Responsibly Harvested
The harvest is where everything comes together. A full year of growing, tending and waiting — all of it leading to this one moment. And on our estate in Coorg, this moment is never taken lightly.
Before the Sun Rises
Harvest begins before dawn. Workers arrive at the estate in the early hours, baskets tied around their waists, walking into the rows of coffee trees while the air is still cool and the estate is quiet. This is how it has always been done — not because it is written in a rulebook, but because the people who do this work have been doing it their whole lives. They know this land. They know these trees. And they know exactly when a cherry is ready.
The People Behind Every Cherry
For the families who harvest on our estate, this is not seasonal work. This is livelihood. This is identity. Their parents harvested here. Their grandparents did too. They grew up watching, then learning, then doing — carrying the same knowledge, walking the same rows, picking from the same trees.
Every cherry in your coffee passed through their hands. That is not a small thing. It is everything.
What Selective Hand Picking Means
A coffee plant does not ripen all at once. Different cherries on the same tree can be at completely different stages of ripeness. This is why machines cannot do what our workers do.
Our workers move through the estate tree by tree, branch by branch, cherry by cherry. They look for a deep, rich red colour. They feel for the right firmness. They know — from years of experience passed down through generations — exactly what a ripe cherry looks and feels like. Anything that is not ready is left on the tree. Only the finest makes it into the basket.
No stripping. No guessing. No compromise.
Multiple Rounds, Every Season
Because cherries ripen at different times, harvest is not a single pass across the estate. Our workers return to the same trees again and again — from November through January — picking only what is ready on each visit. It is time consuming. It is labour intensive. And it is the only way to ensure that every bean in every bag is at its absolute peak.
The Responsibility They Carry
Picking a coffee cherry at exactly the right moment is one of the most consequential decisions in making great coffee. Too early and the bean is sour and underdeveloped. Too late and the flavour is lost. Right on time — and everything Coorg Arabica is known for is locked inside that cherry, ready to be unlocked in your cup.
Our workers understand this. They have always understood this. It is why they pick the way they do — not because it is the easiest method, but because it is the right one.
This is their land. This is their livelihood. And this coffee is their pride. That responsibility does not need to be asked for. It is simply who they are.