The Epic Journey of Coffee Liberation:
Imagine a time when coffee was like a secret treasure guarded by the Yemeni farmers and wise Arab monks.
They were serious about their beans! Only roasted coffee beans were allowed to be sold, and anyone caught selling green beans risked their life!
But wait, who dared to defy this rule and spread the magic of coffee to other lands? Who was the brave soul behind this risky adventure?
Let's uncover the thrilling tale of how coffee found its way to new homes across the globe!
A wise monk from the 16th century who followed Sufism, a mystical practice of Islam. Legend has it that Baba Budan went on a pilgrimage to Mecca, Returning to his homeland, he makes a stop at the port of Mocha, where coffee has traditionally been offered as a tonic to disgruntled pilgrims. Baba Budan gets excited about qahwa, asks, learns more information, and decides to bring the magic plant to his distant homeland - but it is difficult for him to find fresh seeds and even more difficult to transport. Having managed to obtain the precious seeds, he chooses seven, as the seven is a sacred number for Islam, and hides them well, in his enormous beard. Once he returned to his state of Mysore (now called Karnataka), he planted these magical beans on the slopes of the Chandragiri Hills. And guess what? They grew into the first ever Arabica beans in India! Baba Budan's secret mission changed the coffee game in India forever! Today, you can visit this place, now called Baba Budangiri (Baba Budan Hills), and even see baba budans tomb.
The word “kanana” is commonly used in local lingo and means “jungle” in English. Indian coffee is predominantly grown in Western Ghats, which is one of the world’s largest biodiversity hotspots and is therefore comparable to a jungle. The native trees do not only provide a unique agro-climatic growing condition to coffee. The area is also habitat to many mammals and avian species.Under the name of “ Kanana Specialities” we at NKG India Coffee offer you some of the finest handpicked, specially processed coffees which are making you crave for more. These microlots are specially sourced from the finest estates. Only the high-quality, ripe coffee cherries are hand-picked and selected for speciality processing. All of the “Kanana Speciality” microlots are specially processed at our own mill in Hassan.
In past times, it took about six months to ship coffee from India to Europe. Due to the high humidity at sea, the long journey changed the coffee’s characteristics. The unique flavour and mellow taste of this coffee became very popular among oversea buyers. Known as “Monsooned Malabar”, this coffee was increasingly sold as a unique Indian variety of specialty coffee. Nowadays, “Monsooning” is a sophisticated processing method during the monsoon period, which is reproducing the conditions of the former coffee transit overseas. Specialized skills and adequate facilities are required for obtaining the desired quality and grades of Monsoon Coffee.
We are connecting producers with roasters: especially small and specialty roasters who look for consistent cup quality and traceable coffees.
We help interested producers to market their single estate coffee to roasters. The yield is directly sourced from those selected estates and is processed and exported separately. This is to guarantee full traceability and to keep all characteristics of the coffee produced in the respective estate. Both producer and roaster benefit from those kind of value-added business relation in the longterm.
Harvesting begins when the cherries reach their ripest, ensuring a perfect balance of sweetness and acidity. Our farmers use hand-picking methods to select only the ripest cherries.
Once harvested, the cherries are sorted to remove any damaged or underripe ones. They are then washed to clean and prepare for processing.
The outer pulp of the cherries is removed, leaving the bean covered in its mucilage. This step is crucial for flavor development.
The beans are then fermented, a natural process that breaks down the mucilage. The duration of this step is carefully controlled to enhance the beans' inherent flavors.
Post-fermentation, the beans are washed to remove any remaining mucilage and then dried until they reach the ideal moisture content.
Beans are spread out in thin layers to dry, either in the sun on large patios or in mechanical dryers if the climate necessitates. This is a critical phase where beans develop their final green color.
Once dried, the beans undergo hulling, where the dried outer layers are removed. They are then polished (if required), graded, and sorted.
Before packaging, the green coffee beans undergo a rigorous quality inspection to ensure they meet our high standards. This includes checking for size, color, and any defects.
To preserve freshness, the green coffee beans are then carefully packed in hermetic bags with controlled atmosphere packaging to prevent oxidation.
Each package is labeled with details about the farm of origin, harvest date, and batch number, ensuring full traceability.
Finally, the packaged green coffee beans are stored in a temperature-controlled environment until they are shipped to our customers worldwide, ensuring the beans arrive in perfect condition.
