coffees

7 Oct 2022 to 16 Oct 2022

Candy Shop by Genetics Coffee (Video Post)

1 coffee

Explore the Archive

Every coffee served at Nerlu, documented: origins, processes, tasting notes, and the menus they appeared in.