India Biligiriranga Hills - Filter

India Biligiriranga Hills - Filter

******************************************************

• Producers + Mill:

Ekata are a team of coffee professionals with an ambition to take Indian specialty coffee to the world. Created by seven childhood friends from Kerala, Ekata started in 2016 with a mission to see single-origin, shade-grown coffee in biodiverse terroir processed to international standards of quality.

Emerald Haven is a 280 acre plantation, owned and run by the Emerald Group for 15 years. During this time, they have been dedicated to giving back to the community, building schools and temples. Working in partnership with Ekata on the post harvest processing, has resulted in this specialty grade coffee.

Biligiriranga Hills literally means ‘white hills’ in the local language, Kannada, and refers to the white rock face on one of the largest hills, crowned with the temple of Lord Ranganathaswamy (Lord Vishnu). Located where the Eastern and Western Ghats meet, this is a highly protected area in the Sathyamangalam Wildlife Sanctuary. It hosts a huge diversity of fauna and flora and has also been a tiger reserve since 2011.

******************************************************

• Varieties:

S795 (Selection-795) is a coffee cultivar important for being one of the first strains of C. arabica found to be resistant to coffee leaf rust

It is a selection of the Balehonnur Coffee Research Station in India and it was generated by R.L. Narasimhaswamy by cross breeding C. arabica and C. liberica known as S288 and the Kent variety, a hybrid of Typica and an unknown other type. Both S288 and Kent are known to be resistant to many rust races and the Kent variety is a high-yielding tree. The resultant S795 cultivar exhibits rust resistance, high yield, and a good cup profile, making it a desirable cultivar for producers.

S795 is widely planted in India and Indonesia. In India, it represents 25-30% of the acreage of arabica coffee.

S795 is a tall and vigorous shrub producing a high number of primary and secondary plagiotropic branches. The cherries are medium in size and oblong in shape and progress from green when young to dark red when ripe. Each node produces around 14 - 16 cherries. New leaves are a light bronze colour.

In 2021, twelve of the top 26 coffees in Indonesia's first Cup of Excellence competition either contained S795 as part of a blend or were solely S795.

******************************************************

• Process:

Selective harvesting of cherries at the maximum maturity stage. Cherries are sorted before being pulped and dried with 40-50% mucilage remaining on the bean. The coffee undergoes anaerobic fermentation until optimum pH levels are achieved. The coffees are dried for 15 - 20 days on raised beds.

******************************************************

• Region: Chamarajanagar, Karnataka,
• Producer: Ekata Coffee & Emerald Haven
• Farm: Emerald Haven
• Importer: Indochina 
• Price (green ex Shipping): £ 13.30p kg

• Variety: Chandragiri, S795/S9
• Process: Anaerobic Honey process
• Altitude: 1300–1500masl
• Amount Bought: 100kg

• Tasting: Fruity, Complex, Vibrant, Juicy sweetness & Elegant.
• Flavours like: Blackcurrant Jam, Dried Apple, Nougat,