NAGALAND COFFEE: Beyond brewing, roasting and flavor

Nagaland Coffee, as ascribed and purely organic with the potential of producing the “best coffee in the world,” is leading Nagaland and the Northeast to export coffee at the global market.  

To make it happen, Nagaland Coffee has recently opened its first franchise in Nagaland situated at the heart of Dimapur Circular Road, next to Dominos Pizza, to sell in the local market and serve coffee to the local populace.  

Nagaland Coffee Shop, a joint venture of Dr Pieter Vermeulen and Renathung Ezung is a franchise of the subsidiary company called Naga Coffee Pvt Ltd owned by Kajiikho Arücho, 

The Naga Coffee Pvt Ltd

The Naga Coffee Pvt Ltd, with its holding company, Noble Cause Pvt Ltd based in South Africa was started in 2016 and has a standing MoU with the State Department of Land Resources to processes and exports coffee to the global market for 30 years, Dr Pieter Vermeulen told The Morung Express.  

Coffee produced from farms in Mokokchung, Mon, Wokha and Zunheboto and Jalukie are currently being exported to South Africa and the Gulf countries.  

Vivito Yeptho informed that till date, the company has exported 8 tonnes (8000 kgs) of green coffee and produces around 2 tonnes of roasted coffee for the local market.  

The Nagaland Coffee

Dr Pieter Vermeulen, who is a cultural anthropologist, is also a Coffee expert. Making a vivid recollection, he said his father was a missionary here and since his visit in 1994, he has many attachments with Nagaland alike his friendship with his co-partner of the shop, Renathung. “Nonetheless, my grandfather was a coffee farmer,” he shares.  

While also sharing a similar passion in the art and business of coffee, the duo, Rena and Pieter met and became friends from Naga Christian Fellowship, Delhi.  

Pointing that “Nagaland coffee stands out and is unique for growing, roasting, processing, brewing and selling our own organic coffee,” Pieter said that “the advantage being the combination of default organic nature, suiting climatic condition, soil texture, altitude and the whole ecosystem enables the coffee to mature perfectly.”  

Out of the 17 varieties of coffee produced, three were categorized “specialty coffee” which is the highest quality of coffee in the world. “All the coffees bought from different districts are roasted differently to ensure optimal roasting,” Vivito said.   Pieter also says that Nagaland’s coffee is highly preferred due to its aroma and flavour.  

The Nagaland Coffee shop

At the Nagaland Coffee shop, as Pieter expresses, “the menu is kept very simple, with the intent to serve a global menu to the people of Nagaland.”  

The menu, though simple will be rotated every six months, he said. The current menu available at the shop are the French (European) breakfast and South African lunch while simultaneously serving the regular and signature coffee variants, he added.  

While the employees at the coffee shop have been trained as baristas and chefs, Vivito Yeptho, who is now training for almost three years, is soon to become the “first Master Roaster in Nagaland.”  

He says that the art of mastering coffee is not a usual cup of coffee but its expertise stretches to a passion in studying the anatomy and physiology which is vast and challenging.  

Apart from serving coffee, the venture will also extend to selling Moka pots or simple coffee machines for coffee lovers so one can learn to use and brew our own organic coffee instead of the instant coffee available in the market.

Morung Express News