“Someone sipped a cup and said, ‘This reminds me of home,’” she says, recalling the moment when she got to know she was not just offering coffee but sharing memory and identity.

Ngarum’s coffee, often intercropped with native plants, is sun-dried under forest canopies. The resulting cup is layered: earthy, vibrant and umami-rich. “It’s not polished, but it’s real,” she says with a smile. She has partnered directly with 35 growers in Nagaland and Dimasa Hills of Assam. “We walk the farms together. We discuss soil and fermentation. We learn from one another. That’s what Ngarum—coming together—truly means.” “When someone tastes Ngarum and asks, ‘Where is this from?’—they are surprised that the Northeast even grows coffee,” she says.

Still, the journey isn’t without obstacles. While government and private schemes exist to support coffee in the Northeast, the gaps remain wide—especially in processing support, and true recognition of indigenous knowledge systems. And yet, a hopeful Muivah imagines a future where coffee from Northeast India is celebrated not just for its distinct terroir, but for its way of farming and roots. Sometimes, a single cup of coffee can carry an entire world with it.

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