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ICB Fortnight 8 · 27 Jun 2026
More rupees,
fewer grams.
Hello,
Welcome to Issue 8. If you've bought a bag lately, you may have felt it. Coffee is getting pricier, and the squeeze is reshaping what lands on the shelf. Green-coffee costs are at a multi-decade high, and Indian roasters are responding in two ways: bigger price tags, and in a few cases, smaller bags.
We dug into it. Blue Tokai says its green-coffee cost rose 49% year-on-year. Coffeeverse now prices some premium fermented lots at 200g, while the big roasters held 250g and raised the price instead. It's not "shrinkflation everywhere." It's two answers to the same problem, and we've laid both out below.
Also this fortnight: three new roasters (two more from Gujarat), nine new coffees leaning experimental, and a fresh field-guide piece on what actually drives the price of a bag of Indian specialty.
Reply any time. We read everything.
— GT
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Freshly Added
What's New on ICB.
Three new roasters joined: The Aroma Fusion and Bitter Waters, both from Gujarat (Surat and Vadodara), plus Stockholm Roasters Co. from Kolhapur, Maharashtra. The specialty map keeps spreading beyond the Karnataka belt. Nine new coffees landed, leaning experimental: two anaerobics and two washed, alongside double-fermented, carbonic maceration, and natural lots. The catalogue now stands at 1,083 coffees across 90 roasters.
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90
Roasters
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1,083
Coffees
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202
Ratings
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+9
New Coffees
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Just Joined ICB
Roaster Spotlight.
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The Aroma Fusion Coffee Roasters
Surat, Gujarat
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Just joined ICB, this Surat roaster works under the tagline "One Roast at a Time," another sign of specialty roasting taking root well outside the southern growing belt. The range looks beyond India too, with a Koji-processed Colombian Pink Bourbon sitting alongside Indian selections, and sampler kits that make it an easy, low-commitment place to start.
Explore their coffees →
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Curated Picks
Worth Reading.
Three reads on the pricing story: why bags cost more, and what's quietly happening to their size.
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Blue Tokai's own breakdown of the increase: green-coffee cost up 49% year-on-year in India, climate-driven yield cuts, and more of each rupee going back to farmers.
Read it →
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The 250g specialty standard is loosening. Some roasters now ship 200g or 225g at the same price to absorb rising costs, so it's worth checking the net weight on your last bag.
Read it →
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We checked the product pages: Coffeeverse prices several premium fermented lots at 200g, while Blue Tokai and Maverick & Farmer held 250g and raised the sticker price instead. Two responses to the same cost squeeze.
See for yourself →
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From the ICB Field Guide
Off the Press.
Ecosystem Intelligence · 23 Jun 2026
Indian specialty spans Rs 300 to Rs 2,000+ per 250g, but 65% of the catalogue sits in a Rs 500 to 900 corridor. What actually drives the number on the bag, from green-bean costs to processing premiums.
Read the field guide →
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Origins & Estates
Four varietals account for most of India's specialty arabica, yet each arrived through a different lineage. A side-by-side on character and where each shows up.
Read →
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Processing & Flavors
Washed, natural, honey, anaerobic, monsooned: a field guide to how each process reshapes what ends up in the cup. Useful context for this fortnight's experimental new lots.
Read →
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New on ICB
Claim your spot.
Two updates: profiles are now publicly visible, and the homepage has a new section spotlighting the top four members who've added the most reviews. Every coffee you rate moves you up the board. Add a few and you might find your profile featured on the front page.
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Question for you
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"When you pick a coffee, what pulls you in: a washed lot that lets the terroir speak for itself, or an experimentally processed cup with all its layered complexity?"
Reply and tell us which way you lean.
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Share the Coffee Love.
Know someone curious about Indian specialty coffee? Forward this along.
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