Farmer Shreedev and his wife Sushmita run three family coffee farms – Chinnenahalli, Hulikere and Woodway. The family has been growing coffee for three generations and Chinnenahalli Farm is their home.
Woodway Estate, a plantation established by the British in the 1880s, is one of the few coffee farms in the world to be certified Wildlife Friendly.
Farms are located in the Baba Budan Giri Hills growing area in the Western Ghats of India. The Western Ghats in India is one of the eight “most interesting” biodiversity hotspots in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This mountain chain stretches along the west coast of India. Many South Indian rivers originate in these mountains.
Coffee is grown on local farms in a traditional polycultural shady landscape with a high density and diversity of native and endemic shade tree species that support a wide variety of birds, butterflies and mammals. The plantations are home to endemic birds such as the Nilgiri woodpecker, Blyth’s starling and Malabar parrot, among others, as well as vulnerable mammals such as the sambar and flying squirrel, among many others.
The plantations are located about 5 km south of the Bhadra Tiger Reserve, which is an important national park and home to a number of wild animals including tiger, leopard, elephant and gaur.
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.
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.
Both lots from Hulikere Farm are of the variety S795.
S795 – One of the most popular Arabica selections released in India during the 1940s with high yields, bold beans, superior quality and relative tolerance to leaf rust. This selection was developed using ‘Kents’ Arabica, known for its high quality. Even today, the S795 is a favorite with the planters and is a widely cultivated Arabica variety. This is also known as ‘Jember’ in Indonesia.
The S795 variety is processed by the washed method and after the pulp is removed, dry fermentation begins, which takes 18 hours. The coffee is then dried in the shade on the terrace for 11 days.
The S795 variety is processed by the washed method and after the pulp is removed, dry fermentation begins, which takes 18 hours. The coffee is then dried in the shade on the terrace for 11 days.
