Sapota India Farmer & Coffee Intro
The aromatic taste of spicy chocolate characterizes this Indian specialty coffee. A Robusta coffee that has the quality level of a specialty coffee: That alone is a sensation. The second surprise: it comes from India, a country not exactly known for its coffee cultivation (not fair, we think!). And best of all: the cultivation of this specialty coffee is done by a family according to the latest agroforestry principles in a comprehensively ecological way.
ORIGIN
India is not as famous for its coffee as Brazil or Ethiopia, but anyone who tries our coffee knows that these coffee beans are in no way inferior to the more famous origins! The region in southern India is characterized by fertile soil, diverse vegetation and a balanced climate.
The Venkids Valley plantation of the Nanjappa family is located in the southern part of India, in the mountains of the Coorg region, at an altitude of 950 to 1,150 meters above sea level. It is home to over forty different jungle trees that provide shade for the coffee plants. Spices such as pepper and cardamom, but also fruits such as oranges and avocados are grown here side by side with the coffee. An amazing 50 to 60 species of birds and a wide variety of wild bees and insects are part of the balanced ecosystem.
THE FARMER
Responsible for the cultivation and export of this Indian coffee are two partners who complement each other perfectly and who share the same vision: The Nanjappa family of Venkids Valley Estate grows the coffee using impressive "agroforestry" techniques. Then Komal and Akshay of the South India Coffee Company take over the precious coffee beans. They know the pressure coffee growers are under due to low world market prices, because they also have their own plantations. For the Venkids Valley Plantation, they take over the processing (dry milling), the export and parts of the marketing. Both partners are passionately committed to the long-term quality development of their specialty coffee and are convinced that only sustainable cultivation can be the right option for people, animals and the environment.
Quote from Shilpa Nankappa of Venkids Valley Plantation in India: "Our coffee plantation doesn't look like a typical field: It looks like a forest. We grow our coffee in a completely natural cycle."
THE GROWING
- agroforestry techniques - are at once full of tradition and modern. Unlike monoculture, it's all about getting the most out of the land while using only natural resources, maintaining the balance of nature, and not depleting or overworking the soil, even over decades. At the Venkids Valley Estate plantation, "agroforestry techniques" are being rediscovered and extensively developed. Thus, the young coffee plants are shaded by a variety of different fruit trees (such as mango, jackfruit, sapota). Each area is given its own name. Our coffee comes from the area "Sapota mara thota", because here mainly sapota fruit trees provide the shade.
Water treatment is also carried out according to strict ecological standards. Natural waste (such as the shells) and waste water are treated with bioenzymes to serve as natural fertilizer afterwards.
THE PRODUCTION
Using the "washed" process as an example. Plantation workers are carefully trained to know which fruits are ripe and thus ready for picking. The other beans are left behind for later harvesting passes. The pulp is removed on the same day. Fermentation then takes place, and the coffee is then deeply washed. The careful processing is one of the reasons why this Robusta coffee is characterized by a distinctly rounded, clean and full-bodied taste.
ALL THE WAY TO YOU
- Farm
Venkids Valley Estate -
Drying & Grading
Venkids Valley Estate -
Processing & Export
South India Coffee Company -
Transport
Rosemount Shipping -
Import
TSU trade -
Roasting
farmersvaluefirst in cooperation with selected craft roasters in Holland & Germany (craft roast) -
Distribution
farmersvaluefirst
COFFEE OVERVIEW
Taste: An aromatic taste of spicy chocolate characterizes this Indian specialty coffee.
Origin: Kandankolli Village, Coorg, (South-)India
Growing altitude: 950 to 1,150m above sea level
Variety: 100% Fine Robusta. Varieties: Congensis, Old Peredinia
Production: "washed" hand-picked, peeled, fermented, washed, dried, sorted, "naturla" hand-picked, dried under multiple turns in its own husk, peeled, sorted
Premium that the Venkids plantation receives from us:
on average 100% above the world market price.
SCA Rating: In the last harvest, our "washed" Indian Robusta coffee received an outstanding and unusual rating of 85.75 points (out of a possible 100) (because typically only Arabica coffees achieve such a good rating).
In fact, at an official SCA event, the jury did not recognize the coffee as Robusta, but initially classified it as Arabica. That convinced us!
SCA stands for "Specialty Coffee Association." The SCA has developed an evaluation system in which the quality of green coffee is assessed sensorially and physically. This is done in so-called "cuppings". If a coffee achieves a rating of over 80 points, it is considered a "specialty coffee" - and the producer can be proud of that!
Levels:
- 80 - 84.99 points: very good
- 85 - 89,99 points: excellent »Sapota«.
- 90 - 100 points: outstanding (less than 1% of the coffees harvested worldwide receive this rank!) Read more here: Coffee Standards SCA
Sapota specialty coffee from India is freshly roasted available in our online store!!