SEVEN ROOTS

It’s one of the Lovely Legends from India telling the story about the origin of Indian Coffee.

In the 16th Century, a Sufi Saint Baba Budan used to live at Chikmagalur in Karnataka along with his followers happened to be both Hindus and Muslims. As his area was continuously attacked by local tribes, the Sufi saint and his followers fled to live in the caves of Chandragiri hills. Even after hiding, still the threats used to follow him. So Baba Budan decided to go on a pilgrimage to Mecca, while his followers waited in the caves for over a year.

While returning back from Mecca, there was a brief stopover at the port of Mocha in Red sea where a new drink ‘QAHWA’( the base word for ‘Coffee’) was traditionally served as a refresher or energy drink to the tired pilgrims.??

(Even though the coffee plant originated from Africa, it’s the Arab Monks from today’s Yemen region who cultivated it systematically and kept it under the Arab Monopoly. They are the first to make a drink with its roasted beans and named it Qahwa. Soon the popularity of the drink spread beyond Yemen borders, but coffee remained under Arab monopoly for decades because of one reason.

Image: Port of Mocha in 1680, Credit: Smithsonian Mapper

Arabs prohibited export of green coffee beans through death penalty and used to trade only roasted beans to ensure that the coffee trees will not grow outside Yemen. The trading point for coffee, in those days, was the port of Mocha in the Red sea from where roasted beans used to be exported to Europe etc.)

Baba Budan liked Qahwa and its exciting flavor instantly. He has decided to grow the magic plant at his hilly homeland.?But it’s very difficult to find fresh seeds and even more difficult to transport those through hiding.

Somehow he has managed to obtain the precious seeds. He has chosen SEVEN SEEDS, as the seven is the sacred number for Islam, and hidden those seeds in his enormous beard. That’s how he ‘smuggled’ the raw seeds to India.

Image: Baba Budan Credit: Vijay Singh, Laughingcolours

After the return, he has planted the beans on the slopes of the Chandragiri Hills, near the caves where he and his followers had settled. Ultimately, after growing, the plants produced beans; coffee was made and served free to all around the place.

These seven Coffee plants sprouted up the first Arabica coffee trees on foreign soil and instrumental in spreading coffee throughout the world. The story continued like this.

During that era of Colonialism, from Baba Budan’s seven roots, the Dutch Governor of India collected raw seeds and sent those to the Dutch Colonies of Indonesia. That paved the way to the systematic cultivation of coffee away from Arab control. A few years later, the Dutch Traders gave an extremely valuable gift to the King Louis of France?- a coffee tree from Indonesia that must be another descendent of Baba Budan’s seeds.???

From France, through De Cheu plantation, the branches of the precious tree travelled to the Caribbean region. As the plantation was successful, coffee cultivation spread to the neighboring islands. Although dozens of new varieties have been introduced to Central and South Americas over years, the fact remains that an unknown number of coffee trees must be the descendents of Baba Budan’s seven roots.??

Ironically, it was the British who has established Coffee Arabica plantations throughout the mountains of Southern India and popularized the beverage in England.?

Today, coffee is still grown in the hills and the area is well known as Baba Budangiri on the Chandragiri Hills at Karnataka in India. His hideout & tomb are preserved even today and remains as a popular place for pilgrims and tourists.

Image: recent view of Baba Budangiri, Credit: Indian Colombus

Baba Budan will remain as an eternal legend to the Indian coffee in particular and to the world of coffee in general.

The amazing fact is that our cup of coffee is made with the beans that might be distantly related to one of the seven beans that travelled 6000+ kilometers hiding in the beard of a gritty monk!??

Compiled, Edited & Written by

Krishna Kishore Boddapati ( [email protected])