Bengaluru’s Tribes Coffee brews beans from Andhra, Odisha forests

Bengaluru, Jun 23 (PTI) In a city known for its coffee obsession, a recently opened cafe, Tribes Coffee, stands apart by sourcing its beans from the forests of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.

Not only are they free of pesticides and chemical fertilisers, but the flavour notes are shaped by the mineral-rich soil of these ancient forests, said Kiran Nerlige Gowda, Founder of Tribes Coffee.

“Each tribal family that we source our coffee from is allotted a piece of land and was given seeds by the government. But the coffee grows organically—nourished by forest ecosystems, rich biodiversity, and seasonal rainfall,” said Gowda to PTI.

One such grower, Seedarappu Gangamma from Andhra Pradesh’s Araku Valley, said her family decided to plant coffee, interspersed with pepper, nearly 20 years ago on the government-allotted one-and-a-half-acre plot in the forest, along with others.

“We got Arabica coffee seedlings from Kerala. We planted them along with Silver Oak and other species of evergreen trees, as is the practice among coffee growers in Kerala,” Gangamma told PTI over the phone.

But unlike planters in Kerala, who have to strictly regulate their crop by pruning and weeding, as well as applying pesticides and mostly chemical fertilizers, the tribal people have largely let nature take its course.

Fertile forest soil and ancient farming wisdom have ensured a harvest—although lesser in yield compared to that of “maintained” coffee plantations—that is subtle, complex, and distinct.

Gowda said that although Karnataka has established itself as a premium coffee belt, coffee grown there, especially in commercial plantations, often relies on modern techniques and chemical inputs.

This cannot be compared to the beans from tribal belts of Andhra and Odisha, he added.

According to him, the tribal communities use ancient farming methods inherited from their ancestors.

“These techniques involve no machinery, no synthetic inputs, and no disturbance to the land. They do not use chemical fertilizers or pesticides. Their worldview is rooted in a deep respect for nature; they take only what the earth is willing to give,” added Gowda.

Gowda said through his café, he hopes to encourage the tribal people to continue drawing from ancient farming wisdom.

“This is why we decided to procure coffee from them by paying 20 per cent more than the market price,” he added.

He said Tribes Coffee will feature beans from Paderu, Chintapalli, and Araku Valley of Alluri Sitarama Raju district in Andhra Pradesh, where over 100 tribal hamlets cultivate coffee across the Eastern Ghats.

“Tribal communities such as Kondadora, Bagata, Khond, Valmiki, and Koya grow coffee in the forests of these regions,” he added.

In Odisha, tribal communities of Kondh, Paraja, Gadaba, Bonda, and Saora grow coffee in the forests of Koraput, Rayagada, Malkangiri, and Kandhamal, Gowda said.

“These regions, especially in the Eastern Ghats, are known for producing terroir-certified coffee, a mark of authenticity that captures the essence of the land, climate, and soil in every bean,” added Gowda.

In Karnataka, too, about 40 to 50 tribal settlements of tribal communities such as Jenu Kuruba, Soliga, Yerava, and Betta Kuruba grow coffee in B R Hills (Chamarajanagar), Coorg (Kodagu), and parts of Chikmagalur, using ancient methods.

Gowda said they will be procuring coffee from them as well in the future.

Tribes Coffee has one outlet at the moment, located in HSR Layout of Bengaluru. PTI JR SSK