About this Coffee
Not far from where the first coffee trees were planted in India lies the Gundikhan Estate, home to this coffee. Owned by passionate wildlife enthusiast Saif Ulla, this estate prioritizes harmony between humans and nature. Dense shade coverage nurtures a thriving habitat for wildlife in the neighboring Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary and Tiger Reserve. Saif’s agricultural vision preserves biodiversity in an area exceptionally rich in species. The resulting coffee delivers gentle notes of pecan praline, milk chocolate, and citrus.
Pronunciation: goon-DEE-kahn
India, a significant yet lesser-known origin in the specialty coffee world, has a rich history intertwined with the spread of coffee cultivation across the globe. Baba Budan, a Sufi saint, smuggled seven coffee seeds from Yemen to the Chandradrona hills in Karnataka, India in 1670. The coffee trees planted in Karnataka marked India as the third place in the world where Arabica coffee was cultivated. The Gundikhan estate is located just a few kilometers from this source.
Indian farmers have adapted to challenges like Coffee Leaf Rust and pests by transitioning to hardy Robusta plants. While appreciated by some, their monsoon processing––a method which introduces moisture to beans during storage––creates a distinctly earthy and pungent cup profile that doesn’t align with many specialty buyers’ preferences. Despite these common characteristics, we remained open-minded to finding the right partner from this unique and historic origin.
In early 2023 we received an email from a collective of Indian farmers located in the Western Ghats, a hotspot, or area with remarkable biodiversity currently under threat from human activities. The scientific community agrees that preserving biodiversity hotspots like the Western Ghats will have an enormous impact on securing future global biodiversity. Agriculture can have negative environmental impacts, but coffee lends itself to be grown in an agroforestry setting, although this approach often results in reduced productivity. The KaadKaapi farmers share a vision of striking a harmonious balance between agriculture and nature. Seeking visibility for their efforts and economic sustainability from the premiums garnered in specialty coffee, they reached out to a suite of specialty green coffee buyers, including us. Intrigued, we requested samples and were pleasantly surprised by what we discovered––clean and delicately sweet coffees, a complete departure from the flavors of Indian coffees we had tasted in the past.
Through our partnership with KaadKaapi and Osito Coffee, we are proud to bring you Gundikhan Estate, a sweet coffee with notes of pecan praline, milk chocolate, and citrus. Join us in celebrating India’s rich heritage while supporting sustainable farming practices in the Western Ghats.
We believe in paying more.
Since 2009, we have published an annual transparency report to serve as a blueprint for our green coffee purchasing practices and a response to chronically low prices in the coffee industry. We believe paying more for green coffee is an important investment in the long-term viability of our coffee-growing partners’ businesses and our supply.