Hill range where the seven-seeds legend places coffee's first planting in India, and home to its own arabica GI.
The Baba Budan Giri range is the hill tract in Chikmagalur district where legend places the arrival of coffee in India: the saint Baba Budan is said to have smuggled seven coffee seeds out of Yemen and planted them here. Sources date the planting variously, to about 1600 (Coffee Board) or 1670 (Wikipedia), so it is best treated as a legend rather than a fixed date. ICB lists the Bababudangiri sub-range at roughly 1,000-1,500 m, higher than the rest of Chikmagalur, and Bababudangiris is one of the Coffee Board's regional brands.
Field notes
- i
Bababudangiri Arabica Coffee is a registered GI (2018-19), separate from the wider Chikmagalur Arabica Coffee GI.
- ii
The Baba Budan planting is dated to about 1600 by the Coffee Board and to 1670 by other sources, so there is no single agreed year, only the legend.
- iii
At the Coffee Board's 2014 Flavour of India awards, Badra Jagalikal Estate was named Best of Bababudangiris Region and also took Best Arabica overall with an SLN-4 (Agaro) lot.
- iv
One account puts Baba Budan's planting on Chandra Drona Giri, the 1,829 m peak of the range.
Processing
Elsewhere in Chikmagalur
Sources · 7 Every sentence here was checked against a source we read. Taste notes are what guides describe, not promises about your bag. Last revised 2026-11-10. Some details here are less settled than others.
- Chikmagalur district · Wikimedia Foundation
- Coffee Board of India (official site, home page) · Coffee Board of India, Ministry of Commerce and Industry
- Geographical indications in India · Wikimedia Foundation
- Coffee Regions of India: A Complete Guide · Indian Coffee Beans (roaster/retailer)
- Indian Coffee Regions · Coffee Geography Magazine
- Coffee Board of India: coffee regions and grades · Coffee Board of India
- Winners list, Flavour of India Fine Cup Award 2014 · Coffee Board of India