You may associate India with tea, but they have a long history of coffee production. They have about 250,000 coffee growers and it’s the birthplace of coffee in Asia, thanks to a legendary pilgrim named Bababudan, who smuggled seven coffee seeds from Yemen and planted them in the Western Ghats mountains in the 17th century. Still, tea remained more popular for years as it was cheaper than coffee. Coffee is mainly consumed in the southern states of India, where it is prepared in a filter. It’s also becoming quite popular with the nation’s younger generations.
The Farm and Its History
Ratnagiri Estate (which translates to Pearl Mountain Estate in Hindi) in the Western Ghats is home to some of India’s finest Arabica coffee, grown under the shade of silver oak trees and intercropped with peppers. Ratnagiri Estate is not your typical coffee farm. It is a biodynamic and eco-friendly farm that that’s been owned and managed by the Patre family since 1927. It’s also a Rainforest Alliance certified farm that supports the biodiversity and wildlife of the Western Ghats, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the world’s eight “hottest hotspots” of biological diversity. Ratnagiri Estate is home to over 48 recorded bird populations, monkeys, leopards, wild boar, tigers, and mongoose.
The Coffee and Its Production
What makes Ratnagiri Estate truly stand out is its quality and innovation in coffee production. Ashok Patre, is a visionary producer who transformed his farm from a commodity-focused one to a specialty-focused one. We talk about this type of transformation a lot, but it’s worth mentioning there’s a lot of risk involved in putting that much time, money and effort into transforming your farm. Luckily for Ashok, his efforts have more than paid off. His coffees have won awards and recognition from the Specialty Coffee Association of India and the Coffee Board of India.
Ashok has continued to improve the farm’s infrastructure and equipment, so he can control every aspect of production and processing. We consider him to be a master when it comes to processing, something you’ll be able to taste in this natural processed coffee. For those of you who forgot, that means the fruit of the coffee plant is dried on the seed before it’s cleaned. The result is complex and fruit-forward coffee that outshines anything we’ve ever had from India. It’s got a rich, full body and despite being fairly bold, it maintains a clarity and brightness that makes it refreshing. We think it’s full of flavor. Our official notes are cherry cola, rum, and cinnamon bun, but we also taste chocolate, tamarind, brown sugar, and baking spices.
We are proud and excited to offer you limited edition Ratnagiri Estate coffee as this year’s holiday coffee. It’s a rare and exquisite treat that will take you and your loved ones on a journey to the mountains of India, if only for a moment.
You can order this incredible coffee through the site while it lasts but if you want to be the first to experience incredible coffees like this from a different place around the world every month, be sure to subscribe to Sphere Coffee Club before the end of the month.
