Shevaroys (Yercaud)

The Shevaroys are a small block of hills in Tamil Nadu’s Salem district, with the hill town of Yercaud at their centre. They grow nothing but arabica, under shade among orange, banana and pepper, and in recent years their estates have done remarkably well in the Coffee Board’s national cupping competition.

The short version

• All arabica: 3,925 tonnes in 2023-24.
• 900–1,500 metres, around Yercaud.
• Citrus acidity with chocolate, nuts and spice, by the 2019 competition notes.
• Three of the top four arabicas in the 2019 Flavour of India Fine Cup Award.
• Coffee since the 1820s.

What does Shevaroys coffee taste like?

Bright for an Indian coffee. Coffee Review’s glossary says coffees from the Shevaroys and the Nilgiris generally show more acidity than those of other south Indian regions. The Coffee Board grows “bold-sized” arabicas here, it says, and counts the Shevaroys among the five regions whose washed arabica can be graded Mysore Nuggets Extra Bold, its premium grade, described as having full aroma, medium to good body, good acidity and a hint of spice.

The best detail comes from the 2019 Flavour of India Fine Cup Award, where Shevaroys estates took three of the top four arabica places. The international jury’s notes:

Place	Estate	Coffee	Altitude	Score	Cup notes
2	Moon Estate	Sln.9, washed	4,593 ft	82.69	Sweet citrus acidity, cereal, spicy, nutty
3	Aravindh Estate	S.795, washed	4,500 ft	82.64	Chocolaty, nutty, herbal, citrus sweet acidity
4	Perunganal Estate	S.795, washed	4,565 ft	82.56	Fruit, chocolate, herbal; mellow, soft, creamy; citrus and apple acidity

Source: Coffee Board, Flavour of India Fine Cup Award 2019 e-auction brochure.

The run has continued. In 2026, the Coffee Board named Tipperary Estate in the top five washed arabicas, and Hillgrove, Riverside and Vaira Thotam, all in Yercaud, in the top five of the experimental arabica category. Moon Estate was also the best of the Shevaroys region in 2014.

Where and how high is it grown?

Around Yercaud, in the Shevaroy Hills of Salem district, with the Kolli hills counted in the same zone. The Coffee Board’s profile of the region:

Measure	Figure
Altitude	900–1,500 m
Rainfall	800–1,500 mm
Coffee	Arabica
Main varieties	S.795, Cauvery, Sln.9
Main intercrops	Orange, banana, pepper

Source: Coffee Board, Coffee Regions – India.

Its 800 mm lower bound is the lowest rainfall figure in any of the Coffee Board’s regional profiles. The three 2019 finalists grew their coffee at 4,500 to 4,593 feet, about 1,370 to 1,400 metres. Nationally, arabica’s blossom showers come in March and April, the Coffee Board says, and the crop ripens from October and November, according to its GI application for Chikmagalur Arabica.

How much coffee do the Shevaroys grow?

The Coffee Board’s figures for 2023-24 (provisional):

Measure	Figure
Planted area	7,315 ha (7,255 ha arabica, 60 ha robusta)
Bearing area	7,196 ha
Production	3,925 t, all arabica
Holdings	4,664 (4,560 under 10 ha)

Source: Coffee Board, Database on Coffee, July 2024. Figures include the Kolli hills.

That is about 1.1% of India’s coffee but nearly 4% of its arabica. The Coffee Board’s older regional profile gave 5,000 hectares and an average of 3,000 tonnes.

A short history

Coffee came to the Shevaroys early. In the 1820s, M. D. Cockburn, the collector of Salem district, helped establish coffee plantations around Yercaud, along with citrus saplings brought from South Africa, Wikipedia says. Yercaud later became a hill retreat for the Madras Presidency, and today its economy rests on tourism and on farming coffee, orange, jackfruit, guava, pepper and cardamom.

The Shevaroys and other Indian origins

• Coffee in India: the whole country, its regions and its history.
• Nilgiris: the other Tamil Nadu region known for brighter coffees.
• Chikmagalur and the Bababudangiris: where Indian coffee began.