India
India has been one of the world’s major producers of coffee for a long time – since the days of the Mughal empire, some 200 years before tea was introduced under British colonial rule.
The well-known legend of coffee’s arrival in India has it that 16th century Sufi saint, Baba Budan, so enthused by coffee when travelling through the Middle East during his Hajj, smuggled seven coffee beans from Yemen (supposedly hidden in his beard) and planted them in Chandragiri, a hilly region located back in his home state of Karnataka.
Ekata Coffee - Biligiriranga Hills
Ekata Coffee have ambitions to take Indian specialty coffee to the world. Created by seven childhood friends from Kerala, Ekata started in 2016 with a mission to see single-origin, shade-grown coffee in biodiverse terroir processed to international standards of quality.
Since their inception they have been dedicated to giving back to the community, building schools and temples and working in partnership with the 280 acre Emerald Haven Plantation on the post harvest processing, has resulted in the production of outstanding specialty grade coffee.
Biligiriranga Hills literally means ‘white hills’ in the local language, Kannada, and refers to the white rock face on one of the largest hills, crowned with the temple of Lord Vishnu. Located where the Eastern and Western Ghats meet, this is a highly protected area in the Sathyamangalam Wildlife Sanctuary.
