Fantastic piece by @Bindu Gopal Rao for Forbes India #JavaQueens: The Women Driving India’s Coffee Revolution ☕ 🪴 In a traditionally male-dominated industry, a growing league of passionate, innovative, and determined women are transforming India’s coffee story—one bean at a time. From the rolling estates of #Chikkamagaluru to the biodiverse forests of Araku, women are influencing every aspect of coffee cultivation, processing, tasting, and brewing. They are ensuring biodiversity, fostering fair trade, and connecting small farms directly with consumers who crave authenticity in their cup. Take, for instance, Sunalini Menon, #Asia’s first woman coffee taster, who set the global stage for the nuanced profiles of Indian coffee. Or Arshiya Bose whose Black Baza Coffee Co. Coffee empowers Indigenous communities and sets biodiversity-friendly standards. sadhavi ashwani and @Mrinal Sharma of Baba's Beans spotlight tiny farm "nano-lots" of exceptional quality, while the family-led Kelachandra Coffee collective—led by Neleema Rana George, Ryana Kuruvilla, and Rishina K.—champions traceability and sustainability. Namrata Asthana at Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters makes specialty coffee accessible across India’s urban cafes, and Mitali Maheshwari at Tata Group Starbucks India reinterprets global coffee heritage to suit local palates. At ARAKU Coffee, Aditi Dugar and Anupama Sreeramaneni work alongside tribal communities to produce some of the world’s most sustainable and terroir-driven coffees, supporting regenerative agricultural practices. These women are more than entrepreneurs and professionals; they are custodians of tradition, innovators of flavor, ambassadors of fair trade, and architects of a sustainable future. Let’s raise a cup to the women reshaping India’s coffee narrative—brewing empowerment, one sip at a time. Here’s to the women redefining coffee excellence, one bean at a time! Coffee Quality Institute Coffee Board Of India Coffee Bean International / Specialty Coffee by Farmer Brothers #SpecialtyCoffee #WomenInCoffee #IndianCoffee #Sustainability #Leadership #India #Coffee #CoffeeLovers #CoffeeCulture #CoffeeRoasters #coffeeplant #coffeelover #coffeetime #arabicaplant #coffeefarm #coffeeplantation #coffeebeans #plants #arabicacoffee #coffeegrowers #coffeeshop #coffeegram #arabica #coffeefarmer #coffeeplanet #coffeecherries #coffeeaddict #plantsofinstagram #coffeecherry #beancoffee #nature #houseplants #coffeeholic #lemonadecoffee #coffeemill #coffeeharvest https://lnkd.in/dUH8FY9X
India is the sixth-largest producer of coffee in the world, and this growth is driven by women coffee growers and entrepreneurs. At Kelachandra Coffee, Neleema Rana George, Ryana Kuruvilla, and Rishina K. lead our journey to make Indian specialty coffee a global favorite. Asia's first lady of coffee, Sunalini Menon’s role as an advisor has strengthened the leadership narrative for us. Her insights are helping us cultivate healthier plants and richer, more flavorful beans. The story of does not stop there. We have also collaborated with brands and cafes that are led by incredible women. They tell us that, in the Indian coffee industry, women are no longer part of the process but are at the heart of it. Shoutout to India’s Java queens. Black Baza Coffee Co., Baba's Beans, Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters, Starbucks India, ARAKU Coffee Read the Forbes feature: https://lnkd.in/ghGCHuGX.
