1000 Year Brew

Biodiversity-Friendly

What makes our coffee biodiversity-friendly

At Black Baza, we believe that ‘biodiversity-friendly’ goes beyond being just a buzzword or label. For us, it embodies a coffee-growing practice in which forests, wildlife, and communities thrive together. As climate change increasingly impacts coffee cultivation, it’s clear that we must adopt resilient methods of growing coffee — ones that benefit not only the crop but the entire ecosystem it depends on.

What is Biodiversity-Friendly?

What is Biodiversity-Friendly?

At the core of everything we do are these six guiding principles that help us ensure that biodiversity-friendly is not just a label, but an active effort on our part to make coffee sustainable for the environment and for the people who grow it.

Shade-Grown Under Native Trees +
At Black Baza, we prioritise native species and ensure over 70% tree canopy cover, well beyond the requirements of most regulations. Our partner farms cultivate coffee under the shade of native forest trees. We aim to conserve native tree diversity and maintain canopy structures that mirror the surrounding forest ecosystems. This effort is a crucial response to the troubling trend of deforestation in Indian coffee landscapes, where the use of non-native shade trees has become increasingly dominant.
Chemical-Free, Forever +
No pesticides. No fertilisers. No compromise. All our partner farms are committed to growing coffee without chemical pesticides or fertilisers. We believe that organic and regenerative farming practices not only benefit human health but also the many non-human species that rely on coffee farms for habitat. Our commitment to transparency includes making laboratory test results for our coffee publicly available — feel free to write to us, and we’ll gladly share them.
Farming as Habitats +
Our partner farms are alive with life — from elephants and leopards to birds, bees, butterflies, wasps and small mammals, all sharing space with coffee. We work with producers to restore native vegetation and protect on-farm habitats. Guided by traditional ecological knowledge and science, our efforts include planting keystone tree species and preserving features that support a rich diversity of wildlife. These landscapes don’t just grow coffee — they offer refuge to endemic and endangered species alike.
Peer-led, not Top-down +
Our approach is shaped by the lived experience of local producers — they lead the way in how we farm, protect biodiversity, and adapt to climate change. Instead of distant auditors or rigid checklists, farmers define biodiversity standards and monitor each other’s farms. This participatory model is built on trust and far exceeds most global certification norms, showing that fair, ecological farming is best led by those who live it every day.
Biodegradable Packaging +
Our packaging is fully biodegradable — designed with both people and planet in mind. The outer paper bag is made not from tree pulp (we remain unconvinced that cutting trees for paper is sustainable), but from bagasse, a fibrous byproduct of sugarcane processing. By using bagasse — an agricultural waste material — we reduce pressure on forests and repurpose what would otherwise be discarded. The inner bag is a biodegradable ‘plastic’ made from a plant-based polymer that breaks down naturally in landfill conditions within 8 to 24 months, leaving no harmful residues behind.
Traceable, Both Ways +
Every cup of Black Baza Coffee can be traced back to a single farm — or a cluster of neighbouring farms — where the beans were grown. But traceability, for us, isn’t just about meeting consumer demand. It’s reciprocal. We share stories with our producer partners about the people who drink their coffee — where they’re from, how they brew, and what they love. We believe this mutual connection fosters care, accountability, and ultimately, more sustainable farming practices. Have questions? Just ask — we love talking about this stuff.
Measuring What Matters +
Our commitment to sustainable coffee demands careful, ongoing impact monitoring. We track livelihood-related changes through surveys and focus group discussions with partner producers. To understand biodiversity outcomes, we study key ecological indicators — from native tree species to birds, insects, and soil invertebrates. These insights help us adapt and stay true to our mission of building ecological and economic resilience.

Why Biodiversity-Friendly Farming Matters

India has a long history of coffee agroforests, where coffee plants were grown under the shade of native trees, thus protecting the crop from spells of heat or drought. But these forests also provided a refuge for numerous other beings — birds, bees, ants, termites, butterflies, deer, elephants and countless other species! Additionally, such agroforests aid in maintaining healthy soil profiles and carbon sequestration.

But we’ve seen a steady loss of forest cover in coffee-growing regions, with serious consequences for biodiversity. Monocultures are pushing out native species and damaging ecosystems. Take the example of Kodagu in Karnataka. The district that produces more than 40% of the country’s coffee had about 32% forest cover in 1973, which declined to 19% by 2018. Sadly, this is a pattern observed in coffee-producing regions across the world.

Biodiversity-friendly coffee cultivation protects the coffee and regulates the microclimates in these regions while improving soil moisture and health.

Most importantly, these processes are vital for the sustenance and survival of smallholder farmers. They are most vulnerable to climate change and have a long history of being marginalised. Supporting biodiversity-friendly farming is also about recognising their knowledge, securing land rights, and ensuring they are not left out of conversations about sustainability.

Indian Boars are a familiar sight in coffee farms

Barking Deer are locally known as 'Kaadu Kuri'

Small Indian Civets play an important role as seed dispersers

How We Monitor Biodiversity

Just like the coffee grown on different lands is unique, so is the biodiversity of the region. This is why a top-down approach to monitoring biodiversity does not work for all Indian farms.

We take a community-led approach to monitoring biodiversity and directly involve our farmer partners to define biodiversity-friendly farming in their context. For example, our farmer partners in the BR Hills grow coffee within tiger reserves, yet when it comes to monitoring biodiversity, they focus on smaller beings like ants and termites! This is how we are able to establish a participatory process that values lived experience and traditional ecological knowledge to create effective and inclusive measures of conservation and climate resilience.

Our farmer partners observe and track a set of practical indicators that include the presence of native tree species, undergrowth on the forest floor, soil conditions, and sightings of birds, bees, butterflies, and other wildlife (including using camera traps).

Monitoring happens through our Farmer Education Programmes — regular gatherings where producers assess each other’s farms, exchange ecological knowledge, and reflect on changes in their landscapes. This process builds trust, accountability, and a deeper understanding of the relationships between farming, climate, and biodiversity.

Active Efforts

By fostering locally led biodiversity monitoring and conservation efforts, we create lasting impact. Some ongoing efforts are described below.

You Caffeinate: We Conserve

You Caffeinate: We Conserve

Our founder, Arshiya Bose is a National Geographic Explorer and has been collaboratively working with the National Geographic Society on a participatory science research project in coffee landscapes in the Western Ghats.

Participatory Action Research

Participatory Action Research

At Black Baza, our research is community-led and action-driven. Through participatory approaches, we explore how knowledge, farming, and power intersect — all with the goal of supporting biodiversity and smallholder livelihoods.

Field Notes

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  • We grow coffee but don’t want to drink it

    We grow coffee but don’t want to drink it

    I set up a light metal table under the tamarind tree. I tear rough paper up into small bite-sized squares and draw three emoji type figures. A smiley guy with...

    We grow coffee but don’t want to drink it

    I set up a light metal table under the tamarind tree. I tear rough paper up into small bite-sized squares and draw three emoji type figures. A smiley guy with...

  • Spare some decoction for me

    Spare some decoction for me

    How did the idea of using coffee decoction for painting come about? Subconscious creative processes triggered by copious amounts of Black Baza Coffee must surely have played a role! I...

    Spare some decoction for me

    How did the idea of using coffee decoction for painting come about? Subconscious creative processes triggered by copious amounts of Black Baza Coffee must surely have played a role! I...

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