It was Venu’s grandfather, Bhaskaran, who started a coffee business in Madras in 1971. Leo’s story began sometime during the 19th Century in the picturesque European coffee estates of the Western Ghats. He bought a building very close to the Mylapore temple tank and established a factory with people from his village. Karupiah was from Pattiveeranpatti in Madurai district, which Venu describes as a “coffee village”. Karupiah Nadar, Venu’s great grandfather, traded coffee grown in the estates, and later acquired a few acres himself.

Source: The Hindu August 02, 2016 09:22 UTC