Chikmagalur and the Bababudangiris

Chikmagalur is where Indian coffee began. In the hills at its heart, the Bababudangiris, the saint Baba Budan is said to have planted seven coffee beans from Yemen in the 17th century. Today this district of Karnataka’s hilly Malnad country grows nearly a quarter of India’s coffee, arabica and robusta in roughly equal measure, and two of its coffees carry protected names.

The short version

• The birthplace of Indian coffee, in the Bababudangiri hills.
• 85,155 tonnes in 2023-24, 23.6% of India’s crop.
• Arabica and robusta, at 700–1,200 m; higher in the Bababudangiris.
• Two GIs: Chikmagalur Arabica and Bababudangiris Arabica.
• Arabica ripens from October–November.

What does Chikmagalur coffee taste like?

The Coffee Board’s GI applications describe the district’s two protected arabicas:

Coffee	Cup	Source
Chikmagalur Arabica	Medium body, light acidity, medium to intense aroma	GI application
Bababudangiris Arabica	Full body, acidity, mild flavour, striking aroma, a note of chocolate	GI application

The Bababudangiris coffee is high-grown, the application says: it ripens slowly in the hills’ cool, mild climate, which gives the bean its taste and aroma, and is hand-picked and fermented.

Where and how high is it grown?

In Chikmagalur district, in Karnataka’s hilly Malnad region, on the Deccan plateau, especially around Chikmagalur, Koppa and Mudigere, the GI application says. The Bababudangiris form a horseshoe-shaped ridge in the centre of the district, wrapped in fog and mist in the monsoon. The sources give different heights:

	Chikmagalur	Bababudangiris	Source
Altitude	700–1,200 m	1,000–1,500 m	Coffee Board region profiles
Altitude	1,000–1,100 m	1,500–2,000 m	GI specifications
Rainfall	1,000–4,500 mm	1,750–2,200 mm	Coffee Board
Coffee area	37,000 ha arabica, 23,000 ha robusta	15,000 ha	Coffee Board region profiles
Average production	29,000 t arabica, 30,000 t robusta	10,500 t	Coffee Board region profiles

The Bababudangiris GI map takes in all land above 1,000 metres. The main varieties are S.795, Selection 5B, Selection 9 and Cauvery for arabica, and Peridenia, S.274 and CxR for robusta, grown among pepper, cardamom, arecanut, orange and vanilla.

How much coffee does it grow?

The Coffee Board’s latest figures, for 2023-24:

	Arabica	Robusta	Total
Planted area	52,743 ha	46,857 ha	99,600 ha
Production	37,875 t	47,280 t	85,155 t

That is 23.6% of India’s coffee, second only to Kodagu, from 23,323 holdings. Chikmagalur grows more of India’s arabica than any other district: 37% of it in 2023-24.

When is it harvested?

The crop starts to ripen in October and November, the GI application says, and the cherries are picked when they turn a fine red. The weather has been erratic: Chikmagalur had 244% more rain than normal in January and February 2026, USDA reports, before a dry spell at flowering that is expected to cut India’s arabica crop.

Baba Budan and the first coffee

The story is told in several versions:

Version	Source
Baba Budan brought seven beans from Mocha, hidden in his beard, at the beginning of the 17th century, and planted them at his home on Chandra Drona Giri	Wikipedia
Around 1600, seven seeds from Mocha, planted in the Baba Budan Giri hills	Government of India (PIB)
About the 17th century, a few berries brought back from Mecca in his wallet	Lewis Rice’s Mysore Gazetteer, quoted in the GI application
About 400 years ago, seven beans from Yemen, planted in the Chandragiri hills	Coffee Board

Either way, coffee stayed in Baba Budan’s garden for a long time: it was not until about 1820 that cultivation spread beyond it, and about 20 years later before Europeans took an interest, the GI application says. One of the first, Cannon, set up an estate just south of the Bababudangiris.

Chikmagalur and other Indian origins

• Coffee in India: the whole country, its harvest and its history.
• Coorg (Kodagu): India’s biggest coffee district.
• Araku Valley: arabica from the Eastern Ghats.