Brewing Under Pressure – When the Weather Talks Back

                                Welcome to Chapter 14

     
Brewing Under Pressure – When the Weather Talks Back

A personal walk through Wayanad's changing climate and uncertain coffee seasons.

The Sky Isn't What It Used to Be

I’ve walked the coffee paths of Wayanad — through misty dawns, bright afternoons, and sleepy dusks. I’ve seen beans ripen red beneath silver oak, listened to stories shared over steaming cups. But lately, the skies don’t look the same.

The monsoon no longer knocks on time. Sometimes, it overstays. Sometimes, it doesn’t come at all.

The sun burns stronger than before. The soil, once soft and damp, now cracks too easily beneath the feet.

It feels like the weather is speaking a new language, one that’s still unfamiliar — even to the farmers who’ve lived with the land for decades.

 What Farmers Are Saying

 “February used to be cool… now it feels like peak summer.”

A grower near Kalpetta

 “The flowers are confused. They bloom… and then they dry.”

A smallholder from Meenangadi

Erratic rains have started disrupting flowering cycles. Drought-like spells have led to uneven ripening of cherries. Sudden downpours destroy the drying beans laid out on yards.

Even pests are acting differently. The berry borer, once seasonal, is now more frequent. Stem borers sneak in during warmer nights. Leaf rust shows up even without mist.

🌿 And Yet… The Bean Still Grows

In every conversation, between the frustration and fatigue, I noticed something else:

Care. Patience. Determination.

“It’s not like before,” a farmer told me,

“but it’s still our coffee. We are learning. We are not stopping.”

They are adjusting:

Changing sowing and harvesting schedules

Digging pits for water conservation

Planting more shade trees

Exploring resistant varieties

Relying on age-old knowledge passed through generations

Coffee, like the people of Wayanad, is trying to adapt — bending, not breaking.

 Coffee Is More Than a Crop  

In this new world, coffee is more than a livelihood.

It is a mirror of the land, a story of resilience, a crop that speaks.

Every bean grown under a warmer sun now carries not just caffeine — but the courage of a farmer who hasn’t given up.

Thanks for reading 
Krishna chandana-Coffee Duo