Frequently Asked Questions

No — our Himachal apples are never waxed or chemically coated.

Supermarket apples are often coated in edible wax to look shiny after months in cold storage. Ours go from the orchard to your door within days, so they need no wax at all. What you see is the apple's own natural skin, sometimes with a light bloom — a sign of freshness, not a flaw.

Because there is no wax on them.

That mirror shine you see in supermarkets comes from a food-grade wax coating applied before apples enter cold storage. Our wax-free Himachal apples keep their natural matte skin and a faint white bloom the tree itself produces. A duller apple picked this week will always taste better than a polished one picked months ago.

It means your apples are never held in a chilled warehouse before they reach you.

Most apples sold in India spend three to eight months in cold storage after harvest. We skip that step entirely — our farmers pick your fruit during the harvest week you choose, and we dispatch within 48 hours. That is also why we can only sell in season.

Altitude, mostly.

Kinnaur apples grow higher and colder, often above 2,000 metres, which slows ripening and concentrates sugar — giving a denser, crisper apple with deeper red colour. Shimla apples grow slightly lower and warmer, ripening a little earlier with a softer, more aromatic sweetness. We grow our Red Delicious in Kinnaur, and our Golden, Granny Smith and Red Golden apples in Shimla.

They differ in colour, texture and sweetness.

Red Delicious is deep red, crisp and classically sweet — our Kinnaur variety. Golden apples are yellow-green, softer and honey-sweet, gentle for children and elders. Red Golden is a two-tone apple balancing the two: Golden's sweetness with a firmer bite. Royal Delicious is a closely related strain of the same Delicious family grown across Himachal; we currently sell Red Delicious rather than Royal.

Our apples are not certified organic, and we would rather say so plainly.

What we can promise is that they are wax-free, never chemically coated, and never cold-stored. Our Himachal farming families grow with minimal intervention, but organic certification is a costly, multi-year process most small hill farmers cannot afford. If certification matters to you, ask us and we will tell you exactly how a given orchard is farmed.

Every box is packed in the orchard it came from, in Shimla or Kinnaur.

We name the growing region on each product page. Our founder Amit Palsra is a farmer's son from Shimla whose own grandparents still tend their trees. Message us on WhatsApp and we will send you photographs from the orchard your Himachal apples were picked in.

The Himachal apple season runs from roughly mid-July to early October, variety by variety.

Our 2026 apple harvest weeks run from 18 July to 10 August, and you choose one at checkout. Lower orchards ripen first, with the higher Kinnaur trees following. Because we pick to order rather than cold-store, apples are only available to buy during these harvest weeks.

Because we do not cold-store fruit.

An apple sold in February has usually sat in a chilled warehouse since the previous autumn. We would rather sell you nothing than sell you that. Our apples are available only during the Himachal harvest season, from July to October. Outside it, leave your number and we will message you the week picking begins.

A pre-order reserves your fruit before it is picked.

You choose a harvest week at checkout, our farmers hand-pick your box during that week, and we dispatch within 48 hours of harvest. That is 48 hours from tree to courier — not 48 hours to your door. Most cities receive fruit 3–6 days after dispatch, and we send a tracking link on WhatsApp.

Pears and persimmon are autumn fruits; the rest each have their own short window.

Our 2026 persimmon (Amarphal, also called Japani Phal) harvest weeks run 15 September to 6 October, and pears (Nashpati) follow the same autumn season. Himalayan cherries appear briefly in May and June, wild kafal berries from April to June, and Himachal pomegranate in September and October. Tap Notify Me on any out-of-season fruit and we will message you when picking starts.

Yes — we deliver fresh Himachal apples across India, to every serviceable pin code.

Delhi NCR usually receives fruit fastest, in 2–4 days, because it is closest to the hills. Bangalore typically takes 3–5 days, and most other cities 3–6 days. Wherever you are, your box is dispatched within 48 hours of harvest and tracked to your door.

Yes — delivery is free across India on every order, with no minimum spend.

There are no hidden courier charges at checkout, and the price on the product page is the price you pay. First-time customers can use the code FIRSTBUY for 5% off. Bulk and corporate orders are quoted separately, with delivery included in the quote.

Apple delivery time depends on your city.

We dispatch within 48 hours of harvest, then transit takes 2–4 days to Delhi NCR, 3–5 days to Bangalore, and 3–6 days to most other Indian cities. We deliberately do not promise 48-hour delivery to your door — 48 hours is the harvest-to-dispatch window. You get a WhatsApp tracking link the moment your box leaves the orchard.

Each apple is hand-sorted, wrapped, and seated in a moulded tray so it never touches its neighbour.

The trays stack inside a rigid, eco-friendly corrugated box built to survive Indian courier transit. We pack in the orchard within 48 hours of picking, so your apples travel firm rather than already-softened. If any fruit still arrives damaged, we replace it — just send us a photograph.

Almost certainly yes.

We deliver fresh apples to every serviceable pin code in India, including Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Kolkata and Ahmedabad, as well as smaller towns. If you are unsure, send your pin code to us on WhatsApp and we will confirm in a minute, along with the delivery time for your city.

Yes — we take bulk and corporate apple orders regularly, for offices, events, weddings and resale.

Bulk pricing is quoted per box and improves with quantity, and we can deliver to several addresses from a single order. Tell us the quantity, the delivery city, and the week you need the fruit, and we will come back with a price.

Around two to three weeks at room temperature, and six to eight weeks in the fridge.

Because our apples were never cold-stored, they arrive with their full shelf life ahead of them rather than behind them. A supermarket apple may look identical on day one, but it has already spent months in storage before you bought it. Ours were on the tree the week you ordered.

To keep apples fresh, store them in the crisper drawer of your fridge, loosely covered.

Keep them away from strong-smelling food. Apples release ethylene gas as they ripen, so store them apart from bananas, leafy greens and herbs, which will spoil faster beside them. Do not wash apples until you are about to eat them — moisture on the skin speeds up softening.

We will replace it.

Send us a photograph on WhatsApp within 48 hours of delivery, and we will either replace the damaged fruit in your next dispatch or refund that portion of your order. No arguments, no forms. Fresh fruit travels a long way from Himachal, and on the rare occasion it does not arrive right, that is on us.

A quick rinse under running water is enough.

There is no wax or chemical coating to scrub off — you are only rinsing away ordinary orchard dust. You may notice a faint whitish bloom on the skin; the apple produces that itself, and it is edible. Do not wash the whole box at once, as damp skin makes apples soften faster.

Yes — and we ship gift boxes anywhere in India.

Enter the recipient's address at checkout and we deliver straight to them, with no prices or invoices inside the box. Many customers send a gift box of fresh Himachal apples home to parents, or to clients during Diwali and the harvest season.

Yes — we include a handwritten note with your gift box, at no extra cost.

Add your message in the notes field at checkout, or send it to us on WhatsApp after ordering. We write it by hand in the orchard before the box is sealed, so it arrives with the fruit rather than in a separate email.

Yes — we handle corporate gifting for Diwali, client thank-yous, employee hampers and events.

We can deliver to many individual addresses from one order, add your branding to the box, and include a personalised note for each recipient. Share your quantity, cities and timeline with us and we will send a quote, usually within a working day.