India - December '24 Coffee of the Month

Origin: India - Peaberry 

Milk Chocolate, Red Apple, Cane Sugar

Geography: Region Chikmagalur, Karnataka
Altitude: 1200 masl
Producer: Various Smallholders, Hassan Mill
Processing: Washed
Variety: S795, Chauvery (Arabica)

From Genuine Origin Website: 

Karnataka Green Coffee

Karnataka is where the heart of India’s coffee production beats. Around 90% of the country’s coffee volume grows in the southern states of Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, and most Arabica farms are between 700 to 1,200masl. Coffee from Karnataka is known for well-rounded and balanced flavor profiles, like this lot sourced in partnership with Allanasons that features sweet notes of milk chocolate, red apple, and cane sugar.

What is peaberry coffee?

Peaberry coffee is a result of genetic mutation where only one seed develops inside a coffee cherry instead of two. Peaberries are usually smaller, denser, and rounder than regular coffee beans. Around 1 in 9 coffee cherries result in a peaberry; it takes patience to sort these out from the rest of the beans.

Specialty Arabica coffee beans from India

Coffee in India grows in the shade canopy of evergreen leguminous trees on smallholder farms that are mostly less than 10 hectares in size. Producers intercrop coffee with spices, pepper, cardamom, vanilla, orange, and banana trees.

Some of the most common green coffee varietals found in India are S795, which is a hybrid of Kent and S228 (itself a hybrid of Coffea arabica and Coffea liberica), and Cauvery, a local sub-variety of Catimor.

India is well-known for its Monsooned Malabar coffee. The unique processing method seeks to replicate the conditions that existing when coffee was shipped vessels during colonial times. The coffee was usually at sea months for months and was exposed to terrific amounts of water, heat & humidity. The processing method mimics that humidity, swelling, and aging and is responsible for the unique Monsooned Malabar profile. Today, around 80% of Arabica coffee is wash-processed.

Naming Conventions in India Coffee

Like most coffee producing countries, India has its own unique naming and grading conventions for its coffees. Washed Arabica beans are labeled, “Plantation” (this does not mean it came from a coffee estate). Washed Robusta beans are called, “Parchment” (not to be confused with coffee in coffee in parchment). Naturals, whether they are Arabica or Robusta are called, “Cherry” (these coffees are dried green coffee, not coffee cherries). The name, “Plantation PB”, refers to Washed Arabica Peaberry coffee grown in India.

Green coffee from India

The history of coffee cultivation in India hails back to the 17th century, when Arabica seeds were smuggled out of Yemen and planted in Karnataka. Commercial coffee farming flourished in the mid-19th century, but outbreaks of leaf rust motivated many farms to switch from Arabica to Robusta.

The USDA reports a downward trend in Arabica production. Coffee production in India is extremely labor-intensive due to the country’s hilly terrain. An estimated 60% of coffee production costs go to labor. Additionally, climate change is taking its toll. These factors are prompting more farmers grow Robusta and take advantage of the species’ resistance to disease and its ability to endure high temperatures.