What will a coffee estate actually earn?

They are conservative working assumptions typical of the Chikkamagaluru belt — roughly 9 bags per acre for Arabica and 14 for Robusta at steady state, with a bag taken as 50 kg. Coffee prices move constantly and running costs vary widely with labour, terrain and how the estate is managed. Every field is editable, and you should override them with your own figures or ours.

No — the calculator models steady-state income from an established plantation. A newly planted or rehabilitated estate takes roughly three to five years to reach meaningful yield, and considerably longer to reach its peak. If you are looking at a neglected estate, factor in both the rehabilitation cost and the lean years.

The default running cost covers routine cultivation, labour, inputs and maintenance. It does not include capital expenditure such as replanting, irrigation systems, vehicles or building work, nor does it include property tax, insurance, interest on borrowing, or your own time. Nor does it account for land appreciation, which for many buyers here is a larger part of the return than the crop.

It is an agricultural business exposed to global commodity prices, monsoon variability, disease such as white stem borer, and labour availability. Yields and prices both swing year to year. Most people who buy estates in Chikkamagaluru are buying a combination of lifestyle, land appreciation and crop income — treating the crop alone as a fixed return would be a mistake. Please do your own due diligence and speak to growers in the area before committing.