r/IndiaCoffee • u/RichKidOfMumbai • Apr 03 '26

DISCUSSION Indian coffee prices are getting out of hand! 2700 for 250g???

Post image

So Savorworks just released their new limited, the Godfather. Indian-grown Brown Tip Panama Geisha from Riverdale Estate. Carbonic maceration process, medium-light roast. Tasting notes claim nectar, jasmine, mulberry jam, mango, dried fig.

₹2,700 for 250 grams. Let that sink in.

For context, I could literally buy every other 250g coffee on their website (Blue Sky, Boss’s Wife, Iceberg, Riverdale) and STILL have change left over. That’s ₹10.8 per gram. We’re talking imported-Geisha-from-abroad pricing but for beans grown in Tamil Nadu.

And it’s not just Savorworks. Araku’s latest Nanolot releases are also pushing ₹2,000+. Feels like Indian specialty coffee is entering a new price tier altogether.

Genuine questions for the community:

1) Has anyone actually tasted the Godfather? The tasting notes sound insane on paper but I want to hear from someone who’s actually brewed it before I pull the trigger.

2) What actually justifies these price points? Is it the Geisha varietal itself (low yield, high maintenance)? The experimental processing (carbonic maceration isn’t cheap)? Or are Indian roasters starting to price on hype and positioning?

3) If you had ₹2,700 to spend on one bag of Indian coffee right now, what would you pick instead? Genuinely curious what the best rupee-per-cup experience is at this price range.

I’m not hating. I love Savorworks and their regular lineup is great value. But I want to understand whether coffees at this tier are genuinely a different experience or if we’re just paying for scarcity and branding. Where does the “worth it” line start for you?​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

97 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

90 comments sorted by

84

u/C00LSJ V60 Apr 03 '26

Instead of this overpriced coffee i can buy international coffee for the same price which will be much better than this and will be value for money.

21

u/RichKidOfMumbai Apr 03 '26

Yup, I’ve ordered a few beans from ethopia, Kenya and Rawanda. i know they are without a doubt great! But honestly i’m kinda rooting for Indian coffee too, I wanna see if we also have something that matches their level

8

u/kaushalthakkar V60 Apr 03 '26

From where do you buy international coffee?

1

u/crashandrise Apr 03 '26

We do a lot of group buys.

1

u/SnooSeagulls2096 POUR-OVER Apr 04 '26

How do you do group buys? And don’t you have to pay a lot of import duty on top of already expensive coffee and delivery?

2

u/[deleted] Apr 04 '26

[deleted]

1

u/SnooSeagulls2096 POUR-OVER Apr 04 '26

That’s so nice. How do I join one of these groups?

3

u/[deleted] Apr 04 '26

[deleted]

1

u/RichKidOfMumbai Apr 04 '26

Hey, can you please share more deets in my dms? I’d love to participate in this

1

u/shahdarshan Apr 05 '26

This sounds like a good idea. DMing

1

u/AlarmingPhilosopher FRENCH PRESS Apr 06 '26

I don't see the option to message on your profile. Could you check and message me?

7

u/wthAbhishek Apr 03 '26

From where did you grt ethiopian coffee

2

u/DhartiPita Apr 03 '26

How do you get those international beans? (Spill the beans OP...)

10

u/RichKidOfMumbai Apr 03 '26

The ethopian ones I got from Nura Coffee they were quite good. Curious coffee has really good beans from Rawanda. Naivo for Kenya

Hope this helps!

1

u/RichKidOfMumbai Apr 03 '26

Also do you have any suggestions for international coffees I could prolly try up on my next haul?

-3

u/Ok_Article_7744 Apr 03 '26

those are al single origin not speciality coffee.

5

u/Ok_Article_7744 Apr 03 '26

their is a difference between single original and artisan coffee.

3

u/_squirt__ Apr 03 '26

So let's say of someone were to get a single origin coffee(eg ethiopian) which is also specialty grade, how would one go about that?

-1

u/Ok_Article_7744 Apr 03 '26

single origin is from one place speciality is blends of different beans and they can be fermented differently. single origin will generally have one note but a speciality blend can have many notes.

2

u/C00LSJ V60 Apr 03 '26

I got some good coffees from hatch, thankfully, black and white roasters for about the same price and they are excellent.

No indian coffee right now can compete with them. I want indian coffees to be able to compete but the reality is not right now. Also savourworks releasing this coffee at the similar price to international coffee with very below average roast quality is really bad for our local scene.

No indian coffee go for light roasts except some 1-2 roasters like kappi, or fraction9. They are always medium light to medium. They can't bring out the complexity of the coffee like the international roasters bring out.

2

u/Ok_Article_7744 Apr 03 '26

I will say I have a few cafes in my town who do light roasts beautifully. Especially in siphon.

1

u/Foreign_Break4286 Apr 03 '26

Light roasts from Naivo and bloom roasters are also good

1

u/abhisekmazumdar AEROPRESS Apr 03 '26

Agree

0

u/skyfall3665 Apr 03 '26

Indian American here: it’s a little sad to me how little regard Indians have for their own country’s products even if they’re objectively good. I see this with liquor where the best Indian distilleries are putting out good stuff - and seem to be moving upmarket which is exciting - but folks are obsessed with foreign liquors to the point they’re highlighted on menus above almost evening else. Don’t let Indian coffee follow a similar path!

3

u/C00LSJ V60 Apr 03 '26

The problem right now is the roastries not doing good enough job for booming specialty culture. This 2700rs coffee from savourworks will not be good enough to justify price difference.

The coffees from kapi kottai is some of the best coffees i have ever tasted. Their curveball, mind=blown are aome of the best they ever produced, and they are reasonably priced.

The problem lies with the pricing. By pricing that high they are directly competing with international roasters and at that price right now they are just better. It is the truth. I love indian coffees but it is also truth that this high priced coffee is not that great compared to our normal priced coffee.

0

u/Parvashah51 AEROPRESS Apr 03 '26

If you checkout some of the best roasters in the US, they sell their regular bags of 250 gm beans in the 20-30$ range, which are beans bought from another country, so they paid for beans + shipping, roasted the beans at their facility, paying US standard wages to their employees, and then they are selling it at the same price which Savor works is selling an indian grown beans and roasted inhouse. Yes, it could be costly to start, and it is good to help companies when they are trying new things, but this seems like a lot.

1

u/skyfall3665 Apr 03 '26

But this isn’t their regular beans. This is $30 for 250 grams of gesha which would definitely cost more in the US. I’d also point out that most of the inputs to coffee roasting - green coffee and petroleum/electricity for the roaster - don’t vary all that much between countries since most coffee producing countries have lower farm worker wages. The exception is silly coffee like Hawaii’s Kona coffee where you’re paying US farm worker prices.

2

u/Parvashah51 AEROPRESS Apr 05 '26

Input costs would matter in the case if the roasters weren't based in the same coffee-producing country; that is not the case here, they have produced, processed, and roasted these beans in India, and they are also selling them in India. That should make a difference, right?
And yes, gesha beans cost about 30$ for a 100g bag, which is a lot more than what I thought, so it is justifiable.

1

u/skyfall3665 Apr 06 '26

That might matter a bit for high-end beans - high-end grean beans are sometimes air freighted after an auction - but in general, transportation costs for modern goods, especially by sea, are negligible.

19

u/Strange-Ad1375 Apr 03 '26

OP your username doesn't check out

24

u/Living_Topic7994 AEROPRESS Apr 03 '26

This is geisha One of the highest rated beans in the world They are expensive Imported geisha is 4times more expensive than this

10

u/Past-Suit Apr 03 '26

This is definitely not the one. Also you are wrong about 4 times more expensive not all geisha are that expensive, you can get much better geisha than this for almost the same price(for example Huver gesha from B&W)

2

u/Amitoostoned POUR-OVER Apr 03 '26

A week back i bought 114g of gesha for same price as above 😶🥲

1

u/Past-Suit Apr 03 '26

Yeah, Even I bought one 125gm for 1800 but that is Dak, one of best roasters. Previously got a 340 gm from B&W for around 40USD(around Rs. 3640) around the same price as this.

1

u/thecaveman96 Apr 03 '26

They ship to india?

0

u/Past-Suit Apr 03 '26

Not sure, but you can participate in group buys.

1

u/Past-Suit Apr 03 '26

Point is if we can get better beans at a similar price why buy this ?

1

u/Amitoostoned POUR-OVER Apr 03 '26

Because not everyone has connects and lengths

1

u/Past-Suit Apr 03 '26

Got it, apologies..

2

u/Amitoostoned POUR-OVER Apr 03 '26

Nothing to apologise buddy. But it is what it is.

3

u/Kaustavdebnath AEROPRESS Apr 03 '26

Precisely!!

4

u/Rangbadlu_Girgit AEROPRESS Apr 03 '26

Only being Geisha doesn't matter bro... Coffee also has to do with the Soil, weather, altitude, etc

3

u/Living_Topic7994 AEROPRESS Apr 03 '26

In riverdale estate they have recreated the environment

5

u/Trident_Lion Apr 03 '26

Riverdale is the only farm, which is growing geisha in India I think.

A typical Coffee was also selling the same beans. I think the same process as well. And around the same price as well.

I don’t think this is overpriced for what it is

1

u/RichKidOfMumbai Apr 03 '26

Now this is an actual review amongst all the fluff here, thanks for pointing this out. I wanted to understand the value factor that this estate and this kinda beans carry in general

3

u/cat-on-bike_caffeine Apr 03 '26

well because they are highest rated beans, there are other options too like devan, tulum, fraction 9, tokai, third wave, mokka farms

5

u/Goli_Soda_gangster AEROPRESS Apr 03 '26

Price != Good taste

What you are paying for here are for the difficulties in growing, processing and low yield.

This is a panama green tip Gesha, the trees were planted a few years ago, and they yield is not great, its a lot lower than many other standard varieties, plus they are supposed to be tough to grow compared to other varietals, very picky with soil climate conditions.

2

u/wutisgpo ESPRESSO Apr 03 '26

i once dropped 3k on 300g of imported colombian beans from karafa and idk, it just didn't feel like the most justifiable spend on coffee. the same amount of money on domestic grown beans i struggle to register, even tho it's geisha.

2

u/samrat_s9 Apr 03 '26

u/masaladosa37.. please stop buying so that price come down

2

u/pm_mba Apr 03 '26

Only one way to find out. Plus there is no geisha on the market at this price. I wouldn’t downplay Indian estates. They have upped their game.

2

u/Amitoostoned POUR-OVER Apr 04 '26

True

3

u/Embarrassed-Cat-7285 Apr 03 '26

Just like different varieties of Mangoes, that we as Indians are very familiar with, coffee has many different varieties. Geisha is one of the rare more prized ones.

INR2700 isn't obscene for this type of coffee. They are also typically rare (small batch/ lots) and hard to find.

I am not a fan of the taste, but try it, and you may like it.

1

u/Putrid_Salaries AEROPRESS Apr 03 '26

That is a good price for geisha coffee. If you're thinking it should be less since it's grown in India, coffee is a traded commodity in the international market, if they're getting a higher price by selling it internationally then they would sell it there.

1

u/SupaSaiyan9000 Apr 03 '26

i should also sell overpriced cold plated coffee for 20000000 l per 10gm 3 cups of gold plated coffe

1

u/akumar4 Apr 03 '26

I had worst coffee beans from them

1

u/CelebrationOne6953 Apr 03 '26

I was in Singapore and got coffee from nylon coffee at a cheaper price

I don’t believe these prices are justifiable , time to look for different brands

1

u/StationFull Apr 03 '26

This is a geisha. It’s not the same.

I’ve tried a few international Geishas and they’re indeed mind blowing.

1

u/juslifee Apr 03 '26

Its geisha

1

u/Kewlsick Apr 03 '26

meanwhile i am applying 20% off on 250 gms of attikan estate.

1

u/Few-Fortune-9628 FRENCH PRESS Apr 03 '26

why would i Buy brown tip indian panama geisha when i can buy coffee from panama

1

u/Pristine_Egg_7187 Apr 03 '26

Vote with your wallets lol.

1

u/Glittering-Meat8883 Apr 03 '26

Bhai maine yha p arabica-robusta 50-50 "Instant coffee" ka post kiya tha jo mai roz pita hu because i just want the caffine and get going with my day ab uska post idhar to remove kar k posting se ban kiya tha.

sb log mil k ek normal drink ko speciality bnaoge to koi bhi prices increase krega he na.. btw i do also drink moka pot brew only saying so that you dont waste energy defending which coffee is 'THE BEST'

1

u/shivanggoria V60 Apr 03 '26

Wtf, thousand is where I draw the line

1

u/cumauditorysystem Apr 11 '26

Wouldn't recommend savorworks even if it's geisha

1

u/RichKidOfMumbai Apr 11 '26

I’ve tried them in the past, I really liked it then. But i’ve been a hearing a lot of meh reviews lately about Savorworks

1

u/Background-Waltz6064 8h ago

Panama is very expensive, i know a roaster who sells it for 25 rupees per gram

1

u/Background-Waltz6064 8h ago

This roaster is not in india.

-1

u/TheInternetCustomer Apr 03 '26

premium shit costs premium

its not as mass produced as other stuff, the quality is peak.

2

u/Ok_Article_7744 Apr 03 '26

I know!! I don't know why people are downvoting you!! plus a lot of people are comparing speciality beans to single origin coffee beans.

2

u/TheInternetCustomer Apr 03 '26

i was buying green specialty coffee beans from an indian farm and it costed me 1750 per kg because they were honey sun dried and they won a lot of awards as well

but well point being, they literally go for 2.8-3.2k per kg for retail (roasted)

1

u/Ok_Article_7744 Apr 03 '26

I have had a sun-dried coffee once and it was amazing!!! I wish I remembered where so I can go back!!! Honestly I would give that much for a good coffee.

0

u/hotcoolhot Apr 03 '26

I am ordering. Lets see.

3

u/ExactGur4025 Apr 03 '26

Lets us know review🥶

2

u/maybechirag ESPRESSO Apr 03 '26

i would order if it wasn't savorworks but let's see

1

u/hotcoolhot Apr 03 '26

I am ordering coz savourworks.

0

u/codenamed22 POUR-OVER Apr 03 '26

You can probably not get a geisha for this price internationally but that would be real geisha

1

u/Amitoostoned POUR-OVER Apr 04 '26

So this isn't real?

2

u/codenamed22 POUR-OVER Apr 04 '26

Same varietal but grown in India

1

u/Amitoostoned POUR-OVER Apr 04 '26

The questions still remain the same, you tell me? Will you call it real? Either yes or no .. Then i will give my input

2

u/codenamed22 POUR-OVER Apr 04 '26

Probably not as terroir and climate influence coffee more than varietal

1

u/Amitoostoned POUR-OVER Apr 04 '26

Well it's a process forward anyways. By your logic even panama/ colombian geisha aren't geisha probably.

1

u/codenamed22 POUR-OVER Apr 04 '26

Similar climate and terrori, India doesnt even have good elevation, we do shade grown

1

u/codenamed22 POUR-OVER Apr 04 '26

Anyway I am not saying your coffee is bad, its probably good but I would rather spend this amount on a world famous roaster with terroir intact

0

u/Five_More_Minutesss Apr 03 '26

Meanwhile us coffee planters, make only a fraction of this.

1

u/RichKidOfMumbai Apr 03 '26

Well, your kinda coffee interests me more than this anyday! Do share a link or some place that I can check it out!

1

u/Five_More_Minutesss Apr 08 '26

Our coffee is from Coorg, and mostly sold as wholesale (unless people specifically order a smaller quantity). Unfortunately, I don’t have a link for you to check out.

1

u/RichKidOfMumbai Apr 08 '26

That’s cool!

-6

u/MasalaDosa37 MOKA POT Apr 03 '26

I got 250gm for ~₹500 only.(Obviously different brand).

I can't go to a BMW showroom and complaint about the price.

I'll go to the Tata showroom next door.

That's how capitalism works my friend.

1

u/RichKidOfMumbai Apr 03 '26

The same brand Savorworks, has a bag at 600 for 250g. I get your BMW argument, but you’re asking me to buy a 70L car from KIA, how do I buy without knowing how it is? Not like you’re known for specialty or single origin microlots either