Anuswaram #4

Anuswaram in Carnatic parlance means a note between notes and denotes complex melodic movements that rāga-s tend to employ.

We sometimes receive small lots of coffee that really captivate us with their complexity or innovative processing. We feel that Anuswaram is a fitting name for featuring these intriguing offerings. The 4th in this series is a very special washed coffee from the lofty hills of Valparai.

Located in the Thalanar region of the Valparai plateau, Greenland estate is spread over 200 acres and at an altitude of 1500- 1737m ASL, is one of the highest farms that we have sourced from. The owner Mr. Govind, is very eager to make inroads into the speciality coffee segment and nothing showcases what the farm has to offer like this washed lot.

 To prepare this, cherries of the SLN 09 varietal were picked picked ripe, pulped (i.e. skin was removed) and fermented for 18 hours. The coffee beans were  then washed  and slow dried for a fortnight on raised beds.

 The low temperatures(because  of the high altitude) and the care taken during processing have made this coffee an absolute delight in the cup! There's a very prominent jaggery like sweetness, a partly peachy ,  partly orange-like acidity and a whole bunch of florals, some of.which we could triangulate and some which we couldn't. All this complexity is very reminiscent of African coffees and quite uncommon in Indian offerings. 

 We thank Mr. Viggnesh for having helped source this beautiful coffee for us and hope to work with Greenland estate more closely in future!

Anuswaram #4 is a delight across all manual brews but shines best in a v60.