Discover the flavors of India
Pack your bags and join the Caribou Coffee® coffee sourcing team on a trip around the globe in search of the best, most flavorful and unique coffee beans on the planet. But wait! You don’t have to go hunting for your passport quite yet; you can experience a world of flavor from the comfort of home, right in your favorite coffee cup.
Each exclusive coffee captures the essence of its origin: the love and care of the producer, how it’s harvested and processed, a unique varietal or an interesting story. They’re more than just great coffee — they’re the perfect example of our unwavering commitment to sourcing the most unique, sustainable, responsible and yes, delicious beans.
Are you ready to take your tastebuds on a trip, simply by brewing up a pot of morning coffee? First, let’s talk about what makes one coffee variety different from another and why those differences are so compelling.
What’s in a varietal?
We often compare coffee to apples when talking about growing and harvesting. Think of all the different apple varieties you can find at the grocery store: Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, Granny Smith — they’re all apples, but they’re varied in crispness and flavor. Each coffee varietal produces fruit, colloquially called cherries, and the seeds of the fruit contain the unique qualities of the varietal, which show up as individual characteristics in the roasted coffee.
Coffee falls in the plant genus coffea. Caribou Coffee only buys the Arabica species of coffee; our sourcing team, coffee experts with broad and exacting palates, use cupping (AKA a slurp-style tasting) to tell them everything they need to know about a certain type of coffee and whether or not it’s right for us.
In the case of this roast, it was love at first sight … or sip.
An essential part of the seed to cup journey is the relationship we’ve developed with farmers and growers across the world. These personal connections help lead the sourcing team to the quality coffee you expect from Caribou Coffee.
Inside Pearl Mountain Estate
Our first stop on the global tour is Karnataka, a southwestern state in India with a rich history and varied climate. It’s the eighth-largest state in India and the home of these premium single origin beans.
While India may not be your first thought when you think of coffee producers, Pearl Mountain grows coffees with delicious flavor profiles.
Ashok Patre has been at the helm of his family’s estate since 2000, carrying on a tradition of excellence started by his grandfather in 1927. Through some innovative techniques, Patre reinvigorated the estate and today puts a premium on creating innovative solutions in sustainability and quality for the production and processing of specialty coffee, including our new Pearl Mountain medium roast.
Tasting notes and brewing tips
Our India Whole Bean Coffee opens with flavors of sweet, tangy nectarine, evolving into a savory, complex blend of fresh autumn herbs. It finishes with hints of white pepper to dry your palate, leaving you thirsting for more. The coffee sourcing team calls it a “workhorse” that you can drink pot after pot of; it’s a clean, mild coffee that would satisfy a crowd. If you like Caribou Blend and Fireside, you must try this light roast. Because it’s so mild and versatile, you can brew it any way you like.
Like all of our coffee, this discovery is 100% Rainforest Alliance Certified and small batch roasted in Minnesota. Purchase India Whole Bean Coffee online or at your favorite Caribou Coffee coffeehouse (while supplies last).
Up for more adventure? Continue reading about our premium single origin beans from the Burka Gudina farm in Ethiopia.
Grab your passport — or your mug — and let’s get sipping!