Profile Overview
Naina Polavarapu is the founder of LastHouse Coffee in Hyderabad, focusing on 100% Robusta. An architect-turned-coffee entrepreneur, she is constantly challenging the stigma around Robusta and trying to elevate its reputation by drawing in discerning coffee lovers of the city.
What happens when an architect trades blueprints for beans, and skyscrapers for coffee plantations? Let’s say what followed was far more than just a simple change of scenery.
Naina Polavarapu always believed that she was a city girl at heart, well-versed in the fast-paced rhythm of urban living. But in an unexpected twist, Naina was drawn to something far from the skyscrapers and city lights—coffee plantations. What started as a mere curiosity led her to spearhead a quiet coffee revolution, doing something few would dare: championing the often-underestimated Robusta coffee.
A day at the LastHouse Coffee overlooking the Durgam Cheruvu Lake, Hyderabad.
Coffee? No, Thanks!
Naina was raised in a family with roots in agriculture, primarily focused on paddy cultivation. In addition to agro-business, her father expanded into construction. Naina aimed to support her father’s ventures and chose to study architecture.
When Naina was pursuing her B.Arch degree in Bangalore, her parents who lived in Hyderabad, often visited her and would take her for retreats to the coffee plantations in Karnataka, away from the hustle and bustle of city life.
“My mom just fell in love during these trips” recalls Naina. “She could not get over the beauty of the Western Ghats and coffee plantations. She felt it was unlike anything else in the world”.
So, in 2017, her father bought a small coffee estate as a gift for her mother. As her parents expanded the family estate, Naina’s initial reaction was anything but enthusiastic.
“I hated that they bought the estate,” she says. For someone who saw herself as a quintessential ‘Cosmo girl,’ the thought of being tied to a quaint coffee estate felt worlds apart from her fast-paced, skyscraper-filled aspirations.
While Naina’s parents blended into the life of estate owners, she began her life in New York as a Master’s student at the Parsons School of Design. She remembers her father would often call to discuss the estate, but she quickly shut down the conversation, insisting she didn’t want to be involved.
“See, we’re into construction, and I’m an architect. I loved designing and everything my dad did with his construction projects. I even told him, ‘I’ll take care of that.’ But coffee? That was a whole different story back then,” she says.
Poor processing is what gives Robusta its bad reputation.
- Naina Polavarapu
From Blueprints To Beans
After returning to India in 2021, Naina met Mr DM Purnesh, a 4th generation coffee grower who runs the Harley Estates, barely a few minutes away from her family estate. During this meeting, Mr Purnesh narrated his coffee journey to Naina. Hearing him talk about coffee with love and passion sparked a sense of curiosity in her mind.
Naina reconsidered her relationship with coffee and put her Architecture career on hold. She says, “After pausing on architecture, I would sit and think about our estate and wouldn't sleep for months on end, because when you start with coffee it's like a black hole. There is so much to know.”
A LastHouse Coffee employee awaits for serving the next order
However, she feels that her most valuable lessons didn’t come from textbooks or official courses.
“Honestly, more than any of the courses, it was the conversations I had with estate owners, farmers, and industry experts that taught me what I needed to know,” she says.
A person, who Naina now calls her mentor and who significantly impacted her understanding of Robusta was Mr Prasanna Gudi, the Director of Coffee at Subko. Mr Gudi introduced her to the nuances of fermentation and processing methods that could elevate the quality of Robusta.
“I realised how much attention had to go into processing. Poor processing is what gives Robusta its bad reputation,” she says.
Naina Polavarapu with coffee consultant and barista Binny Varghese in a coffee farm
Learning The Basics
After spending nights contemplating, Naina decided to open a small 10-seater coffee shop that sold coffee made from the beans grown in her estate. At the time, the estate exclusively produced robusta beans. Her decision to open a Robusta-only coffee shop raised eyebrows. She recalls Binny Varghese, a well-known coffee consultant, saying, “What do you mean, 100% Robusta? That’s pretty cool! Let’s do it!”
Naina admits she didn’t know the difference between Arabica and Robusta when she entered the world of coffee. Binny sensed her inexperience and decided to guide her, beginning with recognising the varieties of coffee.
Naina put her business ideas on hold for a year to learn more about coffee cultivation. She enrolled in courses offered by the Specialty Coffee Association of India (SCAI) and obtained certifications through the Coffee Board of India.
When you start with coffee, it's like a black hole. There is so much to know.
- Naina Polavarapu
Challenging the Robusta Stereotype
For decades, specialty coffee aficionados have favoured Arabica over Robusta, although the latter grows quicker and is more tolerant of extreme weather conditions.
However, Naina’s research led to her discovering the untapped potential of Robusta.
“I realised that a large amount of the population cultivates or grades Robusta improperly,” she says, highlighting a huge gap in the Robusta cultivation process.
With this in mind, she shifted her focus away from trying to fit into the Arabica-driven market and instead aimed at elevating Robusta.
She decided to start her café LastHouse Coffee in Hyderabad, which became the testing ground for this transformation. The cafe offers 100% robusta coffee, from lattes to espressos. Initially, the café prominently featured ‘100% Robusta’ on its signage, but Naina quickly learned that this created a barrier for many customers and decided to remove it.
“We only tell customers after they’ve had their coffee,” she explains. This approach has allowed her to slowly change perceptions, with customers often surprised by how much they enjoyed the coffee once they learned it was Robusta.
Today, the café is buzzing with Hyderabad’s coffee lovers, all seeking their specialty coffee fix in a city where the coffee culture is still growing. For Naina, a true marker of high-quality coffee is when customers order it black, savouring the pure taste without any milk or sugar. A large chunk of the manual brews are served black, indicating that a significant portion of her patrons are discerning coffee drinkers who truly appreciate the nuanced flavours of robusta coffee in its most refined form.
Honestly, more than any of the courses, it was the conversations I had with estate owners, farmers, and industry experts that taught me what I needed to know.
- Naina Polavarapu
So, coffee at LastHouse, Hyderabad anyone?
A Future of Innovation
As part of her commitment to improving the estate’s processing, Naina is in the process of hiring a Q-Grader—a certified professional trained in identifying the quality and taste of coffee beans.
“Hiring a Q-Professional can be a game-changer for us. It gave us an extra level of quality control,” Naina explains. With this new expertise on board, they could refine their processes even further, ensuring that each batch of Robusta met the highest standards.
Naina is currently working on a Q-Processing certification to further her knowledge and gain the ability to manage the intricate and technical facets of coffee processing.
For Naina, the journey of understanding Robusta, growing it with care, and learning the best ways to process it has been a beautiful, unexpected journey that has changed her life and reshaped her family's business for the future.
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