Yettu, an instant Indian coffee that elevates your morning cuppa with craft quality

Twelve years ago, V Viggnesh was just another coffee obsessive trying to get a decent cup in a city better known for its filter coffee variant than its specialty brews.

Today he has co-founded Yettu, the Chennai brand behind what is being billed as a specialty craft coffee that comes together in under a minute — no fancy espresso machine, no aeropress, just hot water and a bottle.

You might think that instant coffee just got a better rep. But, sit with Viggnesh for 10 minutes, and he will talk you out of that notion entirely.

“People talk a lot about instant noodles, but in Japan everyone has instant noodles. It doesn’t mean it’s of a lower quality. They have just made it accessible,” he said. “We are calling it craft coffee because the craft happens from the farm. People have to pick the coffee a certain way, process it a certain way. There is craft at every single step. So that is converted into just a bottle. That’s why it’s craft coffee,” he says.

Coffee berries
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Yettu works with around 30 and 50 farms across the country — in Nagaland, a village called Thizama near Kohima, Koraput in Odisha, Valparai and Yercaud in Tamil Nadu, and a Robusta belt outside Coorg. Not all of them make the final cut, but Viggnesh describes it less as sourcing and more as a shared project. “There are a lot of farmers who want to be part of this journey,” he said. “We are their partners — from when it starts to when it ends.”

A special heirloom Arabica coffee which is the only one of its kind, was picked up by a Japanese roaster, processed using techniques the team brought back from their trips to Tokyo. Japan, in fact, is where this story really begins. Viggnesh, who calls the country the Mecca of coffee, is astounded that a tea-drinking country has built an entire culture around drip brewing almost out of obsession. “We wanted our Indian coffee to be known there,” he said. “That was the whole idea of going to Japan.”

This, of course, did not happen overnight. An early batch sent over did not particularly excel there. Yettu went back, set up at the Specialty Coffee Association of Japan trade show in Tokyo, and spent months in 2025 running cupping sessions with roasters across the country. At one popular coffee festival, the brand sold around 600 cups over a day and a half. “Today, our coffee is a staple for close to a hundred of Japan’s top roasters,” he adds.

A jar of Yettu
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Closer home, the Chennai pop-ups and their five stealth launches till date, have drawn their own following for Yettu, including some uses that Viggnesh did not see coming. “Someone made a protein bowl with only this coffee,” he said. “Someone made a banana bread latte with it. There’s a baker in Bengaluru [Maki] who’s made a whole line of desserts with it,” he says.

Part of the appeal is shelf life. Because the coffee is fresh-roasted, fresh-brewed and bottled before it ever reaches a customer, Viggnesh says a jar that can make 10 cups, holds its quality long after opening. The oldest batch they have tested has crossed nine months.

Even Yettu’s name carries layers of meaning for Viggnesh, drawing on infinity, coffee beans, a petroglyph excavated in Goa, and temple architecture. “We wanted India to look as cool as it is,” he said.

A jar of Yettu Coffee is priced at ₹360 during the current launch period and can be delivered within the city. To place your order, log onto yettu.in