India Kerehaklu Anoxic Natural

We are honoured to be launching several remarkable coffees from Kerehaklu, a stunningly biodiverse coffee plantation in the Western Ghats region of India owned by the Thipaiah family. This lot is naturally processed and has a beautiful balance of sweetness and acidity in the cup with juicy notes of pear, fig, and cardamom. 

Our colleague Will was in India this year just as the arabica harvest was coming to an end, the first time he was able to cup coffees that we would receive later on. There's nothing like the sparkle of fresh crop coffee cupped at origin, and these coffees have held up nicely since then: They're tasting bright, sweet and delicious, and we've purchased more lots from Kerehaklu than ever before – including an anoxic washed and two Robustas (a first for us!).

Kerehaklu is spread across 250 acres and has been chemical-free since 2016. The biodiversity there is incredible, with macaques, parrots, snakes, deer, civets, and boars regularly roaming, and even some occasional tigers. It has been run by the Thipaiah family for five generations. Today, Ajoy mainly looks after the growing and agronomy side and while Pranoy manages processing.

They primarily grow arabica coffee, but also two other species, canephora and liberica. Some plants on the estate are more than 100 years old, so the land and plant matter are well adapted to one another. Most of the varietals are Indian cultivars called 'Selection' — these are hybridised from other varieties to grow well in their environment. The Thipaiahs keep a plant nursery where they look after young plants from seed, including various 'Selection' arabicas, Obata, and SL28. They also have lots of avocados and pepper vines, both of which they produce to a very high standard and sell.

The estate is home to many beautiful cluster fig trees (some estimated to be 400 years old) that grow around other trees slowly and eventually engulf them. The cluster figs aren't particularly tasty to humans, but they are much beloved by the many birds that live there, and the birds' guano is an excellent fertiliser for the coffee. These fig trees are the secondary canopy, with the highest canopy coming primarily from citrus trees. The ample shade means the coffee can grow and mature slowly. As a result, the output on an estate like this is much, much lower than more intensive "monocrop" coffee farms, but if you take a wider look at the total sum of outputs from all the crops, they are incredibly productive. This coffee is a real investment in the environment — a seasonal delight!

This lot is an anoxic natural, meaning the coffee underwent a stage of fermentation in an oxygen-reduced environment prior to drying. Pranoy generally prefers the use of local yeasts that are the result of the natural microbiome rather than commercial yeasts (although he has experimented with both). One way that he kick-starts fermentation in anoxic coffees is by adding liquid from another active fermentation. This process is often referred to as Mossto or Mosto, a term taken from the wine industry that literally translates to 'grape juice'. At Kerehaklu, Pranoy has been experimenting with this technique since 2023, although it is only now becoming more common.

Elevation: 1200 meters above sea level
Varietal: Selection 5b
Cup score: 87
Price paid per kg: £13.25
Process: Anoxic Natural