Our New Machinery Arrives!

After months of waiting, our new coffee processing machinery finally crossed the southern border from India and arrived in Pokhara on the last day of May.

As normal, the delivery did not happen without incident. Delivery companies in Nepal do not seem to claim responsibility for unloading equipment once it has reached its destination and so it was left to Varsha and Jug to arrange a heavy-lift crane from a local company. Although unloaded without incident, there has been some damage to one of the ‘coffee grader’ machine motors en-route: the motor probably works, but we await a replacement cover. The other machine, a smaller and lighter ‘dehuller,’ came in a purpose built crate.

Our biggest issue for the next few days is that we under-estimated the weight of the grader! Thinking a group of strapping young Nepali guys could man-handle it into the new processing space (as so often happens here), we soon realised that this was never going to work. The plan now is to build a small concrete ramp leading up to the factory doorway and to then crane-lift the machine onto a metal wheel base that can be rolled inside. What can go wrong!

In other news, the first five months of 2026 have met our sales and income targets: this is providing enough income for now, with our focus more on stability and emotional recovery rather than increased business growth. Our plan is for an autumn growth ‘push,’ after the main monsoon season and around the major festival of Dashain, where business tends to pick up anyway. 

Despite the summer heat, the cafe continues to provide a relaxing space for locals and foreign visitors alike and we are mid-way through developing new baking and menu items for the anticipated autumn growth push (Varsha is already having some success with Sourdough bread, for which there is local demand but no local outlet).

Included in our photographs this month is one of a recent ‘coffee taste testing’ event held at Crafted Coffee near the city centre. Jug and I (Chris) sampled a variety of high end coffees from around the world and got a chance to network and discuss all things coffee. Future events will feature Nepali coffee brands, including Black Kite.

Next time… our machinery should be fully up and running in the new processing space.