Himalayan Speciality Coffee

How it started

Five years ago, we launched our Himalayan Speciality Coffee project to bring sustainable speciality coffee from Eastern Nepal to the world. In the Taplejung District, a community of 1,000 coffee farmers, face daily challenges to secure sustainable livelihoods. These farmers are now working with us to create a new path forward. Many here lacked the tools, training, and market access necessary to realise the region's vast, untapped potential for speciality coffee production. Together with the Danish charity The Human Practice Foundation, we've pioneered a model of direct trade and uncut charity, ensuring all proceeds return directly to the community, which benefits over 3,500 individuals.

Why Taplejung

Taplejung is perfectly suited for growing speciality coffee, with its rich soil and high-altitude conditions ideal for cultivating unique flavour profiles. By providing farmers with essential resources, they’re able to take ownership of their craft and build a sustainable future. Since 2021, we've partnered with Lekali Coffee, Nepal’s leading speciality coffee roaster, run by Mingma Dorji Sherpa and Nima Tenzing Sherpa, whose legacy in Nepalese coffee stems from a family heritage of resilience and adventure. Nima's grandfather, Pasang Phutter Sherpa, stood alongside Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary in the legendary 1953 Everest expedition, paving the way for a journey of triumph that Tenzing, speciality coffee operator extraordinaire and friend, continues today in the spirit of his ancestors.

Bean profile

Our Himalayan coffee reflects the evolving journey of these farmers. 

The Arabica blend, a combination of bourbons, caturras, and typicas, is naturally processed at 1100-1200 masl. It’s a medium-light roast with tasting notes of sugar cane and dried fruit, delivering a crisp, satiny mouthfeel. 

Starting with a limited 150 kg harvest in 2020, which sold out completely, the 2022/2023 harvest reached all our bars as the guest espresso, “Himalayan Signature Roast.” The 2023/2024 harvest is now being roasted in-house at Hagen Belgravia, on our Bellwether all-electric, ventless roaster. 

These extraordinary beans are available in our Home Brew, Cold Brew, Capsules, and Instant, with every sale helping farmers reinvest in their skills and resources to build a brighter future.

Our local partner, speciality coffee operator extraordinaire and friend in Nepal is called Tenzing. Tenzing comes from a long proud line of sherpas. His grandfather, was also named Tenzing - he is the 4th person from the left in the picture below, which shows some of the team who took part in the first summiting of Mount Everest with Edmund Hillary.