Sakleshpur sits midway between Mangalore and Bangalore, in the folds of the Western Ghats — one of the world's eight hottest biodiversity hotspots. The hills here hold the monsoon; coffee ripens slowly under native canopy, and pepper vines climb the same trees that shade it.
For much of the twentieth century, this estate belonged to the Roman Catholic Church, under the Diocese of Mangalore. In 1981, the D'Silva family acquired it from the Diocese — and has held it in careful custody for forty-five years since.
What began as a coffee plantation has grown into a working estate that makes far more than it once did: single-origin coffee, estate spices, sun-dried fruit, hand-poured candles, cold-process soaps and botanical cosmetics. The family now oversees operations from overseas, while a resident team — many of whom have worked these rows for decades — grows, makes and ships everything from origin.
Shade-grown coffee keeps the canopy standing. Native trees host pepper vines, shelter birdlife, and hold the soil through the monsoon. The estate's produce is a by-product of keeping this hillside alive.