This is the first of a series of posts dedicated to our students, with #Happycoffeepeople we wanted to talk about their coffee stories, and how  Espresso Academy has been an important part of their coffee career. We will meet many #Happycoffeepeople sharing with us the same passion for coffee.

The first #Happycoffeepeople is our friend Shamveel, a coffee producer from India that attended our One Week Coffee Route 3 years ago with Simone, Helena and Gabriele.

His business is located in Coorg region, in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. The Western Ghats mountain range, where the farms are located, is one of the 25 biodiversity hotspots of the world and UNESCO heritage site, home to numerous exotic species of flora & fauna. As an environmentally responsible enterprise, we ensure the fragile ecosystem is sustained and preserved. The carefully selected Arabica & Robusta plants grow under the two-tier canopy. Our coffee is bird-friendly and 100% shade grown.

Shamveel is the seventh generation of coffee farmers. His plantation, Sandalkad Group of Estates, is  more than 300 acres of coffee, spices and orange orchards. His family has been into coffee and spices plantation in Coorg for more than 170 years and the business continues to flourish with all zeal. The family-run Woodstock Villas and Honeypot Homes are one of the most-sought-after accommodation options in the mist-clad Coorg.

Two years back he opened his first coffee shop called Bigcup cafe (www.bigcup.in) and within two years it has become the no 1 cafe of the region. Their mission is to provide quality coffee, harvested right from their estates and provide a world-class coffee experience to the guests without fuss in an intimate and relaxed atmosphere.

The aim is to bring you a perfectly brewed “Cuppa from Crop to Cup”, served with a warm smile! They serve from his plantation as well as international single origin  coffees sourced directly.

Last year our trainer Helena Oliviero had visited the plantation and stayed there for ten days and for some SCA certified workshops on Sensory, Brewing and Barista skills in the cafe. The workshop was very successful and he’s planning to organise another one in December this year.

Also Kevin, Kelly and Eric, all students of the Espresso academy, have come and stayed at Shamveel’s plantation in the last two years.