How a group of South Indians who missed their morning filter coffee brought the real thing to Australia — and found hundreds of others who missed it too.
Long before Bangalore had a specialty coffee scene, before third-wave cafes existed anywhere, the hills of Chikmagalur were producing some of the world's most distinct Arabica and Robusta. The region's story is inseparable from India's — and now, from ours.
Chikmagalur (literally "younger brother's land") sits in the Western Ghats of Karnataka, a mountain range so biodiverse it predates the Himalayas. The region has no summer — year-round temperatures hover between 15–27°C, with the monsoon bringing 1,600mm of rain between June and October.
That combination — high altitude (900–1,500m), cool temperatures, rich red soil, and shaded forest canopy — produces coffee that's simultaneously bright and full-bodied, with natural sweetness that needs no added chicory to shine. Vasavi has worked the same estate families for over 50 years, selecting lots by hand and processing them in small batches.
The area produces two main varieties: Kents Arabica (introduced in the 1930s) and S.274 Robusta. Both are grown under a forest canopy — not monoculture plantations — which gives the beans their characteristic complexity. No other growing region in India quite replicates what comes out of these hills.
Western Ghats, Karnataka, India
~13,000 km from Melbourne, Australia
Vasavi isn't a brand name slapped on commodity coffee. It's a family operation — a third-generation coffee house in Chikmagalur that's been sourcing, roasting, and distributing filter coffee since 1975. Aromatiq is their first and only Australian partner.
Founded by Mr. Rajendra Rao and now run by his sons, Vasavi Estates selects and roasts coffee from small-estate farmers across Chikmagalur, Coorg, and Bababudangiri. They operate a traditional wood-fire roaster alongside modern quality control — because the best filter coffee, they believe, is made by people who know what they're reaching for.
They supply some of the best South Indian filter coffee houses across Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. When Aromatiq's founders tried their coffee in 2022, the conversation about Australian distribution started over the first cup.
South Indian filter coffee isn't just a drink. It's a practice — something millions of people in South India do twice a day, every day, as naturally as breathing. When you move away from home, that ritual goes with you. Aromatiq exists to make sure it doesn't have to.
Melbourne has no shortage of good coffee. What it had no shortage of, until Aromatiq, was authentic filter kaapi — the real version, with the davara and tumbler, the right grind, the right roast, the right something-in-the-water chemistry that makes it taste like home.
Aromatiq started with a simple belief: that Melbourne's South Indian community deserves access to the coffee that defined their childhood, and that Melburnians who've never tried it deserve the chance. The two audiences aren't as different as they sound.
"We didn't set out to build a coffee brand. We set out to solve a problem we had ourselves — and then discovered half the city had the same problem."— Aromatiq Founders
The mission isn't just about coffee. It's about maintaining a connection to a culture that's 8,000 km away. Every bag of Aromatiq that arrives at a Melbourne doorstep carries that intention.
Not adapted for Australian palates. Not blended down. The real thing — as close to what you'd drink in Karnataka as possible.
We buy direct from Vasavi. No brokers, no commodity markets. Every bag supports the estate families we work with.
Every batch is traceable to its estate. We know who's growing it, how it's processed, and how it cups before it ships.
Growing without losing what makes this coffee worth having. Scale should amplify the mission, not dilute it.
Getting filter coffee from the Western Ghats to Melbourne while it's still at its best isn't simple. Here's what actually happens between harvest and your morning brew.
Weekly, fortnightly, or monthly. Choose your grind, choose your cadence, and we'll handle the rest — fresh from Chikmagalur.
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