The invitation was not run of the mill and quite piqued the interest. I mean, who can say no to a surprise box that comes home and looks like what you see above, to open up to a clock that will tell you what coffee 'o' clock it is.


The Classic Craft  range comprises the very popular Classic Pride and Classic Mountain – beans that go into these coffees come from the company-owned 650 acre Harley Estate in Sakleshpur and Kalladevarapura Estate in Chickmagalur, where award-winning Robusta and Arabica coffees are cultivated for domestic consumption and exports. The resultant creations are specialised pure Arabica blends for the Indian consumers keeping in mind lifestyles and palate preferences. The idea is that your coffee evokes a certain emotion and feeling and that should be in keeping with the time of the day and how you feel at different times. The range of 4 coffees that are now available work on this principle. Take a look at them.

The tasting event began with Mr. Purnesh, the Founder / MD of Classic Coffees introducing us to the brand, its history and the various verticals that they have. What struck me as exceptionally interesting is the fact that Classic Coffees is not just about gourmet coffees but about spreading the good word on quality coffee - be it in the form of coffee tourism on offer at Harley Estate, exposure to various methods of brewing coffee and bringing in international trends in as well.

Mr. Purnesh has two beautiful daughters - Tapaswini Purnesh, who handles the retail part of the business and also brings in her culinary skills acquired at Le Cordon Bleu coffee tasting sessions for the public with various brewing equipment , pairing coffee with desserts and fruits and is about to launch coffee for different times of the day. Incidentally Tapaswini is on the organising committee of India’s first and only coffee festival, Coffee Santhe which is an annual event in Bangalore.

Chandni DM is busy welcoming guests to the never before visited coffee estate deep in the hills of Sakleshpur with a 100% self-sustained resort that boasts of natural falls, lakes and a rich flora and fauna. Structured coffee tastings, treks and walks through the estate and more are Chandni's forte in promoting coffee tourism. 

Here are the four coffees we were introduced to: 

Blaze, which is a blend best suited for the morning. This has been blended to create a heavy-bodied brew, intense and malty with a rich mouth feel. Blaze has been crafted to help create the morning kick with a nutty fragrance and pleasantly bitter aftertaste. Tapaswini paired with a Banana walnut cake to offset the bitterness. I found the pairing worked for me, considering I am new to coffee and I appreciated the change of flavours in my mouth as well. Best of coffee and a snack. 

Matinee is the afternoon blend in the range. Its tasting notes indicate a mix of spice and sweet citrus acidity with hints of mild berry. This has smooth mouth feel and a light body and has been designed as a perk-me-up brew. Paired with a hand broken piece of chocolate - the fruity flavours of the coffee complemented the smoothness of the chocolate that was mild on the sweet levels making it an ideal pairing. 

 The final varietal is Afterhours, a night blend which has been carefully curated to soothe and help one wind down. It is a mellow and flavourful cup which has hints of spice and pleasant citrus to create a smooth body. As with the other three blends are 100% Arabica, Afterhours is blended using Arabica Plantation AA beans. This was paired with a cheesecake and a caramel drizzle as well as some hard cheese. This was a little strong for my taste and will take some getting used to for me personally. But Sudhakar really enjoyed this one. And paired with the right nibbles it worked well.

We came home with a lovely crate of goodies and those fired clay mugs are now a constant on my table as well as Sudhakar's. The coffees are being used on a regular basis and we will soon be getting ourselves some more!

Classic Coffees are available in diverse formats, including roast & ground and beans forms, at its online store as well as leading gourmet stores & premium retail outlets such as Godrej Natures Basket, Westside Gourmet, Namdhari , Nilgiri, all major airports in addition to e-commerce portals such as Amazon, Wind my wings and Place of origin.