A visit to Coorg coffee estates

Last month, our sourcing team traveled to Coorg, Karnataka—one of India's premier coffee-growing regions. The journey from Bangalore takes about five hours, winding through increasingly lush landscapes until you're enveloped by coffee-covered hills.

Coorg (officially Kodagu) sits at elevations of 900-1,200 meters, with just the right combination of rainfall, temperature, and shade for arabica cultivation. The region has been growing coffee since the 1850s, when the British introduced the crop.

We visited three estates that supply our beans. What struck us first was the biodiversity. These aren't monoculture farms—coffee grows under a canopy of silver oak, jackfruit, and pepper vines. Cardamom thrives in the understory. This shade-grown approach produces slower-maturing cherries with more complex flavors.

Harvest was in full swing. Workers carefully hand-pick only ripe red cherries—a labor-intensive process that ensures quality but requires skill and patience. A good picker harvests about 50-70 kg of cherries per day, which yields only 10-12 kg of processed coffee.

The processing methods vary by estate. We saw both washed and natural processes. In washed processing, the fruit is removed quickly, producing clean, bright flavors. Natural processing lets cherries dry intact, creating fruity, wine-like characteristics.

Meeting the farmers reinforced why direct relationships matter. By paying premium prices and committing to long-term partnerships, we can support sustainable practices while securing exceptional coffee. The pride these families take in their craft is evident in every cup.