---
title: "Coffee in Nepal: From Hill Farms to City Cafés"
canonical: "https://lokoon.com/blog/nepali-coffee"
author: "Lokoon"
published: "2026-11-15T04:37:06.794700+00:00"
modified: "2026-11-15T04:37:06.794860+00:00"
kind: "blog"
---

# Coffee in Nepal: From Hill Farms to City Cafés

> A tea-drinking country has quietly developed a specialty coffee scene. Where the beans grow, how to visit a farm and what to buy.

Nepal is known as a land of tea, and for good reason. Yet over the past two decades, the mid-hills have begun producing high-altitude arabica coffee, and Kathmandu, Patan and Pokhara now have cafés that would hold their own in any coffee-obsessed city. For visitors, this means a decent espresso after a trek and a chance to see where it came from.
A short history
The story usually told is that coffee arrived in the late 1930s, when a wandering holy man brought seeds from Burma and planted them in the hills of Gulmi district in western Nepal. For decades it remained a garden curiosity. Commercial planting began in earnest in the 1980s and 90s with support from government and development agencies, and exports started soon after.
A café culture followed. The first modern coffee houses in Kathmandu opened around the turn of the millennium, training a generation of baristas, many of whom later started their own roasteries.
Where it grows
Coffee is cultivated in a belt of hill districts between roughly 800 and 1,600 metres, where days are warm, nights are cool and there is plenty of rain. Important areas include:
- Gulmi, Palpa, Syangja and Arghakhanchi in the west, the original heartland.

- Kaski and Lamjung, around Pokhara.

- Nuwakot, Kavre, Sindhupalchok and Lalitpur, ringing the Kathmandu Valley.

- Ilam and neighbouring districts in the east, alongside tea.

Almost all of it is arabica, mainly older varieties such as bourbon and typica. Production is small by world standards and comes largely from smallholders with a few hundred bushes each, often grown under shade trees among other crops and without chemical inputs. Farmers usually sell fresh cherries to a cooperative or a private mill for processing.
What it tastes like
Nepali coffee tends to be mild and balanced, with medium body, gentle acidity and notes often described as nutty, chocolatey or citrus, depending on the district and processing. Washed coffees are the norm; some producers experiment with honey and natural processes that give fruitier cups.
Visiting a coffee farm
Several areas welcome visitors.
- Around Pokhara, small farms on the slopes near the lakes east of the city offer short tours and tastings, some with homestay rooms.

- North-west of Kathmandu, in Nuwakot district, a few estates and cooperatives accept day visitors and overnight guests.

- South of the Kathmandu Valley, hill villages in Lalitpur district host farm walks that combine coffee with hiking.

A typical visit includes a walk through the plots, an explanation of pruning, picking and processing, and a cup brewed on the spot. Arrange it through your hotel, a local agency or the farm directly, and offer to pay a fair fee even where none is advertised.
The café scene
Kathmandu. Thamel and the surrounding streets have many cafés serving espresso drinks, pour-over and cold brew. Quieter, more serious coffee bars are found in the embassy district and in the lanes of the old city.
Patan. The residential streets west of the old town are the centre of the valley's specialty scene, with roasteries, bakeries and garden cafés popular with locals and expatriates.
Boudha. Rooftop cafés round the stupa and small shops in the lanes behind it.
Pokhara. Lakeside is lined with cafés, a number of which roast their own beans from nearby hills.
On the trail. Bakeries with espresso machines operate in the larger villages on the main Everest and Annapurna routes. Further up, coffee means instant powder.
Baristas are frequently well trained and happy to talk about origins. Ask which district today's beans are from.
Buying beans
Roasted coffee is a good gift: compact, locally produced and useful.
- Buy from a roastery or a café that prints the roast date on the bag. Choose something roasted within the past few weeks.

- Look for the district or farm name and the processing method.

- Buy whole beans if you have a grinder at home; otherwise ask for a grind suited to your brewing method.

- Bags with a one-way valve keep better in luggage.

- Certified organic and cooperative-sourced coffees are widely available.

Avoid dusty packets in souvenir shops with no date.
Why it is worth seeking out
Coffee gives hill farmers a cash crop that grows on steep land alongside food crops and fetches a better price than most alternatives. Drinking it in a Kathmandu café or buying a bag from a cooperative puts money into villages that tourism rarely reaches. And after two weeks of sweet milk tea on a trek, the first proper cup back in town is a pleasure all its own.

Source: https://lokoon.com/blog/nepali-coffee