In the southern parts of India, small-scale producers grow coffee across densely forested regions, including Biligirirangana (BR) Hills, Kodagu, and Chikkamagaluru in Karnataka; the Nilgiris and Palani Hills in Tamil Nadu; and Wayanad in Kerala. These regions—spanning dry deciduous groves and montane grasslands—are places teeming with life: endangered species of flora and fauna, forest-dwelling communities, and smallholder farmers all coexist here. 

Wildlife—including endangered species like the Indian Gaur, Nilgiri Tahr, and Lion-tailed Macaque—moves freely in these regions. Forest-dwelling communities, such as the Soligas of BR Hills, cultivate coffee in harmony with nature, under the shade of native trees like cluster fig, jackfruit, and jamun. 

Over the last decade, however, these regions have witnessed a significant increase in temperatures and fluctuating, unseasonal rainfall. “In 2025, it rained throughout the year, from June-July up until October-November,” says Arshiya Bose, founder of Black Baza, a speciality coffee enterprise—and The Locavore’s partner producer—that works closely with smallholder coffee growers in BR Hills, the Nilgiris, Palani Hills, and Wayanad. The unrelenting rain, with an almost negligible gap between the Southwest and Northeast monsoons, impacts forests and, in turn, coffee production. 

Most conventional coffee plantations rely on monoculture farming or plant invasive species like silver oak to intensify production and boost yields. However, for Black Baza, it is crucial to grow coffee sustainably. They are of the firm belief that biodiversity is inherently valuable, and that it should be conserved whether it is of use to anyone or not. It also helps that the rich biodiversity found across these forests—that double as coffee farms—acts as ecological indicators, significantly contributing to the region’s ecosystem in the form of shade trees, birds, and insects that act as pollinators, and mammals whose presence connotes a thriving forest.  

What is abundantly clear is that in order for growers to persist contributing to the diversity and sustainability of the Indian coffee sector, especially in the longer run, it is important for them to work with the forest. This begets the question: Is preserving biodiversity the best climate mitigation strategy?

We spoke to the team at Black Baza about how growing coffee in tandem with the forest—especially as unseasonal rains and leaf rust outbreaks reshape India’s coffee landscapes—offers a blueprint for the future.