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 5 coffees

The Journey So Far

Across 354 coffees, experimentals (102) and naturals (88) run almost neck-and-neck, from 59 estates across 11 Indian states. A living vocabulary of 465 distinct tasting notes, led by Peach.

By the numbers

Distributions

Roast level

  • Light 79
  • Light-medium 128
  • Medium 136
  • Medium-dark 11

Process family

  • Natural 88
  • Washed 53
  • Honey 38
  • Anaerobic 55
  • Experimental 102
  • Other 13

Species

  • Arabica 338
  • Robusta 6
  • Liberica 5
  • Blend 5

Coffees per state

  • Karnataka 209
  • Tamil Nadu 53
  • Nagaland 19
  • Odisha 5
  • Mizoram 2
  • Sikkim 2
  • West Bengal 2
  • Andhra Pradesh 1

Menus per year

  • 2022 7
  • 2023 20
  • 2024 17
  • 2025 14
  • 2026 5

Most featured

A flavour vocabulary

The 465 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
  • Mango
  • Guava
  • Honey
  • Vanilla
  • Apple
  • Red Grape
  • Strawberry
  • Red Apple
  • Mixed Berries
  • Green Apple
  • Sugarcane
  • Black Tea
  • Chocolate
  • Brown Sugar
  • Passion Fruit
  • Apricot
  • Nectarine

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

53

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

55
  • Anaerobic Natural 40
  • Anaerobic Washed 6
  • Anoxic Natural 6
  • Anaerobic 2
  • Anoxic 1

Experimental

102
  • Fermented Natural 60
  • Carbonic Maceration Naturals 18
  • Nitrogen Macerated Natural 4
  • Carbonic Washed 4
  • Koji Fermented 4
  • Whiskey Barrel Aged 3
  • Pineapple Ferment 2
  • Rum Barrel Aged 2
  • Banana Ferment 1
  • Grappa Fermented Natural 1
  • Thermal Shock Natural 1
  • Wine Barrel Aged 1
  • Terroir Inoculated 1

Other

13
  • Frozen Cherry 7
  • Monsooned 6

Notes on curation

Single vs multi-roaster menus

38 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, 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
  • Mon
  • Kohima
  • Zunheboto
  • Coorg
  • Bermiok
  • Kangchenjunga
  • Darjeeling
  • Kalimpong
  • Khar
  • Nilgiris
  • BR Hills
  • Valparai
  • Unakki
  • Koraput-Odisha
  • Mokokchung
  • Skia Coffee
  • Balehonnur
  • Belur
  • Daringbadi
  • Bualpai
  • Koraput
  • Theni
  • Nelliyampathy
  • Bababudangiri
  • Kodaikanal
  • Sakleshpur
  • Chikamangaluru
  • Kodai Reserve
  • Wokha
  • Kaimara Belt
  • Pulney
India coffee origins map Karnataka Tamil Nadu Andhra Pradesh Meghalaya Assam Mizoram Nagaland Sikkim West Bengal Odisha Kerala Chikmagalur Shevroy Araku Valley Palani Hills Yercaud Mon Kohima Zunheboto Coorg Bermiok Kangchenjunga Darjeeling Kalimpong Khar Nilgiris BR Hills Valparai Koraput-Odisha Mokokchung Balehonnur Belur Daringbadi Bualpai Koraput Bababudangiri Kodaikanal Chikamangaluru Kodai Reserve Wokha Kaimara Belt Pulney

From the Archive

Menu History

20 Apr 2026 — 4 Jun 2026

Coffeeverse x Riverdale Estate

5 coffees

24 Mar 2026 — 19 Apr 2026

Anecdote Coffee Roasters

4 coffees

27 Feb 2026 — 23 Mar 2026

Broot Coffee Roasters

6 coffees

6 Feb 2026 — 26 Feb 2026

Roasters of Bengaluru (9-Roaster Special)

9 coffees

14 Jan 2026 — 5 Feb 2026

Rossette Coffee Lab (2026)

6 coffees

5 Dec 2025 — 13 Jan 2026

Hill Groove Coffee Roasters

7 coffees

13 Nov 2025 — 4 Dec 2025

Roasters of Chennai (8-Roaster Special)

7 coffees

21 Oct 2025 — 12 Nov 2025

Titri Coffee Growers

6 coffees

23 Sept 2025 — 20 Oct 2025

Ratnagiri Estate (Multi-Roaster, 2025 Harvest)

9 coffees

30 Aug 2025 — 22 Sept 2025

PRISM: Ground Zero Coffee × Ratnagiri Estate

1 coffee

19 Aug 2025 — 29 Aug 2025

Fluent Coffee Roasters

5 coffees

28 Jul 2025 — 18 Aug 2025

Eventide / Brewed Awakening / WAQA (Three-Roaster)

7 coffees

13 Jun 2025 — 27 Jul 2025

Coffeeverse

5 coffees

8 May 2025 — 12 Jun 2025

Home Brewers of India × Nerlu (Event Special)

7 coffees

7 Apr 2025 — 7 May 2025

Roastery Coffee House

4 coffees

12 Mar 2025 — 6 Apr 2025

Genetics Coffee Roasters (Koffie Genetics)

6 coffees

21 Feb 2025 — 11 Mar 2025

Kapi Kottai + Caffè Burraio (Two-Roaster)

7 coffees

29 Jan 2025 — 20 Feb 2025

The Caffeine Baar

3 coffees

6 Jan 2025 — 28 Jan 2025

Capulus Beans Coffee Roasters

6 coffees

3 Dec 2024 — 5 Jan 2025

Quick Brown Fox Coffee (unlisted in Phase 1)

5 coffees

4 Nov 2024 — 2 Dec 2024

Rossette Coffee Lab (2024)

6 coffees

8 Oct 2024 — 3 Nov 2024

Half Light Coffee Roasters

5 coffees

25 Sept 2024 — 7 Oct 2024

Bewild Forest-Friendly Produce

3 coffees

9 Sept 2024 — 24 Sept 2024

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

1 coffee

22 Aug 2024 — 8 Sept 2024

Beachville Coffee Roasters

4 coffees

2 Aug 2024 — 21 Aug 2024

First Crack Speciality Roasters

4 coffees

7 Jul 2024 — 1 Aug 2024

Harley Estate

4 coffees

17 Jun 2024 — 6 Jul 2024

Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters

6 coffees

22 May 2024 — 16 Jun 2024

Ground Zero Coffee Roasters

7 coffees

1 May 2024 — 21 May 2024

Black Baza Coffee Co.

6 coffees

12 Apr 2024 — 30 Apr 2024

Tulum Coffee

4 coffees

20 Mar 2024 — 11 Apr 2024

Naivo Café

6 coffees

26 Feb 2024 — 19 Mar 2024

Genetics Coffee (Ratnagiri SL 28 & SL 34 Feature)

4 coffees

14 Feb 2024 — 25 Feb 2024

Handcrafted Cafe & Roastery

6 coffees

31 Jan 2024 — 13 Feb 2024

End of Season Celebration of Naturals

6 coffees

12 Jan 2024 — 30 Jan 2024

Tamilnadu Estate Selection (Multi-Roaster)

6 coffees

15 Dec 2023 — 11 Jan 2024

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

6 coffees

29 Nov 2023 — 14 Dec 2023

Salawara x Nerlu (Single Estate, Six Processes)

6 coffees

11 Nov 2023 — 28 Nov 2023

7000 Steps Coffee (Mokokchung, Nagaland Limited Drop)

1 coffee

8 Nov 2023 — 10 Nov 2023

Kokoro Coffee (Roasted by Beanrove) — Kalledevarapura Estate

6 coffees

29 Sept 2023 — 7 Nov 2023

Home Brewers of India

7 coffees

15 Sept 2023 — 28 Sept 2023

Nerlu Recommends (Multi-Roaster)

7 coffees

28 Aug 2023 — 14 Sept 2023

Rohan x Nerlu (Balanoor Plantations Multi-Roaster)

5 coffees

1 Aug 2023 — 27 Aug 2023

Grey Soul Coffee Roasters

5 coffees

12 Jul 2023 — 31 Jul 2023

Nerlu x Arpan (Discover / Guest Curator)

7 coffees

13 Jun 2023 — 11 Jul 2023

Nerlu Recommends (New Season)

4 coffees

29 May 2023 — 12 Jun 2023

Nerlu@Beruru Recommends (Multi-Roaster)

6 coffees

11 May 2023 — 28 May 2023

El Bueno Coffee Roasters

6 coffees

25 Apr 2023 — 10 May 2023

@ninedotcoffee Selection

6 coffees

4 Apr 2023 — 24 Apr 2023

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

6 coffees

17 Mar 2023 — 3 Apr 2023

Ner.lu Recommends (Multi-Roaster)

7 coffees

18 Feb 2023 — 16 Mar 2023

Ner.lu Recommends (Multi-Roaster)

6 coffees

3 Feb 2023 — 17 Feb 2023

Bermiok Roasters (Northeast Coffees Series 3)

3 coffees

1 Feb 2023 — 2 Feb 2023

Kilta (Nagaland Coffee) — Northeast Coffees Series 2

4 coffees

30 Jan 2023 — 31 Jan 2023

Discover Northeast Coffees (Series 1)

5 coffees

3 Jan 2023 — 29 Jan 2023

Naturals Week (Multi-Roaster Discovery Menu)

11 coffees

13 Dec 2022 — 2 Jan 2023

This Week at Nerlu (Monsooned Malabar Showcase)

7 coffees

28 Nov 2022 — 12 Dec 2022

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

10 coffees

16 Nov 2022 — 27 Nov 2022

Tattvam Asi (Special Limited Coffee)

1 coffee

15 Nov 2022 — 15 Nov 2022

This Week at Ner.lu (Multi-Roaster)

8 coffees

3 Nov 2022 — 14 Nov 2022

Pranoy's Selection (Discovery Menu, Kerehaklu Estate)

9 coffees

17 Oct 2022 — 2 Nov 2022

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

10 coffees

7 Oct 2022 — 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.