I’m writing this as an agriculture student, but this moment began purely as a coffee lover.

When I travelled to Coorg and Chikmagalur with my cousins, coffee felt like part of the landscape. During the trip, we stopped at a café called Big Cup Coffee, which instantly became one of my favourites. We found it through Google, reached there, and ordered different coffees for everyone.

At first, it felt like just another café stop.

But while others were focused on the cups in front of them, my attention slowly shifted elsewhere.

Inside the café, a shelf was neatly arranged with manual coffee brewing devices (Pour-over drippers (V60-style, Kalita-style, cone & flat-bottom), Siphon / Vacuum coffee brewer, Chemex-style brewers, Moka pots). Right beside it stood a coffee roasting machine, and nearby, a continuous band sealer, also known as a pouch sealing machine. As someone who enjoys coffee beyond just drinking it, this setup caught my attention immediately.

It didn’t feel decorative.

It felt functional.

At that moment, a staff member was roasting coffee beans. Curious, I started a conversation. I asked how the roasting process works and what types of machines they use. He explained patiently how roasting levels are controlled and how each machine serves a specific purpose.

Then he mentioned something casually.

They source their coffee beans directly from local farmers.

That single line changed how I was looking at the place. This wasn’t just a café selling coffee. It felt like the final stop of a much longer journey one that began far away from polished counters and menus.

Standing there, watching roasting and packaging happen in real time, one question stayed with me:

If so much care goes into roasting and packaging, what happens on the farm before the beans even reach here?