This is the heart of everything we make. From the towering palmyra groves of Thenkasi, climbers tap sweet sap at dawn and boil it down to karupatti — the dark, mineral-rich palm jaggery that gives our name its meaning.
Source location
Thenkasi Palmyra Groves
Thenkasi, Tamil Nadu · 8.96°N, 77.31°E
The tree that holds up the south
The palmyra palm is the official tree of Tamil Nadu, and nowhere is it more woven into life than in Thenkasi at the foot of the Western Ghats. Its sap, its fruit, its leaves and its timber have sustained families here for centuries — and its jaggery, karupatti, is the soul of our brand.
Tapped at dawn, boiled the same morning
Before sunrise the nungu climbers — the padaneer tappers — scale palms forty feet tall to collect the night's sweet sap. It spoils fast, so it must reach the boiling pan within hours. Over a wood fire the sap is reduced slowly, skimmed by hand, and set into the dense, dark karupatti cakes — no refining, no chemicals, nothing stripped out.
Why karupatti, not sugar
Unlike white sugar, karupatti keeps its minerals and its character — iron, a hint of smoke, a deep molasses warmth. It is lower on the glycemic index and has been the everyday sweetener of Tamil homes for generations. Every sweet we make is built on it; this grove is, quite literally, where it all begins.
My father climbed these palms, and his father before him. The palm asks for courage in the morning and gives sweetness by noon.
Taste it in…
Tirunelveli Karupatti Halwa
The legendary halwa of the Tirunelveli region, slow-cooked with pure Thenkasi karupatti until it turns glossy, dark and wickedly soft.