The Underdog of Indian coffee - Umesh Gurung
From the Himalayas to the National Stage: Umesh Gurung’s Journey in Coffee
From the World’s Finest Tea-Growing Regions to the National Coffee Stage
The Himalayan regions of Darjeeling and Kalimpong have long been recognised for their exceptional tea. But a new story is emerging from these mountains—one that is being written in coffee.
For years, Mr. Umesh Gurung, working with Himalaya Cornerstone Coffee, has been involved in building this emerging coffee community through farmer training, coffee roasting, barista education, sensory development and quality-focused coffee practices.
What began with roasting has grown into a much larger mission: to educate, build a coffee community, improve quality and place Himalayan coffee on the national stage.
In September 2026, that journey reached an important milestone.
Umesh became a Regional Champion at the National Brewers Competition 2026–27, held in Delhi from 4–7 September 2026, organised by the Indian International Coffee Festival (IICF).
For Cornerstone Coffee, this is not simply a personal achievement. It represents a bigger vision for coffee from the Himalayan region.
About the Indian International Coffee Festival
The Indian International Coffee Festival (IICF) is one of India's important platforms for bringing together coffee professionals, producers, roasters, baristas, businesses and coffee enthusiasts.
The festival provides a national platform for coffee competitions, education, exhibitions and interaction across different parts of the coffee industry.
Its competitions bring together skilled coffee professionals from different regions of India, where competitors are evaluated on their technical knowledge, coffee preparation, sensory understanding, presentation and ability to communicate the story behind their coffee.
For a competitor, reaching this stage itself is a significant achievement.
For a coffee-growing region such as Darjeeling and Kalimpong, having its coffee represented on this platform carries an even bigger meaning.
Q&A with the man himself
Q: How long has Cornerstone Coffee been participating in national coffee competitions?
Umesh: This has been a journey of almost three years of competing at the national level.
During these years, Cornerstone Coffee has participated in different national coffee competitions, including the National Barista Championship, National Brewers Cup Championship and Latte Art Championship.
Our intention has never been simply to collect trophies.
Every competition has been an opportunity to learn, test our skills, understand coffee at a deeper level and represent our region.
Over these three years, several Cornerstone Coffee team members have stepped onto national competition stages.
Mr. Umesh Gurung has represented Cornerstone Coffee in the National Brewers Cup Championship.
Mr. Bikash Tamang and Ms. Suveksha Sunwar have represented Cornerstone Coffee in the National Barista Championship.
Mr. Dorjee Bhutia has represented Cornerstone Coffee in the Latte Art Championship.
Each competitor has contributed to the same larger journey: putting Himalayan coffee and Himalayan coffee professionals in front of a national audience.
Q: What makes this year's achievement different?
Umesh:This year was particularly special because Cornerstone Coffee had the opportunity to win the Regional Brewers Championship 2026–27. For us, this is not just a championship title.It represents three years of learning, experimenting, failing, improving and returning to the competition stage. Every competition taught us something. Every coffee taught us something. Every competitor from our team added something to our understanding. So when we finally reached the regional championship, we felt that the achievement belonged not only to the person standing on the stage, but to the entire team and the community behind that journey.
Q: How difficult is it to compete at the national level?
Umesh: National competition is extremely demanding. One of the biggest challenges is finding the right competition coffee. A competition coffee cannot simply be a good coffee. It needs to have precision, complexity, balance, clarity and a distinctive character that can stand up to intense preparation and evaluation. The coffee needs to respond well to different brewing parameters, and the competitor must understand exactly how to present its characteristics in the cup. Finding such a coffee is difficult. And finding it from a region that is still developing its coffee identity is even more challenging.
Q: What was particularly significant about the coffee this year?
Umesh: This year, something very meaningful happened. Darjeeling and Kalimpong coffee became part of the conversation around competition-quality coffee. These regions are traditionally known around the world for tea. Coffee from these areas is still developing its identity and recognition. But this year demonstrated that coffee from the Himalayan region can also possess the qualities necessary to be presented on a serious competition platform. That does not mean we have reached the finish line. It means we have found another door. Now our responsibility is to continue improving farming, processing, sorting, drying, storage, roasting and brewing so that the quality can become more consistent year after year.
Q: Why did you decide to compete in national Brewers Cup competitions?
Umesh: My intention behind competing is very simple: to create visibility for Himalayan coffee. The Himalayan region is not traditionally recognised as one of India's major coffee belts. But farmers here are already growing coffee, and there is enormous potential to develop quality through better agricultural practices, processing, roasting and brewing. I want to use competitions as a platform to tell that story. When I stand on a national stage, I am not representing only myself. I am carrying the story of the farmers, the mountains, the soil, the climate and the growing coffee community of Darjeeling, Kalimpong and the wider Himalayan region.
Q: Why is promoting a non-traditional coffee belt important?
Umesh: Coffee is often associated with India's established coffee-growing regions. But coffee does not have to belong to only one geography. The Himalayan regions offer a different combination of altitude, climate, soil, shade, biodiversity and farming traditions. Our goal is not to claim that Himalayan coffee is better simply because it comes from the mountains. Our goal is to understand what the region can produce, improve the quality scientifically and consistently, and allow the coffee to speak for itself in the cup. Quality must come before marketing.
Q: How does farmer training fit into this journey?
Umesh: For us, coffee quality begins long before the roaster or barista touches the coffee.It begins with the farmer. That is why our work extends into the farming community. Through farmer training, we focus on helping growers understand coffee cultivation, plant health, harvesting, processing and sustainable practices. If we want Himalayan coffee to grow as a serious coffee-producing region, farmers need access to knowledge, training and quality-focused practices, not simply a market for their cherries. The long-term vision is to build a community where farmers understand the value of quality and where quality creates value for farmers.
Q: You started as a coffee roaster. How has your role changed?
Umesh: My journey started with roasting. As a roaster, I learned to understand the relationship between the green bean, heat, development and the final cup. But coffee gradually taught me that roasting is only one part of a much larger system. Today, my work extends from farm to roast to brew. I work with farmers, train baristas, develop roasting skills, explore sensory quality and mentor students through the Cornerstone Barista Academy. The more I learn about coffee, the more I understand that quality is a chain. If one part of that chain is weak, the final cup suffers.
Q: What is the vision behind Cornerstone Barista Academy?
Umesh: The academy is not only about teaching someone how to operate an espresso machine.We want to create educated coffee professionals. Young people entering the coffee industry should understand why coffee tastes the way it does—not simply how to prepare it. Our training therefore connects coffee farming, processing, roasting, sensory evaluation, brewing, espresso, milk, equipment, workflow and business. We want young baristas to become professionals who can taste, understand, analyse, communicate and create. Education is one of the most powerful ways to build the future of the coffee community.
Q: Why is education important for the Himalayan coffee movement?
Umesh: A coffee-growing region cannot develop through production alone. We need farmers who understand quality. We need processors who understand fermentation and drying. We need roasters who understand green coffee. We need baristas who understand extraction. We need consumers who understand what they are drinking. And we need young people who see coffee as a serious profession and a viable business opportunity. That is why education is at the centre of our work.
When knowledge grows, the entire coffee community grows.
Q: What does “quality” mean to you?
Umesh: Quality is not one single flavour note or a high competition score. Quality is consistency, transparency, care and continuous improvement. It starts with healthy coffee plants and responsible farming. It continues through harvesting, processing, drying, storage, roasting and brewing. Every stage matters. Our responsibility is to keep asking:
Can we do this better?
That question drives our work.
Q: What does the regional championship mean for Darjeeling and Kalimpong coffee?
Umesh: It gives the region a voice. When coffee from Darjeeling and Kalimpong appears on a national competition stage, it challenges the perception of where quality coffee can come from. The Himalayas are already famous for tea. Now we want to carefully build recognition for Himalayan coffee—not by comparing it with other regions, but by discovering and celebrating its own identity. This is still a growing journey. There is much more work to do with farmers, processing, quality control, roasting, brewing and market development.
Q: What do you want young people from the region to see in coffee?
Umesh:I want young people to understand that coffee is much bigger than a café job.
Coffee is agriculture.
Coffee is science.
Coffee is hospitality.
Coffee is sensory art.
Coffee is roasting.
Coffee is technology.
Coffee is business.
And coffee is community.
There are opportunities to become farmers, agronomists, processors, roasters, baristas, trainers, Q professionals, café owners, researchers and entrepreneurs. If we can educate young people and give them practical skills, they can become part of building the next generation of the Himalayan coffee industry.
Q: What is your bigger goal beyond competition?
Umesh: Competition is a platform, not the destination. My bigger goal is to help create a stronger Himalayan coffee community.I want to see more farmers planting and producing coffee with knowledge and confidence. I want to see young people from the region becoming skilled baristas, roasters, coffee professionals, educators and entrepreneurs. I want to see Himalayan coffee being discussed, evaluated and appreciated at national and eventually international levels. And most importantly, I want the growth of coffee to create meaningful value for the people who grow it.
Q: What comes next?
Umesh: The regional championship is another milestone, but the work continues.There are more farmers to train. More young people to educate. More coffee to experiment with.n More roasting profiles to understand. More cups to taste. More quality to build. And more stories from the Himalayas waiting to be told. The journey from the farm to the national stage is only beginning.
More Than a Championship
For Himalaya Cornerstone Coffee, Umesh Gurung's regional championship is a proud moment—but it is also a reminder of why the work began. Three years of national competitions have brought valuable experiences through the National Barista Championship, National Brewers Cup Championship and Latte Art Championship. Umesh Gurung, Bikash Tamang, Suveksha Sunwar and Dorjee Bhutia have each represented Cornerstone Coffee across different national competition platforms, carrying with them not only their individual skills but also the identity of a growing Himalayan coffee community. This year's Regional Brewers Championship became another important milestone. But behind the championship is a much larger story. From the farms of the Himalayas to the training lab, from the roasting machine to the competition stage, the mission remains connected:
Build Farmers. Educate Youth. Improve Quality. Create Community. Represent Himalayan Coffee.
The vision is not simply to sell coffee from the Himalayas. It is to build a coffee culture in the Himalayas that can grow sustainably for generations. And when Umesh steps onto a national Brewers Cup stage, he carries more than a coffee recipe. He carries the story of the soil, the farmers, the mountains and a growing Himalayan coffee community.
From the Himalayas to the national stage—one cup, one farmer, one student and one community at a time.
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himalayacornerstonecoffee@gmail.com