Questions, answered plainly

Before you ask

The product

So… is this just flavoured coffee?

No — fair question. Each blend is single-estate Indian coffee composed like a perfume: an aroma that arrives first, a body that carries the middle, a finish that lingers. The rule is the opposite of flavouring — any ingredient you can immediately name has failed the audition.

What exactly is in a serving?

Two sachets. The cup sachet holds what dissolves — creamer, palm jaggery, and cocoa where the blend calls for it. The filter sachet is a filter-paper pouch of freshly ground single-estate coffee with the blend's botanicals and aromatics. Every ingredient is weighed to 0.1 grams. Full ingredient lists ship with every pack.

How much caffeine is in a cup?

Roughly comparable to a regular home-brewed cup of coffee — these are moderate, single-serving doses, not energy-drink territory. The blends differ by moment: the morning and midday cups lean into clean alertness, while the evening cup (Kisse) is built for slowing down, not powering through.

I heard adaptogens mentioned. Are they in the cups?

The current locked recipes are built on coffee, botanicals, and spices. Functional ingredients like L-theanine are still in careful testing and only join a recipe when we're confident they support the experience without changing how the cup tastes. When a blend includes one, the label will say so plainly, with the exact dose. If you're pregnant, on medication, or managing a health condition, check with your doctor first — that's not legal boilerplate, it's just sensible.

Why only four blends? And where's the fifth one?

Because each blend takes dozens of logged sessions to earn its place — you can read every one of them in the lab. Sehar, Rukh, and Kisse are locked. Lamhe is in final development (fresh hazelnut is the last open question). Mehfil, a cold social brew, is resting until the first four are flying.

The pause

Do I need any equipment?

A cup and hot water. That's the entire point of the two-sachet system — no machine, no grinder, no strainer. The whole thing takes about five minutes, and three of those minutes are deliberately spent waiting.

Can I add milk?

After the filter sachet comes out, the cup is yours — a splash of hot milk is lovely in Rukh and Lamhe. We'd just ask you to try the first cup as composed. Milk mutes the aromatic top notes, and the aroma is where the shift begins.

Why does the wait matter so much?

Practically: the 2–3 minute steep extracts the cup cleanly, without bitterness. Truthfully: the wait is the product. Spend it scrolling and the coffee will still be good — you'll just have missed the better half.

Ordering & honesty

How do I buy?

Through the Sampler page — one button, one WhatsApp message, and we take it from there. No cart, no checkout. We're deliberately small right now, and orders are conversations.

How fresh is it, and how long does it keep?

Your sachets are blended and sealed in the week they ship. Shelf-stability testing is in progress right now — until it concludes, we recommend brewing within 3–4 weeks of receiving your pack and storing sachets cool, dry, and sealed. We'd rather give you a conservative number than an optimistic printed one.

Is StateShift a registered food business?

FSSAI registration is underway. Until it completes, we're operating as an early-taster program — limited batches for a limited circle, clearly labeled.

Why does it cost more than instant coffee?

Because it isn't instant coffee. Single-estate beans ground fresh per batch, botanicals we sometimes make ourselves (the orange peel is dried in our own oven), hand-weighed 0.1g doses, and two-sachet packaging. You're paying for a composed pause, made by a person, in a batch small enough that the founder tastes from it.

Is "StateShift" the final name?

Honestly? It's the working name, and we've grown fond of it. But this project is still becoming itself, and we reserve the right to let the name do the same. Founding tasters will be the first to know either way.

something we didn't answer?  Ask us directly

Before you go

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