Gundikhan
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
Our partner farms cultivate both traditional Indian Arabica varieties and cultivars that have been introduced to India from other coffee-growing regions around the world. Many of these varieties were developed through breeding programmes aimed at improving disease resistance, adapting plants to local growing conditions, or enhancing cup quality.
Among the most significant Indian varieties is S795, developed in the 1940s from breeding material introduced from Kenya. It remains one of India’s most widely cultivated Arabica varieties, valued for its reliability, adaptability, and well-balanced cup profile. Another important variety is SLN9, developed at the Coffee Research Station in Balehonnur as a cross between Ethiopian Tafarikela and Hybrido de Timor. Considered one of the newer Indian cultivars, it is recognised for its excellent cup quality. Chandragiri is another notable Indian variety, bred as a more disease-resistant alternative to Kent. Thanks to its high yield potential and quality, it has become increasingly common on Indian coffee farms in recent years.
Alongside these Indian varieties, many of our partner farms are also cultivating internationally recognised cultivars such as Geisha, Bourbon, Catuai, as well as other experimental varieties. The selection of cultivars varies between farms and evolves from harvest to harvest, reflecting each producer’s decisions and the ongoing development of Indian specialty coffee.
IN-26-043
Gundikhan N 13
Fully ripe cherries are selectively hand-picked, hand sorted, and density sorted in water to remove floaters and foreign matter. The selected cherries undergo 72 hours of anoxic fermentation in sealed food-grade barrels, followed by approximately 25 days of drying on raised beds and / or patio using a combination of shade drying and polyhouse drying. Once the desired moisture level is achieved, the dried cherries are cupped, quality assessed, and segregated into lots before being stabilized in storage. The coffee is then hulled, colour sorted, and hand sorted to ensure consistency and defect control, before being packed in Grain Pro bags.
IN-26-044
Gundikhan N 16
Fully ripe cherries are selectively hand-picked, hand sorted, and density sorted in water to remove floaters and foreign matter. The selected cherries undergo 72 hours of anoxic fermentation in sealed food-grade barrels, followed by approximately 25 days of drying on raised beds and / or patio using a combination of shade drying and polyhouse drying. Once the desired moisture level is achieved, the dried cherries are cupped, quality assessed, and segregated into lots before being stabilized in storage. The coffee is then hulled, colour sorted, and hand sorted to ensure consistency and defect control, before being packed in Grain Pro bags.
IN-26-045
Gundikhan N 17
Fully ripe cherries are selectively hand-picked, hand sorted, and density sorted in water to remove floaters and foreign matter. The selected cherries undergo 72 hours of anoxic fermentation in sealed food-grade barrels, followed by approximately 25 days of drying on raised beds and / or patio using a combination of shade drying and polyhouse drying. Once the desired moisture level is achieved, the dried cherries are cupped, quality assessed, and segregated into lots before being stabilized in storage. The coffee is then hulled, colour sorted, and hand sorted to ensure consistency and defect control, before being packed in Grain Pro bags.
IN-26-046
Gundikhan N 59
Fully ripe cherries are selectively hand-picked, hand sorted, and density sorted in water to remove floaters and foreign matter. The selected cherries undergo 72 hours of anoxic fermentation in sealed food-grade barrels, followed by approximately 25 days of drying on raised beds and / or patio using a combination of shade drying and polyhouse drying. Once the desired moisture level is achieved, the dried cherries are cupped, quality assessed, and segregated into lots before being stabilized in storage. The coffee is then hulled, colour sorted, and hand sorted to ensure consistency and defect control, before being packed in Grain Pro bags.
IN-26-047
Gundikhan N 12
Fully ripe cherries are selectively hand-picked, hand sorted, and density sorted in water to remove floaters and foreign matter. The selected cherries are transferred to food-grade barrels and inoculated with mosto derived from a previous anoxic fermentation batch and sealed. The mosto serves as a fermentation catalyst, introducing an active microbial community that accelerates and guides the fermentation process. The cherries undergo 48 hours of anoxic fermentation before being dried on raised beds and / or patio using a combination of shade drying and polyhouse drying. Once the desired moisture level is achieved, the dried cherries are cupped, quality assessed, and segregated into lots before being stabilized in storage. The coffee is then hulled, colour sorted, and hand sorted to ensure consistency and defect control, before being packed in Grain Pro bags.
IN-26-048
Gundikhan N 1
Fully ripe cherries are selectively hand-picked, hand sorted, and density sorted in water to remove floaters and foreign matter. The selected cherries undergo 72 hours of anoxic fermentation in sealed food-grade barrels, followed by approximately 25 days of drying on raised beds and / or patio using a combination of shade drying and polyhouse drying. Once the desired moisture level is achieved, the dried cherries are cupped, quality assessed, and segregated into lots before being stabilized in storage. The coffee is then hulled, colour sorted, and hand sorted to ensure consistency and defect control, before being packed in Grain Pro bags.
IN-26-049
Gundikhan N 10
Fully ripe cherries are selectively hand-picked, hand sorted, and density sorted in water to remove floaters and foreign matter. The selected cherries undergo 72 hours of anoxic fermentation in sealed food-grade barrels, followed by approximately 25 days of drying on raised beds and / or patio using a combination of shade drying and polyhouse drying. Once the desired moisture level is achieved, the dried cherries are cupped, quality assessed, and segregated into lots before being stabilized in storage. The coffee is then hulled, colour sorted, and hand sorted to ensure consistency and defect control, before being packed in Grain Pro bags.
IN-26-050
Gundikhan W 44
Fully ripe cherries are selectively hand-picked, hand sorted, and mechanically density sorted to remove underdeveloped, damaged, and low-density cherries, as well as other foreign matter. After pulping, the parchment coffee is transferred to fermentation tanks, where it undergoes approximately 18 hours of aerobic fermentation. Following fermentation, the coffee is washed mechanically to remove residual mucilage. The washed parchment is then dried on raised beds and/or patios for approximately 15 days, using a combination of shade drying and polyhouse drying, until the target moisture content is achieved. Once dried, the coffee is cupped, quality assessed, and segregated into individual lots before being stabilized in storage. The coffee is then hulled, colour sorted, and hand sorted to ensure consistency and defect control, before being packed in Grain Pro bags.
IN-26-051
Gundikhan N 18
Fully ripe cherries are selectively hand-picked, hand sorted, and density sorted in water to remove floaters and foreign matter. The selected cherries undergo 72 hours of anoxic fermentation in sealed food-grade barrels, followed by approximately 25 days of drying on raised beds and / or patio using a combination of shade drying and polyhouse drying. Once the desired moisture level is achieved, the dried cherries are cupped, quality assessed, and segregated into lots before being stabilized in storage. The coffee is then hulled, colour sorted, and hand sorted to ensure consistency and defect control, before being packed in Grain Pro bags.
