Notes from Karnataka India

For two days I had the opportunity to visit the coffee region of India, most specifically in the state of Karnataka. This state (Chickmagalur) produces up to 80 percent of India’s coffee. During this trip, I gave a lecture at the Coffee Connect event with an audience of at least 1000 growers in Chickmagalur. I addressed what was, for me, the biggest growers audience, as well as important panelists ranging from the director of the International Coffee Organization (ICO) to the president of Sintracafe in Costa Rica.

I spoke on behalf of the Q program and shared the advantages for growers to implement an additional test, which can differentiate exceptional coffee by quality. Growers that produce excellent coffees may see this as an additional opportunity to secure premium prices.

We then began a trip to visit three wonderful coffee states. The first one, Jeelan State, is owned by Mohan G Alvares, who drove us through the states teaching us about different practices such as vertical pruning for shade trees, irrigation methods and in-road maintenance. Mr. Alvarez shared this observation, “ Buiding a coffee state takes generations.” We appreciate the passion and dedication for his farm as well as his commitment for producing good quality coffee. We enjoyed a wonderful breakfast at his farm.

We continued our visit to Kattehollay coffee state owned by Sami. Another wonderful state that took a long time to reach due to the narrow, muddy roads that connect one farm to another.   Bringing electricity to this farm was another challenge for this grower who had to figure out how to generate his own power. This illustrates what many growers must endure to overcome obstacles that we usually take for granted. His farm was beautiful, with phenomenal scenery surrounding the plantation. We could hear wonderful sounds of hundreds of birds that coexist within this state. I also observed unique robusta trees that have been producing coffee for more than 60 years as well as Arabicas that were more than 25 years old and remained healthy and productive.

Finally, we visited Sipani state coffee, owned by Christopher. This unique farm sits very close to the rainforest, so encounters with wild elephants, bisons or tigers were likely. Unfortunately, we did not have a close encounter with any of these animals but we watched the wild peacocks that lined the roads. A natural waterfall on the other side of the hills provided a mystic touch to this wonderful territory of coffee plants. This farm, located in such a magnificent location, reminds me of how hard it is to establish a coffee farm, with the challenges of transportation and labour.

After a splendid lunch, we headed up to Bangalore to continue our Indian pilgrimage.