NOTES: BOOZY, CRISP WHITE WINE, SUBTLE AROMA OF ROSE PETALS, BLACKCURRANT AND BLUEBERRY TARTNESS, RICH DARK COCOA

Selective picking the ripest cherries they take back to the farm, sorted then placed into the floatation tanks to remove debree and floaters, this is done 3 times to ensure consistent quality. Once the floaters are removed, for this particular lot 1 a White Wine yeast is sprinkled over the cherries and then packed in a grain pro bag and fermented for 150 hours. The unique process about this fermentation is that the cherries in grain pro are fully submerged inside a real natural virgin spring water mountain stream over the full 150 hours which keeps the temperature a consistent 4- 5 degrees through out the entire time of the process. This process eliminates the heat build up inside the tub and creates even fermentation in every cherry. Once the fermentation process is complete they are placed on raised drying beds in full sun.

–

Riverdale Estate is located in the lovely Shevaroys Hills (Yercaud) in southern India, The estate has a abundance of natural spring water streaming from the earth which flows throughout the year making it a very interesting place to cultivate coffee plants and other intercrops like silver oak, jack fruit orange, avocado and pepper.

The common varietal grown is Selection 9 and S5b variety of Arabica they have also planted several test exotic varietals of gesha and yellow bourbon.

At Riverdale Estate all coffee is grown under tall shade trees that helps to retain moisture level and biodiversity within the plantation. They believe in sustainable farming which improves the soil quality, & in turn gives us the consistent coffee beans year after year which we only improve through consistent monitoring of daily occurrences through the careful processing months like weather, water conditions, fermentation temperatures and separation of micro-lots and drying times.

Enjoy these lots I believe they are continuing to push the boundaries of quality in India and am proud to be apart of the team.

Coffee in India was started when Saint Babba Budan first smuggled Seeds from Yemen. Nuns from his hermitage first brought them to India and it was primarily a crop grown out of curiosity in people’s’ personal gardens. In the 1800’s coffee became commercialised with the British conquest of of India. Because of the mismanagement of farms Arabica was difficult to grow and pests and leaf rust decimated crops. Robusta became India’s prime coffee export for much of the 1800’s, hence why Robusta is exchanged in the London exchange.

In the early 20th century Arabica saw a resurgence in India due to some research from the British-Indian Government into disease prevention, soil maintenance and better farming techniques. Shortly before Indian Independence the Indian coffee board was established via the Indian Coffee Act 1942. The board established a central governing body overseeing growing research, import and export data, overseas promotion and farming assistance.

As of 2018 Indian coffee has seen an overall steady growth trend of both production and export. Arabica and robusta have been planted in about equal parts since about 1960, however the production of India currently leans about 70% robusta. 70% of farms are small holdings (Classified as holdings less than 10 Hectares). On average a farm worker in India earns 261 Rupees a day ($3.81 USD).

Specialty coffee data in India is difficult to come by as Indian government classification of Specialty coffee is based on what should more be called ‘specialised coffee’. The specialization coming from a special process called “Monsoon Malabar.” The process entails the cherries being sun dried, and then exposed to monsoon winds, rains, and humidity (Editors note, not great for coffee, but can be great whiskey). The beans expand and contract with the pressure changes. When the process is finished (After almost 3 months) the beans have a more yellow colour as opposed to the usual green. The resulting flavour tends to be a very heavy body with some nuts and spices, however there tends to also be a lingering dryness.  

Some of the reason this coffee is considered specialty has to do with India’s grading system which follows a style similar to Kenya, based on Size. Monsoon Malabar can only be AAA, AA, and A. Premium coffee includes all the A sizes, as well as PB, while the rest of coffee is classed as C grade or bulk. It is important to note that none of these grades have anything to do with growing or processing quality, it merely reflects size.

India is the 6th largest exporter of Coffee in the world with almost 70% of its total yield going overseas. 20-25% of that goes to Italy, with Russia, Turkey, Belgium and Germany making up the rest of the top 5 of Indian coffee exports.

Welcome to Riverdale Estate, this farm is located in the lovely Shevaroys Hills (Yercaud) in southern India, The estate has a abundance of natural spring water streaming from the earth which flows throughout the year making it a very interesting place to cultivate coffee plants and other intercrops like silver oak, jack fruit orange, avocado and pepper.