India Gundikhan

Origin: India

Region: Karnataka State

District: Chikmagalur

Locality: Jagra Village

Producer: Saif Ulla

Farm name: Gundikhan Estate

Elevation: 1300 - 1400 meters

Process: Washed

Variety: Chandragiri

Tasting notes: Green grape, candied nuts, cola

Saif Ulla is a member of a collective of ecologically-minded coffee producers called KaadKaapi. The explicit purpose of the group’s existence is to support each other in their shared goal of producing specialty coffee as a means of wildlife conservation and forest preservation. Ultimately, they aim to farm coffee in a way that does not disturb the movement or existence of native species. A coffee farm that welcomes elephants, tigers, Indian bison, and a multitude of bird species necessitates heavy canopy cover and a tolerance for damaged coffee plants, both of which reduce crop yields. The premiums gained by producing only specialty coffee help to offset the costs of this intentional approach to land management.

Of all the members of KaadKaapi, Saif may be the one who’s most passionate about producing specialty coffee as its own reward, not only as a means to support nature conservation. Our importer, Osito Coffee, says it best:

Saif Ulla's farm is impressive. Located between 1,300 and 1,400 meters above sea level, which makes it some of the highest grown coffee we saw while in India, Gundikhan is hyper-focused on excellent processing, tree diversity, and producing coffee in a manner that is friendly to the native wildlife. During our visit, we saw firsthand the positive impact of KaadKaapi’s approach to farming. Just days before our stay at Saif's farm, a tiger killed and ate a Sambar deer between rows of coffee plants. While this may sound slightly terrifying, KaadKaapi views such events as signs of their success in supporting native wildlife.

We’re incredibly excited to share this coffee with you. Not only is the ecological mission behind its production genuinely remarkable, the coffee is clean, complex, and truly specialty, which honestly shatters our preconceived notions of what we could expect from Indian coffee. This coffee tastes to us like cocoa, pomegranate, and root beer.

Transparency

This is our second year buying from Gundikhan estate. We scored this coffee 86.25 points and bought 3 60kg bags for $5.15 FOT.

Photo credit: Osito Coffee