Profile Overview
Hamsini Appadurai is a coffee grower, a Q Processor and the Director of Marketing and Sales of Sangameshwar Coffee Estates. A former stockbroker from Chennai, she currently handles the post-harvest processing in the estates while balancing experimentation and consistency.
Hamsini Appadurai believes in the beauty of simplicity. As a dedicated coffee grower, she is deeply passionate about preserving the natural essence of coffee through methodical processing.
“My secret to a great clean and balanced cup is keeping the process simple,” she says. “The simpler your recipe, the more exotic your coffee tastes.”
Today, Hamsini and her husband, S. Appadurai, oversee Sangameshwar Coffee Estates as the Director of Marketing and Sales. But her path to coffee wasn’t a straight road—it was more of a beeline, marked by unexpected turns and discoveries.
Before picking the helm of Sangameshwar, Hamsini was working with a seasoned stock broker in Chennai where she first met Appadurai. Hailing from a family of lawyers and advocates, she never thought about a world beyond her family, stock tickers and trading floors in that order.
However, she had no idea that the coffee beans of Sangameshwar Coffee Estates were quietly beckoning her toward an unexpected destiny.
A Legacy in Coffee
Hamsini’s husband’s grandfather had many British clients, through his stock broking firm in Madras, and through them, purchased many sizeable estates in Karnataka. In a bold business move, he established the estates as four public limited companies, namely Ossoor Estates, Sangameshwar Coffee Estates, Lingapur Estates, and finally, Warthahaly Estates, along with a coffee curing works.
The family’s coffee empire began taking shape post-independence, with Lakshmi Coffee Curing Works becoming one of the designated facilities where harvested coffee from across South India would be processed.
Back then, coffee wasn’t a freely traded commodity. Everything was regulated by the Coffee Board of India, which handled all sales and marketing. Estate owners simply produced the beans, and the board took care of the rest. Appadurai’s grandfather slowly recognised the importance of an open market and was one of the pioneers in advocating this in the 1990s. Now, coffee growers would have to manage their sales and marketing, a huge responsibility they had never dealt with.
The gateway to the famous Attikan Estate
Coffee grower sorting ripe coffee beans at Sangameshwar Estates
Enter The Appadurais
As the coffee market continued to evolve, Appadurai’s grandfather realised the shifting landscape and organised an ambitious tour of coffee-producing countries for the company’s directors. The main aim of the tour was to understand how Central American and African countries showcased their coffee and how that could be replicated in the Indian context.
Although Hamsini wasn’t involved in coffee at the time, she decided to join Appadurai and the others on the tour to offer her support. What she didn’t anticipate, however, was how profoundly the trip would shape her future. The couple, who once thought of their coffee estates as holiday destinations, began to see the immense potential for adding value to coffee.
It hit me then that this journey wasn’t always going to be rosy. But if I wanted to really understand coffee, I had to get my hands dirty. Literally.
- Hamsini Appadurai
From Chennai’s Shores to Coffee Soil
Hamsini and Appadurai decided to relocate from Chennai to their coffee plantation, Karadykan, adjoining Balehonnur. However, the couple had not anticipated the world of change that would come with the plantation lifestyle. There were no modern conveniences such as uninterrupted electricity and phone connections that they had gotten used to in Chennai. But they slowly began to fall in love with the community that surrounded them.
Seeing the estates up close changed their perspective. With only managers to oversee operations, there was a gap in proactive decision-making. Appadurai started to recognise the potential of specialty coffee in India. He dove head-first and along with Hamsini’s support, prioritised infrastructural capacity, production, irrigation and harvest processes at the estate. The estates house 250 families, who are provided with healthcare, education and other nutritive initiatives. There was great attention to detail and a lot of focus on a sustainable model by building an ecosystem favourable for current and future generations.
The legacy of Sangameshwar Estates continues with Appadurai and Hamsini
Hamsini’s Influential Role in the Business
While Appadurai and Hamsini had been living on the estate together, her role in the business took a back seat when she had her daughter in 2002. However, when her daughter turned eight, she felt the pull to do more.
“I wasn’t willing to sit around twiddling my thumbs,” she said. With her father-in-law’s gentle nudge, she took her first step into the coffee business, handling exports, sales, and marketing. Her natural extroversion made her a perfect fit for the role, but she didn’t stop there. Driven by curiosity and ambition, she became a certified Q-Processor for both Arabica and Robusta, eventually immersing herself in coffee processing.
Ms. Sunalini Menon, the “First Lady of coffee” in Asia, as you might have heard, had a pivotal role in Hamsini’s journey, mentoring, supporting and cleverly encouraging her to test the waters whenever she felt unsure.
But, once she put her foot in, there was no turning back.
I want to push boundaries, but I also want my roasters to know they can rely on me, year after year, to deliver clean, beautiful coffee at scale.
- Hamsini Appadurai
A Crash Course in Coffee and Courage
As Hamsini grew, she pursued a CQI processing course in Indonesia. However, this experience came as an adventure she didn’t quite expect. She landed at a remote farm late at night after a delayed flight, exhausted and disoriented. The farm was deep in the interiors of rural Indonesia, with no power in sight. And her “accommodation”? A dormitory packed with 12 strangers, all men she had never met before, and a row of hammocks swaying in the dim moonlight.
“I called Appadurai and said, ‘I don’t know where I’ve come. Please take me back!’” she laughed, recalling the surreal moment.
For someone used to the comforts of home including her own room and bathroom, this was a shock to the system. But as she lay in that hammock, surrounded by darkness and unfamiliar faces, she made a choice: to stick it out.
“It hit me then that this journey wasn’t always going to be rosy. But if I wanted to really understand coffee, I had to get my hands dirty. Literally.”
That night marked a turning point. What started as a sleepless, uncomfortable night turned into one of the most transformative experiences of her career, proving that the path to mastering coffee wasn’t always brewed to perfection.
A bird's eye view of the Attikan estate drying coffee
Hamsini’s Coffee Philosophy
Over the years, Hamsini’s approach to coffee has evolved from boundless experimentation to a thoughtful balance of creativity and consistency. “I don’t like to complicate things,” she explains. “Sure, I do small-batch experiments for exotic lots, but for bigger volumes, I stick to clean, replicable processes that guarantee a consistent, high-quality cup.”
This balance is key, given the scale of production she manages, at around 400–500 tonnes of Arabica and 250 tonnes of Robusta every year. While specialty micro-lots find homes with select roasters, the larger volumes need stability. And for Hamsini, stability means mastering the basics, honing in on what works, and refining the process relentlessly.
Hamsini’s system is meticulous and data-driven, echoing her background in management. Every step is logged: which plot the coffee is picked from, on what date, when it’s processed, dried and every variable in between. This treasure trove of data, ensures each batch carries the estates’ signature flavour and legacy
“It’s all about balance,” she says. “I want to push boundaries, but I also want my roasters to know they can rely on me, year after year, to deliver clean, beautiful coffee at scale.”
I don’t like to complicate things. I stick to clean, replicable processes that guarantee a consistent, high-quality cup.
- Hamsini Appadurai
Scaling Up With a Vision
The company’s journey into single-origin coffee exports began in 2008–09, a pivotal moment that sparked exponential growth. Attikan, one of their estates, was the first coffee supplier for Blue Tokai, a household name in Indian specialty coffee.
Furthermore, as the estates’ reputation grew, so did their infrastructure. The estates now boast massive drying yards and an impressive 400 African-raised beds, designed to enhance quality and handle larger volumes without compromising on precision and quality. Sangameshwar Coffee Estates now exports to more than 10 countries, with their single-origin coffees having loving homes with roasters worldwide.
This growth isn’t just about size, it’s about intent. Every upgrade, and every new technique, is a step toward positioning Indian specialty coffee on the global stage. And for Hamsini, it’s not just business; it’s a passion to nurture the land, an adventurous spirit and a commitment to quality that has been passed down through generations. The estates stand as a testament to the enduring bond between nature and coffee.
Epitaph of the founder of the Attikan Estate Randolph Hayton Morriss
Coffee flowers blooming at Sangameshwar Estates
Hamsini’s Message to the Indian Coffee Community
Over the years, Hamsini has witnessed the Indian coffee community evolve, growing closer and more collaborative. What once felt like an industry of isolated estates now feels like a collective force, with growers coming together to push Indian coffee onto the world map.
“Even though we’re competitors, we stand united for a common cause,” she reflects. This spirit of togetherness, she believes, is key to elevating Indian coffee. With every connection forged and every market explored, Hamsini remains certain of one thing: Indian coffee’s time is coming. “We’re already on the way,” she says with quiet confidence. “And the best is yet to come.”
Hamsini firmly believes that while factors like altitude and climate are fixed, the real magic lies in the variables you can control, and that starts with how you process and dry your coffee.
“The learning never stops,” she explains. “Coffee processing is definitely where you can unlock better flavours and elevate your cup like never before, but you learn on the job everyday. I still continue to educate myself with books, courses, programmes around the world and the mistakes I make.”
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