need to buy more coffee and pay more for it. This can't go on. I
already have to rely heavily on pepper.
Vihaan expressed impatience and a sense of frustration, which I
understood—if any of us were put into the situation that Vihaan,
Aarav and thousands of other Indian farmers—large and small—
find themselves in, we'd be just as angry and frustrated. But that
made the quiet hopefulness and indomitable positivity of Aarav
all the more peculiar and wonderful. He shouldn't have a positive
attitude, but he does.
PEPPER PICKER: Coffee growers in India say they're relying more
heavily on their pepper crops due to low coffee prices.
A WIDELY VARIED
COFFEE LANDSCAPE
I started in the Araku Valley on farms that were no larger than
an acre and ended on a 450-acre plantation in Karnataka. I went
from a group of farmers nestled into an area protected from the
outside world to a group of farmers who have to actively battle
coffee rust and borer beetles that are ravaging their farms and
driving their yields down. There could not have been more different people growing the same plant.
They were united, though, in their desire to grow good coffee
for people thousands of miles away that they are unlikely to ever
meet. It was an honor to be able to thank them for their work and
to share—if only briefly—a cup of coffee with them.
freshcup.com October 2013
51
