Sustainably Grown
Great coffee does not begin at the roast. It begins in a nursery, with a seedling no taller than your hand — and a community that has been doing this for generations.
The Nursery
Every plant on our estate begins its life in a nursery. Seeds are carefully selected from healthy, high-yielding plants, germinated in well-prepared seedbeds and nurtured for six to eight months. Each seedling is watched, watered and tended by hand until it is strong enough to be transplanted to the estate. This is not a mechanical process. It is a careful, patient one — carried out by the same hands that have done it for generations.
Transplanting
When the seedlings are ready — typically when they reach about two feet in height — they are transplanted to the estate at the start of the monsoon season. The timing matters. The rains give the young plants the moisture they need to establish their roots in the estate's rich, well-drained soil. From this point, a coffee plant takes three to four years before it produces its first harvest. Every year in between is an investment in what eventually reaches your cup.
Shade Management
Our Arabica grows under a natural canopy of silver oak, orange, pepper and spice trees — maintained at fifty to sixty percent shade cover. This is not incidental. Shade slows the ripening of the coffee cherry, allowing sugars and aromatic compounds to develop more fully. The intercropping of orange, pepper and spice trees enriches the microclimate, each contributing its own character to the soil and the coffee that grows within it. Shade regulation is carried out carefully every season — trimming the canopy to maintain the right balance of light and protection for the plants below.
Manuring and Soil Health
The health of our coffee begins with the health of the soil. Organic compost and well-rotted manure are applied regularly to maintain soil fertility, improve structure and sustain the land across harvests. We do not chase short-term yields at the cost of the soil. The same land has been producing coffee for generations — and it will continue to, because we treat it with the respect it deserves.
Pruning
Coffee plants are pruned every season — removing dead wood, shaping the plant for optimal growth and stimulating new fruiting branches. Proper pruning improves airflow, reduces disease pressure and ensures the plant's energy goes into producing the finest cherries rather than maintaining unnecessary growth. On our estate, pruning is done entirely by hand, by workers who understand the rhythm of each plant across seasons.
Irrigation
Coorg receives abundant rainfall through the monsoon season, which provides the primary source of water for our coffee. Where supplemental irrigation is needed during dry spells, it is managed carefully and conservatively — giving the plants what they need without excess. Water management on the estate is as much about restraint as it is about supply.
Pest and Disease Management
Managing pests and disease on a shade-grown estate requires constant vigilance and traditional knowledge. Our workers monitor the estate regularly — identifying early signs of leaf rust, stem borers and other common threats. Where intervention is needed, it is targeted and measured. The diversity of our shade canopy and intercropping naturally reduces pest pressure, keeping the estate in balance without relying on heavy chemical intervention.
The Flowering
Once a year, after the monsoon, the estate transforms. The coffee plants burst into clusters of delicate white blossoms — jasmine-scented and fleeting, lasting only a few days. This flowering is the signal that the harvest is coming. With Arabica, the cherry takes nine months from flowering to full ripeness. Every day in between matters.
The Harvest
Harvest season in Coorg runs from November to January. Only the ripest, deep red cherries are hand-picked — a process that requires multiple rounds across the estate, as not every cherry on every plant ripens at the same time. No stripping. No shortcuts. Each cherry is selected by hand, by workers who know exactly what ripe looks like and why it matters.
This is what sustainably grown means to us. Not a label. Not a certification. A way of working that honours the land, the community and the coffee — season after season, year after year.