Nepal Illam Naturale

I wasn't expecting much, but this coffee genuinely surprised me — smooth and clean in the cup, with a hint of sweetness from the hillside farms rather than a big-estate flavor. Knowing it comes from smallholder plots grown alongside tea and cardamom makes it feel like a real place, not just a label.

The hillside smallholder growing really comes through—this tastes like a clean, bright cup with a bit of citrus edge, nothing muddy or over-roasted. Knowing it's grown alongside cardamom and tea on those steep Illam farms makes me appreciate it more.

Brewed a pot this afternoon and the profile is genuinely different from the supermarket stuff—you can taste the hillside terroir coming through, with a subtle hint of that cardamom growing nearby. It’s a nice change knowing it’s from smallholder farms, not some giant plantation. Fourth cup going dow