Robusta is good, it’s not an ugly sibling of Arabica anymore, people are more open to Robusta now, but weren’t that open before, and yet there is still a lot of hesitation around the use of Robusta. Let alone -100% Robusta on an Espresso Grinder.

We at Kokoro were always rooting for Robusta as being a different species and we were thrilled when our friends at Modernist Coffee, wanted to take the plunge with Robusta, they were our first collaborative partner and probably the first one in the nation to have a 100% new age (fine) Robusta coffee for espresso and espresso-based drinks. We will forever be grateful for that initiative and hence all our forthcoming Robusta collab will be with Modernist Coffee. We believe Robusta is a ‘Must-a’. The future will be a witness to this change we are bringing about. If you haven’t tried this beautiful 100% Robusta in espresso, we strongly recommend you, to try them and be a part of this Coffee revolution that is long due.

From our partner at Modernist Coffee: – Our goal from the very beginning is to not adhere to norms and do good things. We believe in authenticity, that everything authentic and fundamental is good. We have that ‘Keeda’ to do everything ourselves and keep getting better at it.

If you are not experimenting, if you are not being creative, you are just being stagnant and at some point, you will become sort of ’Lazy’ or dormant. We at Kokoro always made sure that we would always keep that inner curious kid alive. We share the same vibe with our friends at Modernist Labs. We have pledged to our own selves to constantly experiment with things in and around coffee, but also more than just that. One of our recent and near future projects is involving cascara and some cool products (that are in the lab), and we are eager to share that with you all, how does Cascara kombucha sound? Well keep that thought alive… cause there’s more coming, from where that came … (and of course a whole lot more). The idea of experimenting with Modernist Labs is to do a lot of trial and error and find innovative uses of products that are in the coffee value chain and find new purposes/usage of it which could potentially be explored and eventually offered to our esteemed consumers.

From our partner at Modernist Labs Pioneering and experimenting have always been our lifeblood. Modernist Labs allows us to explore without the fear of preconceived notions or failure. It allows us to keep asking ourselves the question “What now, what next?”

Project Sarada, a transformative initiative by Kokoro Coffee and Diwali Farms aimed at uplifting the beautiful community of Dumbriguda Mandal in the enchanting Araku Valley. As we embark on this journey, our mission is clear: to empower, educate, and enrich the lives of the incredible people who call this valley home.

At the heart of Project Sarada lies our commitment to fairness and sustainability. We're dedicated to ensuring that the hardworking farmers in Dumbriguda Mandal receive fair prices for their exceptional coffee and agricultural produce. By purchasing directly from them at fair prices, we're not only supporting their livelihoods but also fostering economic stability within the community.

But our vision extends far beyond just commerce. With every purchase, we're reinvesting all profits back into the community, focusing specifically on two crucial areas: education and women's empowerment. Education is the cornerstone of progress, and we're passionate about providing access to quality education for the children of Araku Valley. Through scholarships, educational programs, and infrastructure development, we aim to create a brighter future for generations to come.

As part of our commitment to education, we're also thrilled to announce the establishment of Kokoro Barista School.This world-class institution will provide comprehensive coffee education to local farmers, especially focusing on empowering women and children. What's more, thanks to the generous support of our partners at Araku Collective and Beanrove , we're able to offer these programs entirely free of charge, ensuring that financial barriers never stand in the way of knowledge and skill development.

With Project Sarada, we're not just selling coffee and agriculture produces —we're building bridges, fostering empowerment, and creating lasting change. Join us on this incredible journey as we work hand in hand with the amazing people of Araku Valley to build a brighter, more equitable future for all. Together, we can make a difference.

Searching is constant, and it is important especially if you are focused and dedicated to finding rare and new gems. The other option is to be where you are and do what everyone else does, and be like the normal “average”. We at Kokoro want to be clearly not your everyday ‘Average’, and hence continuously finding hidden gems is something we not only love but also feel that it’s a responsibility. With Coffee, we were pleased to Collaborate with “Khoj” an initiative by Anytime K's.

Our Collective aim for Khoj is to keep finding some amazing and rare coffees from around the nation and make them available to our consumers at Anytime by K's. Khoj in our own unique way is a medium to give back to the community. The coffee community is what we refer to here, not only at the coffee drinking side; who’d be able to experience some unusual coffees but also at the producing end of coffee, where we’ll be able to shine some light on these really gem of coffee producers. These Producers are doing excellent work with coffee and we wish that through our project we provide them with a platform to help them showcase what they have sown and grown.

Our partners at Anytime at K's, are some of the most amazing people who are constantly pushing boundaries with food, so much that their motto is to ‘Shake things up, cause it’s a humble Food Revolution”.

What say, we both together revolutionize some coffee traditions too?

There’s a popular saying “One Man’s Trash is another Man’s Treasure”. Why not become both of these “Man” together. The idea is to not just minimize the waste but to utilize the waste in a way that is meaningful and logical. Coffee that is used in Café, which basically brews those amazing coffees, eventually turns to “spent Coffee”, which is essentially coffee waste. At this stage, with regards to taste, there’s not much left in that spent coffee. The spent coffee from the café, (called “Puck” cause of the shape like pucks used in Ice Hockey) is collected and used as fertilizers at Diwali farms. These used or spent coffees gradually adds nitrogen to the soil, does not really make the soil acidic, and is great to keep unwanted insects and pest away due to their natural caffeine content in them. In all a great way to logically use the waste. In a way this resonates with us as completing a full circle, Coffee is a beautiful product, that starts from the soil, and goes back into the soil, just in different places.