India - Bagneheddal Estate
Origin: Bababudangiri, Western Ghats, Karnataka, India
Producer: Bagneheddal Estate
Elevation: 1,050–1,500 m (3,445–4,920 ft)
Varieties: Chandragiri, Selection 9, Selection 795
Species: Arabica
Process: Washed
Drying: Sun-dried on raised beds
Harvest: 2025/26
Flavor Notes: Black tea, baking spice, roasted almond, brown sugar, cocoa nibs
Body & Acidity: Robust, structured body
About the Farm
Bagneheddal Estate is located in the higher elevations of the Baba Budan Giri region of Karnataka, within the Western Ghats of southern India. This mountainous region holds a particularly important place in Indian coffee history and is widely regarded as the birthplace of coffee cultivation in the country.
According to regional tradition, the Sufi saint Baba Budan returned from Yemen in the 17th century carrying seven coffee seeds, which he planted in the hills that would later bear his name. Coffee cultivation gradually expanded throughout the surrounding Chikkamagaluru region, establishing an agricultural tradition that continues centuries later.
Bagneheddal Estate spans approximately 550 acres within this historic landscape. The farm is surrounded by dense shola forest and a diverse canopy that includes teak, jackfruit, rosewood, and other native and cultivated tree species. This shaded environment creates a rich ecosystem around the coffee and provides habitat for wildlife including deer, peacocks, wild boar, wild buffalo, and bears.
The estate also maintains close relationships with neighboring villages, supporting local children with essential supplies and providing medical assistance within the surrounding community.
Growing between approximately 1,050 and 1,500 meters above sea level, Bagneheddal sits within the higher Arabica-growing elevations of the region. The combination of elevation, forest cover, shade, and the environment of the Western Ghats creates distinctive growing conditions for the estate's coffee.
About the Bean
This lot is composed of three Arabica varieties important to modern Indian coffee production: Chandragiri, Selection 9, and Selection 795.
After harvest, the coffee is washed to remove the fruit surrounding the seed before being sun-dried on raised beds. Compared with more fruit-driven natural processing, this method helps emphasize clarity and structure in the finished cup while allowing the coffee's inherent sweetness, spice, and deeper characteristics to remain prominent.
The result is a balanced and comforting coffee with notes of brown sugar, roasted almond, and cocoa nibs at its foundation. Baking-spice characteristics add warmth and complexity, while a black-tea quality brings structure and a cleaner finish.
Bagneheddal Estate represents a very different expression of specialty coffee from many of our fruit-forward offerings. Rather than emphasizing bright tropical fruit or fermentation, this coffee leans into sweetness, nuttiness, cocoa, spice, and tea-like complexity—a distinctive expression from one of the oldest coffee-growing landscapes in India.
