Gundikhan

GundikhanGundikhanGundikhanGundikhan
CountryIndia
RegionChikkamagalur
FarmGundikhan
Altitude1 400 m
Size of the farm90 akr

Saif is part of the third generation to grow coffee. After earning a Master’s degree in Management from Leeds Beckett University in 2015, Saif worked briefly for Tesco in Leeds, UK before returning to India to manage a coffee farm. He lives with his parents and wife.

 

He grows coffee with a special emphasis on sustainability and uses environmentally friendly growing practices. The coffee trees are grown under the shade of several different species of trees, which are mostly native.

 

The farm is located in the Baba Budan Giri area of India. The story goes that Baba Budan, a Sufi saint who was returning from a pilgrimage to Mecca in 1670, smuggled seven coffee beans back to India from Yemen (at that time it was illegal to export coffee seeds from Arabia) and planted them in the Chandradrona mountains of Karnataka.

 

The farm is adjacent to the Bhadra Tiger Reserve and provides shelter to many species of birds, insects, reptiles and amphibians. It also acts as a corridor for many wild animals.

PROTECTION OF WILD ANIMALS

KaadKaapi is a collective in South India which keeps animals free to move and passage in the countryside and around farms.

 

It supports long-term sustainability by working with farmers in Chikmagalur and Coorg districts to implement wildlife-friendly cultivation methods, providing financial and advisory support, and ensuring access to premium international markets. This approach benefits both wildlife conservation and local farmers economically.

 

Traditional coffee agroforests in this region help preserve local biodiversity by providing alternative habitats for wildlife. However, market changes and rising cultivation costs are driving farmers towards practices that harm biodiversity.

About the coffee

All the varieties offered by the KaadKaapi farmers regardless of the location of their farm are 100% arabicas. But maybe to make it easier to understand the potential of those, not so well known cultivars, it is good to see what the letters and numbers in their names stand for.

 

All the lots from the Gundikhan farm are of the chandragiri variety.

 

Chandragiri – is a cross between varieties Villa Sarchi and Hibrido de Timor. It is a relatively new variety gaining a lot of interest in the past years. The beans are larger than other Indian cultivars and the cup quality is often superior to them. That is the reason why many of the farmers, when the time comes, use chandragiri for replanting their farm blocks.

 





IN-24-054 Gundikhan N 9

Coffee beans naturally processed by anaerobic fermentation for 72 hours. The beans are then dried on raised beds inside the polyhouse for 20 days.

IN-24-055 Gundikhan N 16

Coffee beans naturally processed by anaerobic fermentation for 72 hours with Lallemand Oro yeast. The beans are then dried on raised beds inside a polyhouse for 20 days.

IN-24-056 Gundikhan N 21

Coffee beans naturally processed by anaerobic fermentation for 72 hours with Lallemand Intenso yeast. The beans are then dried on raised beds inside a polyhouse for 20 days.

IN-24-057 Gundikhan N 12

Coffee beans naturally processed by anaerobic fermentation for 72 hours with Lallemand Briosa yeast. The beans are then dried on raised beds inside a polyhouse for 20 days.

IN-24-058 Gundikhan N 20

Coffee beans naturally processed by anaerobic fermentation for 72 hours with Lallemand Briosa yeast. The beans are then dried on raised beds inside a polyhouse for 20 days.

IN-24-059 Gundikhan W 6

This lot was processed by the washed method. After washing and selecting the defective beans, the coffee was de-peeled followed by anaerobic fermentation for 36 hours with the addition of Lallemand Oro yeast. Then, the coffee beans were dried on raised beds inside a polyhouse for 14 days.

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