Unit 5 (Glimpses of India)
Araku coffee
Explain what makes Araku coffee special.
Where it is. The Araku Valley is in the north-east of Andhra Pradesh, on the Odisha border, about 1,200 m above sea level. It is known for its forests, its tribal (Adivasi) villages and a balloon festival in January (18–20 January).
How coffee came. Coffee was brought to the Araku hills in 1898 by a British civil servant, N. S. Brodie.
From a project to a brand. Through the Naandi Foundation, coffee grew from a scheme to earn a living into a brand known around the world. Today 10,986 farmers in 517 villages are part of it. The farmers are not just labourers: they are estate owners with a stake in the business, and many are entrepreneurs. The word symbiotic fits: the farmers and the business help each other.
How the coffee is grown. Bio-dynamic farming: compost instead of chemicals, shade trees such as mango and jackfruit over the coffee bushes, and careful steps at every stage, 'from sapling to savouring' (from a young plant to enjoying the cup). Coffee people speak of terroir: the soil, climate and land that give a crop its own taste.
Words from the passage.
- aroma: a pleasant smell;
- far-flung: very far away;
- tucked away: hidden in a quiet place;
- traverses an unusual trajectory: the story takes an unusual path.
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