Kamuela-based Cafemakers LLC has been contracted to provide marketing and public relations services for Kaapi Royale Coffee of Karnataka, India.

Kaapi Royale is a leading exporter of specialty Indian Arabica and Robusta coffees, as well as the exclusive exporter of award-winning Sethuraman Estate coffees.

"Having had the recent opportunity to visit Kaapi Royale and their supplier farms in person, I was impressed by the revolutionary quality of their coffee and the thoughtfulness of their responsible business practices," said Andrew Hetzel, director of Cafemakers. "It is a marketer's dream to have the opportunity to represent such a rare and relatively unknown gem in our industry."

Under terms of their agreement, Cafemakers will be responsible for communicating Kaapi Royale's brand message to an audience of trade buyers, hosting cupping sessions at industry events and organizing origin tours to Indian coffee plantations for prospective commercial buyers.

"We are excited to have the opportunity to introduce the world to some of the best coffees that India has to offer," said Nishant Gurjer, managing partner of Kaapi Royale.

"Most specialty coffee professionals are skeptical that a Robusta coffee can rival the world's best Arabicas, which is why we chose Cafemakers to use all available media to communicate our message and help change old industry stereotypes."

Founded in 2001 by Hetzel, a retail marketing specialist, Cafemakers is a coffee industry consultancy that provides management, brand and process consulting services for coffee retailers, roasters and producers worldwide.

In 2007, Hetzel was named one of the top young business leaders in Hawai'i by Pacific Business News and, in 2008, became the state's first licensed Q-grader for the Coffee Quality Institute.

Kaapi Royale Coffee, of Magundi in the Chikmagalur district of Karnataka, exports Indian Arabica and Robusta coffees worldwide. Sethuraman Estate is the two-time winner of "Best Robusta" in the Coffee Board of India's Flavour of India competition and received the highest-ever rating for a Robusta coffee of 94 points from coffee reviewer Ken Davids.