About us
Gems of Araku
Gems of Araku, an annual coffee harvest festival, celebrates the unique coffee-growing heritage of the Araku Valley. Curated by the Naandi Foundation, in its 18th edition, the festival honours the indigenous farmers who nurture coffee in harmony with the forests, soil, and culture of this unique landscape.
For generations, coffee has been an integral part of life in the hills of Araku, shaping a culture in which coffee is not merely grown as a crop but nurtured as a living heritage. Each microlot represents more than a harvest. It reflects the story of the farmer, the character of their terrain, the significance of regenerative agriculture practices, and the generational aspirations for the future.
Over 1,320 microlots are evaluated by globally recognized professional cuppers, following internationally established protocols set by the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) and the Cup of Excellence. Some of the unique flavor notes score as high as 90 out of 100 from professional cuppers.
Sherri Johns, one of the most respected voices in the global specialty coffee community, Head Judge of Gems of Araku, and former Head Judge of the Cup of Excellence, leads a panel of internationally recognised cuppers ensuring every microlot is assessed with the precision, integrity, and depth that Araku's farmers and their harvests deserve.
ARAKU COFFEE: Crafted Locally, Celebrated Globally
ARAKU Coffee embarks on a journey from soil to cup, embracing the Araku region’s terroir authenticity, regenerative ethos, quality process, and global recognition.
Regenerative Ethos
Implementing regenerative agriculture practices that respect terroir identity, restore soil fertility, reiterate ecological and biodiversity preservation over generations, rejuvenate the lives of its nurturers while producing the highest quality, single-origin coffee cherries.
Quality Process
Practicing Naandi’s holistic and systematic, seed-to-cup, state-of-the-art, 19/91 strategy that enhances the inherent flavor of coffee cherries through quality and innovative processes – a complete local endeavor – and introduces unique and diverse organic-certified, specialty coffee to its global customers with the highest degree of trust and transparency.
Global Recognition
Showcasing – a non-traditional coffee-growing region – Araku’s inherent character, skill of the producers, dedication towards long-term ecological preservation, continuous progress in cup quality – clarity and complexity, every year has created a lasting impression globally with ARAKU’s presence in 16 countries and counting.
Araku, India: The land of specialty coffee
Nestled between lush forests and the giant rolling hills of the Eastern Ghats in southern India, Araku is 3,000-4,500 feet above sea level in the Visakhapatnam district of Andhra Pradesh. This region has been home to indigenous tribal communities whose lives are intertwined with the land and soil, living in harmony with nature and relying on the forests for survival.
However, behind the stunning landscapes lie stores of hardship and a long journey towards transformation. For decades, the region struggled with low literacy rates, alarmingly high infant and maternal mortality rates, and unrest in the form of violent insurgency movement against government authorities. These challenges combined with environmental degradation - leading to biodiversity loss - left the tribal communities vulnerable and unable to break the cycle of poverty and ecological decline.
In the early 2000s, the Naandi Foundation, one of India's largest non-profit organizations, intervened. For over two decades, it worked closely with the tribal communities, creating biodiverse farms - generating sustainable, long-term profits, while combating climate change. The impact has been profound; the organization today works across 2,210 villages, supporting over 75,000+ farmers, and impacting approximately 300,000 people.
Araku is home to the world's largest Fairtrade, organically certified, single-origin 100% Arabica coffee. Araku farmers alongside coffee cultivation, have planted 49.8 million trees of 22 different species, restoring biodiversity, since 2010.
Araku has become a shining example of a one-of-a-kind transformational journey.
Araku Coffee: The Journey
What began as a practice in small parcels of land spread far and wide in the last 20 years.
Year after year, working in small parcels of land, each farmer produces the finest shade-grown Arabica. Chemical-free, regenerative agriculture nurtures these single-origin coffee farms. Co-existing in harmony with nature and in-house experts, farmers have also worked hand-in-hand with global experts to build on their traditional knowledge and improve the quality of the bean steadily.
Our Agriculture Philosophy
Born out of learnings from over 20 years of Naandi's work with farmers across India, we have arrived at a model reflective of an ideal food system.
A model we call Arakunomics.
In August 2020, Naandi's vision 'Arakunomics' was awarded the Food Vision 2050 prize by Rockefeller Foundation. Central to Arakunomics is the PQR framework ensuring Profits for farmers, Quality for consumers and Regenerative agriculture for the agri-ecosystem.
Our Experts
Sherri Johns
Head Judge Gems of Araku 2026
A globally recognized coffee expert, Sherri ensures the protocol for all cupping sessions meet exacting standards, enabling each and every cup to share its story. Coordinating and calibrating juries, ultimately helps the farmers and buyers understand quality which leads to sustainability.
Sherri is an Authorized SCA Trainer (AST), former Cup of Excellence Head Judge, leading national and international juries in 11 plus countries, including Brazil, Bolivia, Honduras. Nicaragua, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Colombia and East Africa. Apart from being an expert on the intricacies of cupping coffee and brewing the perfect cup, she's helped set up many multi-unit cafés around the world including our own Araku Coffee Roastery with India's first SCA Premier Training Campus in Bangalore.
A three-time Barista Champion in the first recorded Barista Championship, Sherri earned an apt title of 'Cappuccino Queen'. Her 40+ years in specialty coffee includes:
- Former International Coordinator and Head Judge - World Barista Championship
- Former Board Member of the International Women's Coffee Alliance
- Former Board Member Specialty Coffee Association of America.
David Hogg
Chief Agriculture Advisor
David heads the Livelihoods division of Naandi Foundation as its Chief Agriculture Advisor.
During David’s 50+ years in India, he was appointed to the Indian Coffee Board Advisory Council for the Palni Region in 2003, served as Co-Director of the BASIL Academy in Mysore, and has been a past consultant to SRTT, IFAD, and FAO. His special interest has been to apply regenerative principles in various fields of agriculture and develop regenerative protocols to elicit optimal coffee taste profiles and sustainable coffee production.
David oversees sustainable livelihoods for small and marginal farmers and gives expert advice in supply chain management to ensure agriculture is profitable.