the coffee
☕️: @greysoulcoffee
🌱: @ratnagiri_estate
⚙️: controlled honey process
📌 : SLN12 (Cauvery, Catimore)
(1)
the estate : ratnagiri international
The Ratnagiri Estate is an environmentally abundant corner of the majestic South Indian Western Ghats near Bababudangiri, the place where coffee in India originated. Spread over 117 hectares, Ratnagiri has an impressive yield of quality specialty coffee successfully inter-cropped with fine pepper. Ratnagiri literally means Pearl Mountains, and the dense silver oaks that tower over remarkably flavourful shade grown coffee give a silvery hue to the hills illustrating the name. At Ratnagiri, generations of the Patre family have dedicated their lives since 1927, caring for a land that has rewarded their passion and perseverance. With Coffee, Pepper and Nature.
Ratnagiri Estate coffee is a popular purchase by fine flavour seeking palates across the world. The farm follows strict quality standards and has it’s own water supply from two fresh water streams following strict guidelines of government quality and pollution control boards. With a strong commitment to environmental conservation and sustainability, the coffee from the estate is a fine blend of art and heart! (2)
Ratnagiri Estate is a Rainforest Alliance certified farm in the South Indian Western Ghats near Bababudangiri, the place where coffee in India first originated. The Patre family has looked after the farm since 1927 and their approach to farming has always placed ecology and harmony with the environment at the forefront of their work. Ratnagiri literally means ‘Pearl Mountains’ and gets this name from the dense Silver Oaks that tower over coffee plants, lending a silver hue to the hills where the farm sits. (3)
the roaster : grey soul coffee
from their webpage
Every coffee enthusiast would agree, coffee is a drink for the soul. For a soul that thinks deeply, cares fervently and experiences intensely.
A soul that is grey. A grey that indicates an aura, a spiritual awakening, and the blossoming of creative imagination.
Grey soul coffee has its seeds in this thought. We empathize with every planter; we care for every coffee lover looking for an enjoyable brewing experience and think deeply for our planet.
Our passion for the same, drove us to plantations across our country. Taking all those learnings from the avid people we met, and experiences lived, we at Grey Soul Coffee brought back the highest quality and flavorsome greens from earnest estates as a part of direct trade back to our roastery in Pune.
Today, our founder (Chirag), personally spends days roasting the coffee till they reach the peak of perfection between 15-25% DTR which brings out the aroma and flavor. He cups and brews them to understand them better so that every coffee launched by Grey Soul Coffee is well-balanced.
We then pack the freshly roasted coffee that reaches directly to you.
It is personal for us and that is how we want to keep it for you.
Grey Soul Coffee… Brew for the soul.
Specialty & Experimental Coffee Roasters | Delivering Pan-India.
Email : orders@greysoul.coffee (4)
ROASTERY
All of Grey Soul Coffee is stored, roasted and profiled at the roastery.
With a functioning lab at disposal, all the possible brewing equipment and plenty of room to skateboard all day, makes the roastery an ideal working environment.
THE ROASTER : CHIRAG.
Chirag is a certified roaster who understands coffee deeply, experiments with different roast profiles and does not shy away from developing complex coffee profiles. His inclination is towards medium-light to medium roasted coffee’s and natural processed green beans.
His perseverance is truly one to shed light on.
From doing about 8 odd jobs, starting a company with friends in college and to facing many hurdles till today, chirag’s journey is emotional and inspirational.
He today is a co-founder and director at OG Ad Private Limited (An AD Agency based in Mumbai) and now the Head Roaster and Founding Director of Grey Soul Coffee Private Limited.
People often say, work for yourself and do something that makes you feel good.
There is even a quote that says, make passion your work so that your work does not feel like work anymore. Chirag actually did the same and followed his passion to launch this truly personal and distinctive brand.
Chirag also enjoys being a barista for friends and family, going out on gastronomical journeys, skateboarding, looks forward to the next possible dessert he can try and wakes up everyday to practice calisthenics.
To reach out to Chirag, Email : chirag@greysoul.coffee
THE LAB: QUALITY CONTROL & PROFILING
The lab is where our cupping, brewing and tasting of all coffee happens.
This is where we roast coffee in small batches at different roast levels. We then cup them one at a time and take down notes bases on the dry aroma, wet aroma, taste, mouthfeel and body.
Post cupping we determine the profiles of each coffee whether they are fruit forward, floral, have any tropical characters and other parameters that lead to a well-balanced cup of coffee. (5)
1% FOR BIODIVERSITY
What we have learnt from living on this planet and reading about it is that we are not alone. We share this planet with other species and every single one of us is connected. The enormous variety of life on Earth refers to every living thing, including plants, bacteria, animals, and us humans. We are a part of this ecosystem and we 100% depend on each other.
Thus preserving every life on this planet is crucial and has never been more important than right now !
For eg: A single grassland can contain a vast range of species, from beetles to snakes to antelopes. Ecosystems that host the most biodiversity generally tend to have ideal environmental conditions for plant growth and like the warm and wet climate of tropical regions.
All of the Earth’s species work together to survive and maintain their ecosystems. For example, the grass in pastures feeds cattle. Cattle then produce manure that returns nutrients to the soil, which helps to grow more grass. This manure can also be used to fertilize cropland. Many species provide important benefits to humans, including food, clothing, and medicine.
Much of the Earth’s biodiversity, however, is in jeopardy due to human consumption and other activities that disturb and even to an extent destroy ecosystems. Pollution, climate change, and population growth are all threats to biodiversity. These threats have caused an unprecedented rise in the rate of species extinction which hints at half of all species on Earth will be wiped out within the next century.
Conservation efforts are necessary to preserve biodiversity.
The richer the diversity of life, the greater the opportunity for economic development, medical discoveries and adaptive responses to new challenges like climate change.
Thus we encourage everyone around us and you to understand this grave situation and act accordingly.
1% for biodiversity, is not just some initiative. It is close to our hearts which means we are involved emotionally, physically and financially.
It’s about how we all can do little to save tomorrow.
Let’s work towards building a balanced ecosystem.(6)
what i want to remember
grey soul has a picture of strawberry jam on their webpage for this coffee. i believe that sums up this coffee pretty well. but i assure you this coffee is not as simple as “jammy”. it’s fruity, jammy and winey which could be interpreted as plum (but i have had good wine but only bad plums in my life so i prefer to go with winey). there’s a teeny bit of tartness that cuts through. full bodied, lovely mouthfeel and long lasting aftertaste.
you cant go wrong with this one. this worked excellently well on the V60 (Rapid PO, Hoffman’s or a Single Pour). it also worked excellently as a frenchpress. sometimes when a coffee is awesome, the beans become precious and you dont want to use up beans on experiments so i stick to just PO cuz i know it works. but the immersion worked very very well too. you just cant go wrong with this coffee.
Hey !
Loved the whole blog.
This is just amazing !
Team,
Grey soul coffee roasters.
Hey.
Thank you so much! Means a lot 😊🙏🏾