The Coffee

: @Ram Estate
: @Blue Tokai Coffee
: SLN9
: Washed, HSD, Naturals

The Estate : Ram Estate, Palani

Currently managed by the 5th generation of the family, Ram Estate has been growing coffee since the 1860s. The estate is strategically located in the crest of Pulney Hills in Kamanur village. The farm is bordered on one side by a brook, famously known as ‘Panjarathu Oodai’ which derives its name from the fact that the brook has never been dry even during the famine.  In Ram Estate, coffee trees are grown under the two-tier canopy structure ranging from Jackfruit and silver oak to silk cotton trees. Here, the S9 Arabica coffee variety is grown apart from Pepper, Hill Banana and Avocado trees. The entire farm is professionally maintained under the consultation of an agronomist. They also use customised organic fertiliser which ensures that adequate nutrients are provided for the plantation avoiding any oversupply or deficiency in nutrient requirements. Continuous efforts are undertaken in order to maintain shade density, such as the re-plantation of ‘shade trees’ on a periodic need-basis and the annual pruning of trees. With support from dedicated farm workers, the best practices in the industry are adopted for coffee harvesting; right from picking fully grown red cherries to cleaning, sorting and removing the floaters and drying the beans on beds.  Cleanliness has been a motto of the estate since its inception and is ingrained in each stakeholder involved in the estate’s maintenance. An abundant presence of flora and fauna along with exotic birds lends rich biodiversity to the estate. From its humble beginning, Ram Estate has steadily developed into a state-of-the-art facility that is now geared up to provide high-quality coffee to the coffee connoisseurs of the world. (1) For someone with strong roots in Palani, iam beyond stoked about the coffee from this estate. The estate’s coffee is one of the rare times i raved about washed process. Also Barista on Bike Magic. Cant wait to create year-on-year series with the wonderful coffees from Ram Estate 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Roaster : Bluetokai

BlueTokai, are indian specialty coffee roasters established in 2013 by Matt Chitharanjan, with cafes now across India. they have varied and lovely selection of coffees and have now also expanded to single origin easy pourover sachets. whether you drink specialty coffee or not, BlueTokai is a name that most cafe-frequents are familiar with. when I first started shifting towards specialty coffee, I was hesitant to try BT because I saw their coffee as part of the Koffee with Karan coffee hamper and assumed it would be too much for me. they had so much information on their pack – what’s with the varietals and processes and why are you sending me whole beans?! now I find comfort in that brown paper bag. it has every info I need and I can be assured of the best roast and handling of the beans. throughout this journey, my fondness for BT has grown just as much as they have. it’s not easy to firmly plant your roots and grow in a country that predominantly drinks tea or strong “kaapi”. it’s not easy to cater to Reddit-snobs while still serving coffees in their signature blue ceramics to the non-initiated. but BT has done it. BT stands strong as symbol of having understood what people need – coffee that they can enjoy, just as they want it.

 

 

 

 

 

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The Processor : Barista on Bike

Barista on Bike AKA Binny AKA Coffee Coach  helps the coffee farms with processing of their coffee among so many other things. At the farm level, he helps with training ground staff regarding selective picking, drying process, helps them make the PSD and honeys that we roast and brew at home. Binny is now a Q Processing Level 2 Professional which is just absolutely 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥

What i Want to Remember

• i want to remember salivating over the washed coffee rather than a HSD and Naturals. A first for sure.
• i want to remember the magic of Binny Varghese AKA Barista on Bike on the processing
• i want to remember that this estate from Palani began their journey into specialty coffee in 2019!!!
• i want to remember that i absolutely and undeniable loved the coffee.
• Washed :  flavourful, juicy, long aftertaste
• Natural : grounded, very earthy, sweet, winey. amazing PO.
• HSD :  Smooth, a tinge of sourness, more like tangy. Brilliant iced PO.

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