CRYSTAL VALLEY, Mulled Natural

Originally dense jungle, the Crystal Valley estate was acquired by Mr. I.M. Mandappa, who preserved native trees for shade and wildlife. The coffee was fermented using a culture made from Grandmother’s Mulled wine recipe which contributes to flavour notes of praline, tangerine, jaggery and a touch of warming spice like clove.

CULTIVAR: Catuai, Selection 795
PREPARATION: Natural
LOCATION: Biligiri , Coorg, Karnataka, India
ALTITUDE: 985 masl
PRICE PAID: £9.50/kg

Crystal Valley Estate, perched at 985 meters in Biligiri village, North Coorg, thrives on a steep North Easterly Facing slope. Originally dense jungle, it was acquired by Mr. I.M. Mandappa, who preserved native trees for shade and wildlife. Coffee cultivation began with plants from the Coffee Board and varietes from neighboring estates like Selections and Cannancadoo Kents. After I.M. Mandappa, his son Mr. Mac Machaiah took over, adding Selection 795 and 6 along with Brazilian and Yellow Catuai. Today, the 25-acre estate is expertly run by Mr. Mac, combining knowledge learned in Israel with a warm charm, producing exceptional coffees.

The crimson ripe red coffee berries are selectively hand-picked from the best block with predominant Selection 795 and Catuai varieties of Arabica. The brix value of these red cherries are measured and coffees ranging from 20-23+ are handpicked and manually sorted under hygienic conditions to remove the immature cherries and foreign material.

The coffee cherries are inoculated with a culture isolate obtained from Grandmother’s mulled wine recipe along with an isolate from semi dried cascara from the pulp of the Catuai. The ripe coffee cherries are left to ferment for 72 hours under oxygen free conditions in a cool dry place with temperature and humidity being monitored at regular intervals.

After fermentation, the cherries are placed under aerobic conditions in a heap for 8hrs after which they are transferred to raised beds for uniform slow drying. The coffees once dry (Moisture of 11.5-12%) are bagged and left to rest for 3 – 6 weeks before being dry milled and exported.