Araku Valley
A coffee origin in the Eastern Ghats built around tribal farmers, and known well beyond India.
The Araku Valley lies in the Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh, about 110 km from Visakhapatnam, in an area where many residents belong to tribal communities. Coffee is a relatively recent crop here. One account says it reached the valley by the mid-1950s, and that the Girijan Co-operative Corporation, set up by the state government in 1956, supported tribal livelihoods through coffee.
The Naandi Foundation, a Hyderabad-based non-governmental organisation, has worked in the valley since around 2000. Reports describe a model in which farmers are organised in co-operatives and supported with training and a processing unit, so that they can sell without middlemen. A social enterprise, Araku Originals, is reported to have been set up in 2008 to give the coffee a brand identity. Araku’s own website says the brand made its formal retail debut with a flagship store in Le Marais, Paris, in 2017. “Araku Valley Arabica” is among the Indian coffees reported in March 2019 to have been granted a Geographical Indication tag.
Press reports attach many figures to the project, including farmer numbers, incomes, tasting scores and awards. Accounts vary, and they are not repeated here.
- Region
- Araku Valley, Eastern Ghats, Andhra Pradesh
- Growers
- Tribal (Adivasi) farming communities
- Brand
- Araku, marketed through Araku Originals
- Paris
- Flagship store in Le Marais, 2017, by the brand’s own website
- Designation
- Araku Valley Arabica, reported as GI-tagged in 2019
Araku Coffee (brand website) ↗
Editor’s Selection is an editorial choice by Sunjae Sharmah. Names and marks belong to their owners; no affiliation with, or endorsement by, the brand is implied.
Added October 2026