Profile Overview
Prajwal K Singh, founder of Harmakki Coffee Company, grew up in the tiny village tucked between Mudigere and Sakleshpur in Karnataka—with a population of barely a hundred people. What began as childhood memories of streamside play and the scent of coffee blossoms evolved into a passion for coffee that would shape his life's work.
In India, the size of some villages is sometimes so small that finding them on the map is close to impossible. Somewhere on the road that leads from Mudikere to Sakhleshpur is such a tiny village named Harmakki. With a population of barely a hundred people, this tiny village was where the journey of Prajwal K Singh began. What started as childhood memories of coffee blossoms and streamside daydreams has evolved into a compelling coffee journey of a roastery today.
A Childhood Imprint
The journey began in the early 2000’s when Prajwal’s family bought a coffee estate in the village. The estate became a playground, a classroom, and later, a calling.
“We have always felt coffee is more chocolatey or more of a darker side. But when there is fresh blossom in the fields, the smell is more enchanting. So that made me question: what is coffee, actually?”
Prajwal was hands-on with coffee from a very young age, helping workers, bagging coffee and understanding the nuances of plant management. But his entry into roasting was humble. A family friend let him roast small batches, and he was hooked. Having grown up loving to cook, he found roasting to be another form of the same creative energy.
“It’s like flavour math,” he says, drawing a parallel between his experience in professional kitchens and his current work.
Before fully immersing in coffee, Prajwal studied hotel management and worked with big hospitality brands like Sheraton, Marriott, and Taj West End. Although he had the opportunity to work in a high-paying sales role, he ditched it to intern in hotel kitchens. From peeling hundreds of kilos of onions and potatoes to mastering banquet cooking for thousands, he chased a deeper understanding of flavour over titles.
Prajwal has journeyed from questioning what coffee is to explaining the same
The First Roast
The turning point came when he bought his first manual roasting machine—a made-in-Hassan unit that would define his early roasting style.
“This machine taught me more about roasting and more about the bean performance,” he says.
During COVID-19, with time to experiment, he leaned into roasting specialty coffee, learning from others, cupping endlessly, and slowly building a reputation.
“During the COVID-19 pandemic, I got the time to spend with the roasting machine, understanding these coffees. I used to roast coffees, cup them, send them out to friends, to understand more about specialty coffee,” he said.
While experimenting with coffee from both India and abroad, he found that one of the Indian coffees had similarities with a coffee he tried from a different country. This sparked the thought of starting a brand of his own.
The built-in-Hassan roaster that taught Prajwal the nuances of roasting
Roasting a fresh batch with Harmakki
From Filter Coffee to Coffee Shop
In the beginning, survival came through selling South Indian filter coffee—cheap, familiar, and cash-flow friendly. That paid the bills while he invested everything else into building the roasting side of the business.
Harmakki Coffee now supplies to cafes across India and multiple large companies, including corporate giants and multiplexes. A pivotal moment came when the CEO of a major firm discovered his coffee at a brewpub. Instead of plugging it into a vending machine, the CEO installed a high-end espresso setup, hired a barista, and put Prajwal’s beans at the centre.
Prajwal at Harmakki Coffee brewing an Arabica pour overs
A beautiful pour-over to enjoy a summer afternoon at Harmakki
National Stage, Unexpected Wins
In 2022, Prajwal represented Harmakki at the National Barista Championship. Things didn’t go exactly as planned with equipment hiccups leading him to talk more about the story than the taste notes.
“I knew I would not qualify. In a panic mode, I missed things like telling my taste notes to the judges. To cover it up, I instead told a lot of story about coffee and luckily it reached the right ears like coffee shop owners, roasters and more,” he said.
While the championship didn’t go as planned, it helped him expand his network in the industry.
Harmakki Coffee Company and Looking Ahead
The Harmakki Coffee Company, now a 40-seater coffee shop and roastery in the heart of Malleshwaram, began as a small 18-seater upstairs space. Located in a neighbourhood where most people grew up on filter coffee, the idea of a pour-over was initially met with scepticism.
The house that accommodates Harmakki has been with Prajwal’s family for nearly a century. Originally a family residence, it was transformed into a Montessori school run by Prajwal’s mother for about 16 years. After that, it served as a rented apartment for several tenants before eventually becoming a café and then a roastery.
“People thought I was doing science experiments,” he jokes. But slowly, cups started converting sceptics.
Despite its growth, Prajwal remains deeply grounded. “The coffee shop helps us survive, but roasting? That’s my bread and butter,” he says. His operation now roasts 6 to 10 tons of coffee monthly, scaling through collaboration while maintaining his hands-on style.
For Prajwal, coffee isn’t just commerce. It’s craft, education, and identity. He’s a visiting mentor at the Coffee Board’s Incubation Centre and runs workshops on roasting and brewing. His dream? A full-fledged coffee school. “Coffee has 16 to 18 people in the value chain before it reaches the cup,” he says. “I want to help people understand that.”
He signs off with clarity: “I’m a lot of things—planter, brewer, café owner—but what I do every day, what I love most, is roasting. That’s who I am.”
