A Trip To The Nescafe Coffee Demo Farm

We love making new connections, friendships and relationships and Nescafé coffee does just that. It was a bright Monday morning, when we began our journey to explore the Demo Farm of the world's favorite coffee - Nescafé. Simply driving into Nescafé's coffee farm in Kushalnagar, Coorg brought in a sense of awe and admiration for the brand. The idea of the trip was to show us the process of how coffee is grown and processed. It was great to see first hand what went into making that perfect cup of coffee! 

The Nestle team of coffee experts, shared the history of Nescafé, how it has grown today and what Nestle has been doing in the space of empowerment and education of its farmers. Nescafé shares its global coffee expertise with coffee farmers in South India and trains them in responsible farming to improve quality, productivity and sustainability in the long term. Here is some interesting statistics on Nescafé & its farming communities

• It has 1 Million farming partners
• 388 agronomists/ field staff working with farmers
• 36,000 farm visits a year
• 390,000 farmers trained
• 180,000 tonnes of coffee directly procured from 175,000 farmers

In addition, there is something called "Nescafé Better Farming Practice"  which is a set of farm practices which are designed for Coffee Growers to improve multiple facets in farming - from better cultivation, sustainability and also help the farmers to implement the Common Code for Coffee Community (4C) and Sustainable Agriculture  Network (SAN) standards.

Nestle also runs a number of Community Service initiatives for the farmers and their families. A few of the initiatives that are run are

• Free medical health checks and distribution of medicines
• Sanitation facilities
• Scholarships for school children and so much more

To understand more about the coffee growing process we were also taken on a walk into Nescafé coffee plantations. Here is the Facebook Live Video which you can watch and will take you through our journey. You will find a lot of interesting trivia about coffee beans, how they are grown, the flowers and the various types of seeds. What is Arabica, Robusta, Chicory, Peaberry and so much more.

But let me walk you through about more fun stuff! Learn about the various types of coffee, some fun trivia about Nescafé and also a brand new Nescafé coffee machine to make your coffee fun on the go.

Watch The Nescafé Farm Tour On Facebook Live

So What is Arabica & Robusta  

In the farm the the head Agronomists of Nescafé walked us through a phenomenal presentation about the various types of coffee beans, how they are grown. We also got to know about chicory and peaberry as well. 

First let me dive into Arabica - Arabica coffee beans are generally considered to make milder, more acidic and less bitter coffees.  Gourmet coffee is nearly always sourced from high quality Arabica beans. Arabica grows mostly in mountainous climates and is more vulnerable to pests and needs light shade, evenly distributed rain and a few other important factors like an optimum pH of the soil.

And as for Robusta, as the name suggests, it is “more robust” ! It can be grown in both low and high altitudes and is characterised by a strong note, strong body and very little acidity. 

So based on your taste profile, you can choose to buy either of them and powder it according to your choice. 

Nescafé Green Coffee Sensory Labs

So once we were done with the plantation tour, we moved on to the coffee tasting lab called Green Coffee Sensory Labs. Here is where Nescafé tests each of the coffee batches sent by the coffee growers. The coffee is tested for aroma and taste profile and the process is known as cupping. There are various other factors that go into ensuring the beans are perfect and it was truly a fascinating experience.

The best part was we got to try our hands at tasting and testing the coffee and understanding its flavour profile. 

Now For Some Trivia About Nescafé

1. On a global scale and footprint, 6000 cups of coffee are had every second
2. Nescafé is present in 180+ countries
3. It is the #3 beverage brand
4. Every 5th cup of coffee consumed around the world is Nescafé

The Finale of the Trip To the Nescafé Farm

 Our trip ended with an unveil of the Nescafé É Smart Coffee Maker (210ml, Black) + Nescafé Classic Coffee, 200g Glass Jar

Here are some of the cool features

• É by NESCAFÉ is a first of its kind, smart, app-enabled coffee maker
• Pair via Bluetooth with NESCAFÉ É Connected Mug App for personalised experience
• Enjoy a wide variety of indulgent coffee recipes at the touch of a button
• With its heating and frothing features, É prepares great tasting coffee quickly (60-90secs) and silently
• This trendy, 100% leak & spill proof mug let’s you enjoy coffee on the go, worry-free
• Thermal insulation keeps your drink warm or cold in this 210ml mug

Watch this fun video on NESCAFÉ É