The Kaapi Project

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Richmond, VIC
The Kaapi Project

Crafters of Melbourne's first locally roasted and freshly brewed Traditional Indian Filter Coffee.

We are a Melbourne based Indian - Italian duo passionate about fine coffee. In the southern states of India, where Indian coffee originates, the word ‘kaapi’ transcends linguistic and cultural differences, and translates to coffee. Our first blend is a take on the centuries old classic Indian Filter Coffee. Crafted in Melbourne, with our finest selection of Indian Arabica coffees along with a healthy dose of chicory, this blend has bold earthy flavours and a heady aroma!

28/05/2026

Filter 🇮🇳 Coffee. with a spot of milk ✨

Smooth As 🤙🏽

02/04/2026

hello Melburnians On SUNDAY 26 April 12:30-3:30pm I'm teaming up with good friends Sakthi .and.varuvals and Chef Gayatri to host a South Indian Mini Feast at our space in Coburg North.

Bringing you a delightful taste of South India featuring all time classics like Podi Idlis, Rasam, Lemon Rice and Mango Kesari, Filter KAAPI and a take home bag of goodies, this is an event you don't want to miss or leave too long to book!

Please share the deets with your local friends and we look forward to seeing you soon ✌🏽❤️

20/11/2025

hey hey 👋🏽 thank you for ordering KAAPI down under, that's freshly roasted & brewed traditionally from our range of top notch Indian coffees. 2 years back or so I remember meeting a friend the first time (artisanal baker) who looked me in the eye and asked, "so how is the business going?" When I replied "it's fun"; he laughed 😅 and yes it is a fun ride! We do have our share of frustrating moments (think couriers!) but who doesn't hey! Overall net positive (highs) thanks to the extremely supportive and understanding lot of you who make it all possible ✌🏽❤️

If you're free swing past for a brew tomorrow ☕

Have a good end of the week y'all ✨

14/11/2025

...it's back! For a short while we're bringing this brew once again. Every aspect of this coffee is truly unique and nothing short of MAGICAL!

'Monsooned' - The monsooning process that these beans undergo is very unique to India. Under controlled conditions, the process replicates how the green beans were once unintentionally exposed to sea breeze on their voyage from India to Britain. This gives the beans their pale ivory white colour. The process also beefs up the beans massively and are some of the largest in screen size.

On roasting, these beans are transformed and take on a very unique shade of brown; you'll often see 2 distinct shades, giving you the impression 2 different roast profiles were blended. The coffee also leaves behind no chaff (during roasting)!

The way we roast and brew this coffee, highlights unmistakable notes of short biscuit, cacao and nuts - especially mixed with milk. As a black coffee, this is very low acid brew for an Arabica of this roast profile, to put in simple terms. It works well for a heavy bodied long black or Kerala Kattan KAAPI. Add a touch of spice and jaggery and you've got something magical ✨

25/10/2025

hi 👋🏽 Suraj from KAAPI here. We've just launched 2 special coffees this season sourced directly from our partner farms in BR Hills, Karnataka (India).

I wanted to take a minute to explain the coffees & our new direct trade efforts.

The first one is an Washed Arabica Peaberry. Peaberries are a naturally occurring genetic mutation where instead of 2 distinct flat beans that usually exist in a coffee cherry, there is just one rounded bean. Only a very small percentage of coffee beans are peaberries. Given their special shape and resulting character when roasted, these are often painstakingly hand sorted to separate them from regular beans. Our Peaberry has a very fruity, unmistakable cherry flavour in the cup and I find it remarkable as a hot batch brew (Batchy!). We've already had a few our customers try and report back the same. If you're a black coffee lover, I definitely recommend trying this out.

Our second coffee is a Washed Arabica of Chandragiri varietal, which is beautiful in a milk based or black coffee. More chocolatey notes shine through making it a delicious choice for a medium strength filter coffee or a flat white. We are also using this coffee to craft YODHA and GAJAH blends, making our lineup of pure coffees all directly sourced Single Origin Indian coffees.

(Being mindful to not make the video any longer), I'll share the details of our new trade alliance and the amazing people who have made all this possible. Stay tuned ✌🏽❤️

In the meantime please head over the website and grab these coffees and let me know your thoughts... Cheers!

14/10/2025

Thrissur (Kerala) 2024. Peeking behind the live popup kaapi counter at the Hyatt breakfast buffet, I saw Bru was on shift. It was a pass for me. For those who didn't see (that), the filter kaapi tasted fine.

DON'T JUDGE JUST YET!

Melbourne 2025. A prominent vineyard venue with a state of the art cafe and restaurant in the city's northside proudly serves Lavazza coffee.

Now that we're comparing apples to apples, where does this leave us?

If it's JUST about taste OR quality, several things will fly. IF it's about supporting the growers, who are doing exceptional work in the field - growing regeneratively with minimum intervention, it's when "great kaapi" becomes better by doing good.

Indian coffee deserves a better platform to be showcased in all its glory, thank you for supporting what we do 🙏🏽❤️

Stay tuned for updates and our newest releases!

17/09/2025

AVAL mugs for your special Kattan Kaapi ⚡
In South India, traditionally, black coffee is a rarity and in Kerala, coffee itself is hard to come by, except when it's a KATTAN. Ours is spiced and sweetened a tad with traditional palm jaggery (karipetti). It's also rarely served in a davara tumbler unlike a classic filter kaapi. We chose these beautiful AVAL mugs which are handmade by Sonia; each bespoke, slowly and thoughtfully crafted. She takes inspiration from the women who have shaped her, capturing memories & traditions she grew up with, working them meticulously into the artwork that you see on these mugs and other clay ware she makes.
📸(1) Fast forward to current times, our kaapi of choice for mornings is a delicately brewed Batchy in an Indian filter. Our lightly roasted Single is perfect for this.

Next time you're at Proppa South, make sure to order a traditional KATTAN or our Indian Batchy, share a picture and tag .naidu_ ✌🏽❤️

10/09/2025

ONAM Season okke alle...so everyone's doing Sadhya - the traditional Kerala style banquet on Banana Leaf. Several lavish, extravagant and festive ones are being organised all across Melbourne ; we've even sent a tonne of coffee to support the mammoth effort our friends & have taken on; who are fully booked out and going at full steam! Amazing hey... anyway here I was marveling at all this & thinking what can a small batch south Indian coffee guy pull off amidst all this mayhem...💥

I'm teaming up with my good friend Chef Ajith to slay some PUTTU during Onam time. No kidding! These steamed rice cakes layered with shredded coconut, served with KADALA (black chickpeas) Curry is a strong contender any time of the day or any time of the year. Can it take on the might of the Sadhya...let's not go there!

Mallus in the house please fill in your non-Kerala friends on the joke and bring them along on September 14 arvo for what's going to be a PUTTU + KATTAN KAAPI POP-UP at Proppa South

Deets & Tickets via Link in Bio thank you!
Isn't Kattan always on the menu? YEP, but ONAM okke alle, so I'm going to take some old school twists and turns up that hill to Wayanad to create something more magical with dollops of .au ghee and .and.varuvals single origin spices to give it more oomph 💥🤙🏽✌🏽❤️

30/05/2025

Folks, there was a typo in the MONTH - instead of 6 (June), 5 (May) was written on some of the orders that were sent out recently. Fear not, all brewed fresh, by hand, dated (with error sometimes) :/ sorry for the trouble. Please email if you have Q's and our team will get back to you. Have a good weekend ✌🏽❤️

11/02/2025

The KAAPI + KADI Series is here 💥

The complete Bundle to enjoy a SOUTH INDIAN coffee & nibbles at home! Get a bag of KAAPI Grounds (250g) or a fresh bottle of Filter Coffee Decoction (500ml)

with a bag of

KADI (made to order in small batches)

a.k.a South Indian nibbles n bytes to go with our kaapi. We have a rotating selection of 'Today's Specials' to offer some of our favourite snacks from around South India. Best to follow our Instagram account to be in the know of what's special each week.

Made in small batches to order and available on the pop-up day (too) until sold out!

Current Collaboration x DABBA CARTEL by Chef Akanksha

Rotating Selection of SAVOURY ITEMS - Ompodi / Ribbon Pakoda / Murukkus of different kinds (usually made with besan, rice flour, spices, salt, canola oil)

SWEETS - Coconut Barfi (made with coconut, sugar, cashew nut, green cardamom, ghee); OR Other!

Please note that the snack packs will rotate from the selection of what's on special.

Pickup available at KAAPI @ Proppa South if you're in Melbourne! Usually ready in 2-4 days, but please wait for a confirmation notification.

04/02/2025

SPECIAL RL. KAAPI 💥

The Yercaud Gunner is our special release filter KAAPI Decoction release using 100% Single Origin Coffee from Riverdale Estate Yercaud, roasted dark, mixed with a dash of premium Chicory and brewed extra strong to cut through dollops of ice-cream!

Limited Release. Limited Numbers. ON SPECIAL 💥

Make a classic Degree Coffee or pour a swig to cold milk. Get it. Enjoy it. Tell Others About IT ✌🏽❤️

GOOD TO KNOW

1 serve is 20ml. Mix 100ml premium full cream milk. A true GUNNER?

AVL in

10 serves bottle
25 serves bottle

Want to brew yourself? Leave a comment on your order notes and we'll see what we can do for you!

Best Enjoyed

30/01/2025

Meet CREATURE CREATURE, rad Melbourne based artists Chanel and Ambrose, long time friends of mine!

It was such a pleasure to finally collaborate & have them paint a mural at Proppa South. This design features a Leopard, Peafowl, Malabar Parakeets, Sunbirds, Ficus and Pepper Vines, marrying their love for big cats, vivid colours and the flora and fauna seen in South Indian coffee farms.

The idea was to bring these South Indian elements in a style unique to theirs; to Melbourne, our new home, where we are narrating the story of Indian coffee Down Under like it's never been done before.

This mural was hand painted over 2 days. Like how Mick from next door remarked, it was incredible to see them in action. Come in and check it out ⚡

thank you guys ❤️✌🏽

p.s. wonder what's #2 📸? Years ago, I was the rickshaw rider on their wedding day at the Grub in Fitzroy 😉😋 we had previously met through a mutual friend, Hiro!

19/12/2024

on CHICORY 💥 like single malt whisky purists who might give the Whisky cocktails a stink eye, chicory is often a hotly debated addition to coffee. We think added thoughtfully it elevates the Indian Filter Coffee experience. CHAKRAM is our most loved blend, period.🤪 say what Charles!?

09/12/2024

Adding PROPPA SOUTH Indian Coffee vibes UP NORTH 🌞

Brew Door Opening Fridays for tastings. BYO bags/bottles to grab our freshly roasted/ground & brewed Decoction for home.

Share the word? See you real soon 💥✌🏽❤️

Address

Richmond, VIC

Website

http://www.kaapi.com.au/

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