Our Latest Origin Visit: Karnataka, South India

In October 2024 we visited the state of Karnataka in South India for our last origin trip of the year.

The state of Karnataka in South India accounts for 71% of India's overall coffee production. We set out to unlock India as a new origin for us at River Coffee and discover the coffee producing region Chikmagalur in the Western Ghats.

Visiting NKG India's mill in Hassan

Our first visit was to NKG India's mill in Hassan, a four hour journey from Bangalore (our arrival point). This state-of-the-art facility is one of the biggest coffee processing facilities in India.

The stages of coffee production at the mill:

De-pulping: The coffee cherries are fed into a machine that removes the fruit and skin, leaving the coffee bean.

Fermentation: The coffee beans are placed in tanks to remove the mucilage that surrounds them. The length of fermentation can affect the coffee's favour profile.

Washing: The coffee beans are washed with clean water.

Drying: The coffee beans are spread out on patios or raised beds to dry in the sun.

Hulling: The parchment layer is removed from the beans.

Sorting: The beans are separated by size, colour and density.

Bagging: The beans are packaged based on the buyer's instructions.

Cupping with the quality team at NKG India

We also took part in a cupping with the quality team on site before sharing one of our own coffees, the Carlos Montero single origin, with the team.

In India the specialty coffee scene is in it's infancy.

Generally, coffee is brewed with chicory and drunk hot, strong and sweet. It was a fascinating cultural exchange of different interpretations of taste and flavour. Sharing a Central America coffee, roasted by us in the UK and drank with our new colleagues in South India was a real moment of connection and collaboration which is what we believe coffee to do so well: Coffee connects.

Local food and travelling to Kolarkhan Estate

During our time in Hassan, we had our first introduction with the local food. Our lunchtime thali (pronounced tar-li) was served on a banana leaf. Thalis are a traditional dish made up of steamed rice, sambar, rasam, vegetable curries, coconut chutney, pickles, papad, curd or yoghurt and a sweet dish. Thalis became a staple in our diet during our time in India.

South Indian street food would also break up further long journeys across the state. Vinod fromNKG introduced us to simple and delicious snacks, such as paddum panipuri and masala dossa. These are commonly sold by street vendors.

VIsiting Kolarkhan Estate

After a long drive cutting through the steep terrain of the Western Ghats, we reached the stunning Kolarkhan Estate. The terraced estate spans 540 acres with views of the mountains covered by lush green terrain. The farm grows both Arabica and Robusta varietals which share the land with naturally cultivated plants.

The Kolarkhan Estate produces AA graded Arabica coffees which we look forward to bringing you in 2025.

The coffee farms in India are stunning and are unique as all the coffee is shade-grown under the canopy of trees, This is something we have not seen on any coffee farm before, elsewhere in the world.

There are many environmental and economical benefits of shade-grown coffee including:

Preserving biodiversity: Trees provide a habitat for birds, insects and other wildlife.

Maintaining soil health: By growing coffee trees amongst mature flora and fauna, this prevents soil erosion, stabilises the land and enriches the soil with nutrients.

Sustainable farming practices: Shade- grown coffee farming relies on sustainable practices.

Climate resilience: Shade-grown coffee can help coffee farmers adapt to the challenges of climate change.

To find out more about our trip to India, check out our Instagram reels which bring you live footage from the farm and on the road snapshots: @rivercoffeeuk