The Coffee
Estate : Thogarihunkal Estate
Roaster : BlueTokai Coffee
Varietal : SLN 13
Process : Honey Sun Dried
The Estate : Hunkal Heights
Hunkal Heights /Thogarihunkal Estates are in the slopes of outer Giris in the Western Ghat Region of Karnataka at a place called Chikmagalur. AT about 3500-4000 feet above sea level, Hunkal Heights was started by TB Malle Gowda which was further brewed up by his son T B Nagesh. 150 years later, Thogarihunkal Estate Group stands tall with its brilliant coffee and ecosystem of fantastic fauna, flora and wildlife. Trees like Ficus Glomerata, Artocarpus integra, Ficus Mysorensis and Red Cedar offer secondary shade. They shed their leaves in the monsoons and become a rich canopy during the summer. These trees offer generous amounts of biomass and keep the soil temperature low. The tertiary shade is of the hardwood species. Chosen as they attract rain-bearing clouds. This three-tier shade system, is a natural filtration of unwanted material and a regulation of healthy rain. The entire estate is fed by natural stream water from surrounding hills that have the highest average of rainfall over the last hundred years. Amazing huh?! (1)
The Roaster : Blue Tokai
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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What I Want To Remember
Know what’s a match made in heaven? SLN13 and HSD. Beautiful Beautiful coffee! I ran through this like a junkie and iam not exaggerating! No surprises but the roast was just perfect! I was sorry i only got a sampler!
