The Struggle

The clamour surrounding the speciality robusta movement has grown so loud that we could no longer ignore it, and we eventually sampled the coffee that converted us, in the form of this decadent anoxic natural congusta lot from one of our absolute favourite farms, Kerehaklu in India’s Western Ghats.

Robusta, or more accurately, Coffea canephora, is a species of coffee that is coveted for its resilience to pests, and its ability to grow at lower altitudes and in hotter climates. It’s hardiness is due in large part to its high caffeine content, caffeine being a natural pesticide, with levels being typically 1.5 to 3 times higher that of arabica coffee. Caffeine itself is incredibly bitter, and in general robusta coffees have been regarded as being of inferior quality to arabica, but that perception is starting to shift as processing techniques pioneered in speciality arabica production have started to be applied to robusta.

The speciality arabica movement has focussed very much on celebrating acidity in coffee, but there is also merit in lack of acidity and in texture, and that is where this particular coffee shines. It’s incredibly rich, round and syrupy sweet, and for us finds its best expression as espresso, reminding us of frangipane, desiccated coconut and double cream.

The coffee is grown at Kerehaklu, a lush, sprawling estate in India’s Western Ghats run by father and son duo Ajoy and Pranoy Thipaiah. The coffee grows within dense, old-growth jungle that is rich in biodiversity. Alongside coffee, Ajoy and Pranoy grow avocados, mangoes, jackfruit and spices, and the estate is home to an abundance of wildlife, include occasional visits from panthers, elephants, and even tigers.

Over the past few years Kerehaklu has been spearheading a revolution in the way that Indian coffee is perceived. After studying Biology at the University of New South Wales in Australia, Pranoy returned to the farm, and has focussed his expertise on post-harvest processing, and bringing the farm’s practises in line with more modern and innovative protocol.

His savvy harnessing of the powers of social media has introduced a wide audience to the farm, and has shone a spotlight on the incredible work that they do. As a result, it’s seemingly easier to find gold dust than it is to secure their exceptional coffee, but we’re absolutely thrilled to be amongst the few roasters to have the privilege of showcasing not one, but two lots from Kerehaklu.

Once picked, this lot of robusta congusta was floated to remove defects, then placed in plastic barrels with mosto from the fermentation of arabica coffee, sealed, and left to ferment in an anoxic environment for 62 hours. The barrels were rolled and stirred multiple times throughout the fermentation. Once fermentation was complete, the coffee was laid out to dry on raised beds.

The result is a coffee that has shifted our perception of robusta, and has left us eager to explore this fascinating species more deeply.