Indien Hulikere Estate

About This Coffee

This is the third time we have bought and roasted the mild and softly full-bodied coffee from Hulikere Estate. The farm is owned and run by the couple Shreedev & Sushmita Hulikere in Baba Budan Giri Hills (located in the Chikkamagaluru district in the Karnataka region). The farm is biodiversity-friendly; it became completely chemical-free 10 years ago and has since become a home to a large number of birds and small mammals from the nearby Bhadra State forest. All coffee trees grow in the shade of native trees together with, among other things, pepper, ginger, avocado and citrus fruits. The coffee is a blend of 50% wet-processed and 50% berry-dried and has a softly full-bodied and mild character, completely without acidity! The aftertaste has a hint of spice and sweet chocolate. INFORMATION FROM OWNER SHREEDEV HULIKERE Being able to follow my family's history five generations back in the same area, and at the same time carry the hope that even future generations will continue to live and thrive on the same land, fills me with a deep sense of satisfaction and belonging. I am the third generation in a coffee farming family and have had the privilege of living my whole life on the farm, surrounded by the lush greenery of the Western Ghats in southwestern India. For over thirty years, I have happily worked professionally in the fields – and even today I continue to learn life's most important lessons from her, my coffee plant. Protecting the environment is a matter of course on our farms, where we place the highest value on being welcoming and tolerant of all the many co-inhabitants who share our land. Labor, staff and family receive training on the importance and role of each species, and on how to coexist with them in a joyful way. So far, 204 bird species, a large number of ungulates and the three largest predators in the area – dhole, leopard and tiger – have been documented on our farms. We place particular emphasis on animals having both a safe haven and free passage through our common gardens. The workers who live and work on the farms are people I have grown up with – some of the families have worked with us for three generations. They are seen more as relatives than as farm workers, and we share both holidays and life's important events with each other. We also employ women from different tribes, who travel here from their homes, work during the day and return home in the evening. Supporting our employees in their everyday challenges is a matter of course for us, and something they value highly. Regular training efforts, information meetings and health campaigns are carried out for their best. The workers are also encouraged to become a living link between me and my plants – meaningful mediators of the knowledge and experiences that allow us to cultivate in harmony with nature. We have a strict policy of never using chemicals that have been banned by any organization or country. In addition, all materials we use are carefully reviewed to ensure that they cannot cause even the slightest damage to our land. Fertilizers and other products used in the gardens are purchased with great care from reputable companies with long experience and a good international reputation. My coffee beans are harvested with the utmost care and with careful attention to the beans' optimal degree of ripeness to bring out the right flavors. After harvesting, the coffee beans are processed in several different ways, including sun-drying (honey process) and berry drying. Part of the wet-processed (washed) coffee is selectively dried on large trays, but the largest amount is slowly dried under controlled shade on tile-covered floors with a grill structure. The coffee is then spread out in an even thickness and turned gently with rakes. The moisture content is measured carefully, both with modern, calibrated measuring instruments and with very reliable traditional methods. When the beans have reached optimal drying, they are packed in clean jute sacks and transported to our family-owned, certified peeling factory – with a long history and located in the heart of Chikkamagaluru. I am proud that my coffee is traceable from plant to cup.