Profile Overview
Shabari Madappa, founder of Agastya Coffee and a coffee grower from Coorg, left a corporate career to champion Indian specialty coffee. Inspired by the lack of global representation, she launched Agastya as both a café and a living museum—focused on manual brewing, estate-grown beans, and education. Through workshops, collaborations, and a farm-to-cup approach, Agastya Coffee aims to revive Coorg’s rich coffee heritage and build a more connected, conscious coffee culture.
An espresso machine is usually the first thing you notice when you walk into a coffee shop. But at Agastya Coffee, things are a little different.
Tucked away from the bustling streets of Madikeri in Coorg, Agastya Coffee feels like a well-kept secret. Instead of the familiar hum of an automatic espresso machine, a beautiful manual espresso maker sits quietly at the heart of the space.
And that’s just the beginning.
In one corner, vintage hand roasters and tarnished old spoons. In another, a century-old hand grinder from Paris and some other coffee memorabilia from worldwide. Every object whispers stories from coffee cultures across the globe. The place feels less like a coffee shop and more like a living, breathing museum.
Behind this thoughtfully curated space is a software engineer-turned-serial entrepreneur whose journey into coffee began with the realisation that Indian coffee deserves a bigger place on the world stage.
Agastya Coffee representing small farms from Coorg at the World Coffee Conference 2023
Return to Roots
Shabari Madappa, the founder of Agastya Coffee, grew up in Coorg, surrounded by the rustling of coffee leaves and the rich scent of freshly harvested beans. She pursued engineering and a promising career in IT. Yet, the thought of returning to Coorg never left her mind. She and her husband, both deeply tied to their homeland, often spoke about retiring early and settling back into the serene landscapes of their childhood. The question that lingered was: What to do in Coorg?
While toying with the idea of going back to her coffee roots, she got the opportunity to be one of the only women single-origin coffee estate founders from India to attend the Melbourne International Coffee Expo in 2019. For Shabari, representing Indian coffee on a world stage was a sense of pride and joy.
But what she saw there made her realise that there was a serious lack of representation from Indian coffee. Booths and stalls around her from different parts of the world were engaging and more interesting. They were cupping, brewing and exchanging knowledge. That’s when she felt that there was a serious need for the representation of Indian coffee on the world stage.
A serial entrepreneur at heart, Shabari returned to Coorg and decided to take matters in hand.
The answer came in the form of a conversation with her mentor, BK Subiah, a seasoned planter of Modur Estate who spoke of coffee’s past glory. He painted a picture of a time when Indian coffee, particularly from Coorg, was renowned worldwide. In the British era, estates had distinct identities, and a coffee variety called ‘Coorg Mysore’ once commanded some of the highest prices in the market. But over the years, that prestige had faded.
“The rest of the world has moved on, but we in Coorg are still lost in the commodity market,” she says.
Why get into this whole business rat race of export? Let’s be different. Let’s try and promote specialty coffee in India itself, just like how Blue Tokai is doing. Why can’t we do the same?
- Shabari Madappa
That conversation was a turning point. Shabari realised that she didn’t just want to go back to Coorg—she wanted to revive something that had been forgotten. Around the same time, she came across a course called Kaapi Shastra, promoted by the Coffee Board of India. Taking a week off from work, she immersed herself in the programme, unaware that it would change everything.
It was an eye-opener. She saw firsthand how planters poured their hearts into growing high-quality coffee, only to send it off without truly understanding its value.
“And they don't know where their coffee goes, what happens to it. They don't even know what it tastes like,” she realised.
Coffe cupping with Nakul Poonacha of Modur Estate at Agastya Coffee’s dedicated Experience Center and Tasting Room
Roasting the season's best
This observation led her to focus on highlighting the unique characteristics of coffee from individual Coorg estates that loses its charm due to commercialisation and commodification.
Determined to revive Coorg’s heritage, Shabari immersed herself in learning more about specialty coffee, fermentation techniques, processing methods, and roasting profiles. She sought knowledge everywhere: online courses, Coffee Board conferences, books. Soon, it was time for her to apply her knowledge practically. She started with her family estate, Kogilahalla, in Coorg. The first year was tough, and the coffee didn’t meet specialty standards. But persistence paid off—within two years, Kogilahalla’s beans were officially graded as specialty coffee.
If a planter wants to really sustain in the specialty coffee market, he needs to start small. Start with one small portion of his plantation, get the entire process and quality right of his growing, processing, and packaging.
- Shabari Madappa
The Coffee Educator
Shabari further delved into how to change the coffee culture. She knew India had vast potential. She noticed that while much of the conversation around Indian coffee revolved around exports, a growing market for specialty coffee was emerging within the country.
Shabari questions the conventional approach, emphasising the need for a shift in perspective. She says, “Why get into this whole business rat race of export? Let’s be different. Let’s try and promote speciality coffee in India itself, just like how Blue Tokai is doing. Why can’t we do the same?”
Blue Tokai had paved the way, demonstrating that Indian estates could establish a strong presence in the domestic market. Inspired by this shift, she decided to focus on three coffee estates, including her own, to bring single-origin coffees into the spotlight.
“The idea was to add value to our coffee, which we are growing ourselves,” she said. Through this process, Shabari upskilled herself. She immersed herself in every aspect of the coffee-making process—from roasting and processing to cupping and tasting.
But she understood that true change required more than just promotion—it needed education.
She began organising workshops to teach planters about specialty coffee, guiding them through cupping, tasting, and quality assessment. Many of her participants were seasoned planters in their seventies—farmers who had spent their entire lives growing coffee but had never truly understood it. Industry experts like Rishwin Devaya of Riverside Estate and Shamveel Nizam of Sandalkad Estate joined as guest instructors, helping farmers develop confidence in their crops and understand global specialty standards. She connected farmers with the Coffee Board, helping them access grading and certification systems to ensure their beans met international standards.
But Shabari didn’t stop at the estates. She extended this education to students, guiding them through coffee’s journey from seed to cup.
However, education was only part of the equation. The next step was creating a space where people could experience this coffee firsthand.
This 100 years old hand grinder from Paris sits quietly in one corner of Agastya Coffee
A cupping session at Rishwin Devaya's Riverside Estate
The amount of coffee we grow to what is the population, there is no match, if planters get into speciality coffee, there is a very big market, if they can get it right.
- Shabari Madappa
Building Agastya Coffee
As interest in their workshops grew, visitors often asked where they could taste the coffee being discussed. This led Shabari to start Agastya Coffee along with her partners, Deepika, Vaishnavi, and Ruhi.
Their aim was to promote manual brewing techniques.
The philosophy? Farm to table. Alongside single-origin brews, they serve local produce—figs, jackfruit, and mulberries- showcasing the rich flavours of Coorg.
Agastya Coffee works with multiple estates, experimenting with fermentation techniques and rare varieties like the Kent coffee, a 75-year-old heirloom plant which grows at an altitude of 1000 m. Despite it being a disease-prone variety, Shabari took the risk of planting it for its exceptional taste and aroma that resembled Ethiopian coffee.
Agastya Coffee isn’t just about selling coffee but about creating a better connection between the people who grow it and those who drink it.
The manual espresso machine requires a certain amount of patience and precisison
A sunkissed corner of Agastya Coffee
Give planters credit for their coffee.
- Shabari Madappa
Guidance for Aspiring Specialty Coffee Professionals
Shabari offers practical advice for those looking to enter the specialty coffee world.
For coffee planters, she shares, ‘If a planter wants to really sustain in the specialty coffee market. He needs to start small, start with one small portion of his plantation, get the entire process and quality right, of his growing, processing, and packaging.”
The key lies in perfecting each step—from cultivation to processing and packaging—before expanding operations. She emphasises the importance of engaging with the coffee community by attending workshops and building relationships with roasters.
For roasters, Shabari stresses that true specialty coffee requires more than just purchasing quality beans.
“Speciality coffee is about coming to the estate, building that rapport, educating the planter on how the market outside is”, she emphasizes. “Promoting planters and estates is the right way. Give planters credit for their coffee.”
At its heart, she reminds us that specialty coffee thrives on collaboration and mutual respect between everyone in the supply chain.
Enter Agastya Coffee
Specialty coffee is about coming to the estate, building that rapport, educating the planter on how the market outside is.
- Shabari Madappa
Agastya Coffee stands as a bridge between growers and their coffee
The Changing Landscape of Indian Coffee
Not long ago, Indian coffee meant South Indian filter brews or Café Coffee Day. Today, conversations revolve around fermentation methods, single-origin beans, and manual brews. People travel with their own brewing equipment. Coffee is no longer just a beverage—it’s an identity.
The market is shifting, and those who truly understand coffee are leading the change.
Shabari emphasises the potential of the speciality coffee market, saying, “The amount of coffee we grow to what is the population, there is no match, if planters get into speciality coffee, there is a very big market, if they can get it right.”
In the future, she expresses her commitment to continuing this journey, stating, "We want to offer many more courses, covering everything from plantation to the final cup."
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