Nelofer Neemuchwala (Nell) moved to the US from Bombay and on one visit to the grocery store, she bought a bag of coffee that turned out to be coffee beans. Now, full of beans, some would say, she needed to turn these beans into a cup of coffee. To Nell’s advantage, she was a features writer (for this publication, in fact) before moving to the US. So she did what features writers do best - research. 

While she was living in Seattle, the headquarters of Starbucks, she got a chance to work part-time with the company. This worked out well for her. She needed something to do on the weekends and the job was on weekends. Artisanal coffee was just becoming a thing in the US. And Nell realised even though India grows so much coffee, we don’t know much about it. And the US grows no coffee, but coffee culture is huge in the market. 

Her research oriented brain prompted her to enroll into the Speciality Coffee Association. She had some knowledge in the fundamentals so she quite quickly got her certification at the intermediate level. 

On her trips to India, she carried bags of coffee and a hand grinder to make coffee in her Bombay home. This made no sense to her. India is one of the world's largest coffee growing countries. She spoke to some friends who all said they expected good coffee in cafes but at home they stuck to just instant coffee. 

Newly equipped with her knowledge on roasting, caramelising, and temperature control in the coffee making process, Nell decided to make good coffee more accessible in the India market. 

Crudely, a coffee bean looks like rajma. Humidity affects the size of the bean, where it grows, trees that grow around it like papaya or jackfruit, transfer flavour to the bean. That’s why coffee has a short shelf life. It absorbs from its atmosphere.

She launched her D2C brand Cuppa City. Her roasting knowledge lets her work with roasters in India and ask for what she specifically wants. Like roasting it at 275 degrees instead of 300 degrees retains some of the fruity taste of the bean. This can be drunk without sugar because of its fruitiness. 

The dark roasts are more bitter and chocolatey. Roasted chicory is added to coffee because it is the same colour as coffee and has the same mouthfeel. So chicory is added to coffees that are roasted at higher temperatures. 

Cuppa City’s focus is on direct to customer so Nell likes to be more customer specific and recommend coffee to her customers. As a female owned business, she wants to support pickers, roasters, and other vendors who are female run, as far as possible.

In talking to her customers Nell asks them some questions. Like when you drink your coffee - black coffee first thing in the morning increases acidity, how do you drink your coffee - fruity coffees can be had without milk and sugar, espresso needs a finer grind. 

When someone orders for the first time she asks them all this. With re-orders she realises they know what they want. “People are really thankful about this effort. Now they trust me enough to send them coffee that I pick,” Nell told us.

Nell Neemuchwala shows you how to brew the perfect cup of coffee right at home. Watch the video here: