Nepali Coffee: What’s It Like to Visit Coffee Farms in Palpa
Looking for information about Nepali coffee? Here is all the information you need to know about coffee in Nepal and what it’s like to visit coffee farms in Palpa, Nepal.
Drinking coffee is the first thing I do in the morning so when I visited Palpa and I was asked if I’d like to visit a coffee farm, I said YES, without any hesitation.
Nepal’s history of coffee cultivation started in 1938 when Hira Giri brought coffee seeds from Myanmar to Nepal. He planted the first coffee seeds in the Gulmi District of Nepal and it has become one of the most famous places for coffee cultivation in Nepal.
Since then, coffee cultivation grew in Gulmi as well as in other places in the hilly region of Nepal, such as Palpa and Kavre.
So where can you visit a coffee farm in Nepal and can you learn to make coffee? Here is all you need to know.
History of Coffee in Nepal
The history of coffee in Nepal started in 1938 when Hira Giri brought coffee seeds from Myanmar to Nepal. Hira Giri planted the first coffee seeds in the Gulmi District of Nepal and it has become one of the most famous places for coffee cultivation in Nepal.
Since then, coffee cultivation grew in areas near Gulmi as well as other places in the hilly region of Nepal.
In the 1980-90s, Nepal has started the cultivation of coffee for commercial purposes and since then, coffee cultivation grew in areas near Gulmi as well as other places such as Palpa and Kavre Districts.
Nepali Coffee
Coffee Production in Nepal
Nepal has three geographical areas: the Himalayan mountainous region, Hilly region and the Tarai region. The best climate and soil for coffee cultivation is between 800-1,600 metres in the hilly region of Nepal.
Coffee in Nepal is mostly known for the Arabica coffee beans which is the most the most popular coffee grown in Nepal. If you are curious to visit a coffee farm in Nepal make sure to check out the coffee farms in Palpa or Gulmi.
Coffee Farms in Palpa
Palpa is one of the districts in Nepal, located in the south-west part of the country. It is one of the districts, alongside Gulmi, that is renowned for coffee farming in Nepal.
If you are curious what is the process to make coffee, you can visit coffee farms in Palpa while visiting Tansen.
Coffee plants are grown in most households in Palpa, even if households are not engaged in selling coffee beans for profit.
Best Time to Visit Coffee Farms in Nepal
The best time to visit coffee farms in Nepal is in January which is when the coffee harvest takes place.
The coffee plants start to bloom around the monsoon season (June-August) in Nepal. Then by January, the seeds start to turn from green to red. Once it turns red, the coffee seeds are ripe and can be harvested.
This means if you visit Palpa or Gulmi around January, you can see the harvest of coffee beans and how coffee is prepared from harvest to drinking coffee.
Process of Making Coffee
If you visit the coffee farms in Nepal when it is coffee harvest time, you will get to see the preparation of coffee.
I happened to visit Palpa in the month of January and it was a great surprise to me that I could visit a coffee farm and even learn to make coffee.
1. Harvest the Ripe Coffee Beans
The coffee plants start to bloom around the monsoon season (June-July) in Nepal. Then, by January, the seeds start to turn from green to red.
Once it turns red, the coffee seeds are ripe and can be harvested.
2. Separate the Good Coffee Beans from the Bad Ones
After picking the ripe, red coffee seeds, still not all of them are ripe. There is a technique in which is used to separate the good seeds from the bad ones. T
hey put the seeds in a bucket full of water. The seeds that float to the top of the water are not good seeds.
There will always be about 20-30 or so seeds that float to the top, these are separated and not used further to make coffee.
3. Remove the Outer Skin of the Beans
Once all the good coffee seeds are separated, the outer skin has to be removed.
It would take a lot of time if one were to separate it by hands, so there is a machine to do this. It takes just a few minutes to separate the outer skin from the coffee seeds.
4. Dry the Coffee Beans in the Sun
After the outer skin is removed, the coffee seeds have to dry in the sun for about 10 days. The coffee seeds are laid out on a canvas usually in the garden or on the rooftops for these 10 days.
January is the winter, dry season in Nepal, so while it still gets sunny during the day, there is no rain during this time.
5. Remove the Thin, Dry Skin
After the coffee seeds have dried in the sun, there is still one thin layer of skin that has to be removed. There is also a machine to do this, however, afterwards the coffee beans and the thin skin are all mixed together.
In Nepal, they use a woven tray (called ‘nanglo’) to separate the coffee beans from the thin skin.
Usually, they place the coffee beans on the woven tray (nanglo) twist and turn it around, in a way that the coffee beans separate. I watched the lady at my homestay do it, it is really a technique you have to practice a bit to master.
6. Check and Remove the Bad Coffee Beans
After you separate the coffee beans from the outer layer, there is still a risk that there are some bad coffee beans in the mix. You will see the bad coffee beans are small and do not have the shape of the coffee beans.
This takes a bit of long time as you will have to go through your coffee beans and separate by hand.
7. Roast the Coffee Beans in a Pan
After you separate the coffee beans, you finally have the coffee beans that you will roast and grind for your coffee.
Place your coffee beans in a pan and continuously stir the coffee beans until they turn brown. It usually takes about 15 minutes until the coffee beans are roasted.
8. Grind the Coffee Beans
After the coffee beans are roasted, there is only one last step to do. It is to grind the coffee beans.
You can do this with a coffee grinder, or if you don’t have one, you can even use a powerful blender.
The preparation of coffee is a bit of a long process but nothing beats having coffee in the morning that you made yourself.
How to Visit Coffee Farms in Palpa
There are many coffee farms in Palpa. The coffee plants seem to grow everywhere in the villages and everyone seems to have coffee plants in their gardens in Palpa.
I went to a small coffee farm (not on google maps) that was recommended by my host at my accommodation. There a couple of coffee farms on google maps that can be worth checking out.
If you are unsure, just ask your host at your accommodation and they will be able to recommend one.
FAQs: Nepali Coffee
Which place is famous for coffee in Nepal?
The most famous districts in Nepal for coffee cultivation are the Gulmi, Palpa and Kavrepalanchowk Districts.
Who brought coffee to Nepal?
Hira Giri brought coffee seeds from Myanmar to Nepal in 1938 and planted them in Gulmi. It then spread from Gulmi to other nearby places such as Palpa and Syangja Districts.
The cultivation of coffee for commercial purposes started in 1980-90s in Nepal.
Can coffee be grown in Nepal?
Yes, coffee can be grown in Nepal. The hilly region of Nepal (800-1,600 metres) provide an ideal climate and soil for coffee production. The most prominent places for cultivating coffee in Nepal are in the Gulmi, Kavre and Palpa Districts.
Which type of coffee is popular to grow in Nepal?
The climate and soil in the hilly region of Nepal is best suited for the cultivation of Arabica coffee beans.
Is it safe to drink coffee in Nepal?
Yes, it is safe to drink coffee in Nepal. People use safe drinking water in Nepal to prepare coffee. Nobody in Nepal drinks the tap water as it is not suitable for anyone even if you grew up in Nepal.
Thus, you can safely order coffee in restaurants and it will not cause stomach problems.
Is there Starbucks in Nepal?
No, there is no Starbucks in Nepal however, you can find many other Nepali cafes and coffee shops where you can buy delicious coffee.
Himalayan Java Coffee is a chain of coffee shops in Nepal and is the most similar to Starbucks in Nepal.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Nepal’s history of coffee cultivation started in 1938 when Hira Giri brought coffee seeds from Myanmar to Nepal. Hira Giri planted the first coffee seeds in the Gulmi District of Nepal and it has become one of the most famous places in Nepal for coffee cultivation.
Since then, coffee cultivation grew in areas near Gulmi as well as other places in the hilly region of Nepal.
In the 1980-90s, Nepal has started the cultivation of coffee for commercial purposes and since then, coffee cultivation grew in areas near Gulmi as well as other places in the hilly region of Nepal, such as Palpa and Kavre.
Nepal has three geographical areas: the Himalayan mountainous region, Hilly region and the Tarai region. The best climate and soil for coffee cultivation is in the hilly region of Nepal.
The most popular coffee grown in Nepal is the arabica coffee bean and if you are curious to visit a coffee farm in Nepal you can check out the coffee farms in Palpa or Gulmi.
