Chikmagalur

Chikmagalur: Birthplace of Indian Coffee

Chikmagalur, in the Western Ghats of Karnataka, is often called the birthplace of Indian coffee. Cool mountain air, rich forest soils and steady monsoon rain made these hills the first place where coffee took root in India.

How coffee came to Chikmagalur

The classic origin story of Indian coffee begins here.
In the 17th century, the Sufi saint Baba Budan is said to have smuggled seven raw coffee beans from Yemen on his way back from a pilgrimage to Mecca and planted them on the slopes now known as Baba Budan Giri, in Chikmagalur district. Those first plants became the starting point for coffee cultivation in India.

Over time, small plantings around Baba Budan Giri grew into more organised gardens, and by the 19th century, commercial plantations spread through the surrounding hills as coffee demand rose globally.

From early gardens to estate country

As the British expanded plantation agriculture across southern India, Chikmagalur’s hills were gradually mapped into estates, with Arabica coffee in the higher, cooler zones and later Robusta in slightly lower elevations.
Local communities supplied knowledge and labour, while European and Indian planters built up “coffee country” around Chikmagalur town and Baba Budan Giri.

By the 20th century, Chikmagalur had a reputation as “Coffee County”, and coffee was firmly embedded in the local economy and identity.

Varieties, shade and spice

Chikmagalur is a classic shade-grown region: coffee plants grow under a multi-layered canopy of native trees like silver oak, jackfruit and fig, often with pepper vines, cardamom, arecanut and citrus intercropped among them.

Today you’ll typically find:

• Arabica at higher altitudes – known here for a mild, aromatic cup with chocolate, nutty and gentle fruity notes.


• Robusta in warmer pockets – adding body, crema and a deeper, earthier edge, often used in traditional South Indian filter blends.

Chikmagalur’s modern coffee identity

Modern Chikmagalur is synonymous with:

• Birthplace legend – Baba Budan and the first Indian coffee plants at Baba Budan Giri


• Shade-grown, biodiversity-friendly coffee in the Western Ghats


• Intercropped estates – coffee grown alongside pepper, cardamom and other spices


• Plantation stays and coffee tourism centred on walks through the estates and visits to Baba Budan Giri

In the cup, Chikmagalur coffee is often described as:

• Medium body


• Light to medium acidity


• Aromatic, with chocolate, nut and soft caramel or spice notes

For many Indian coffee drinkers, “Chikmagalur” on the bag signals not just origin, but a direct link back to where the country’s coffee story first began.