In Seattle, time for coffee from Coorg

Americans who thrive on Starbucks will get a taste of single-origin coffee from Coorg for the first time

FULL OF FLAVOURCoffee beans at a Starbucks store / PHOTO: PTI
FULL OF FLAVOURCoffee beans at a Starbucks store / PHOTO: PTI

A small lot of speciality coffee from Karnataka’s famed Coorg region is getting ready to make its “limited edition” and exclusive debut later this year at the Starbucks Reserve Roastery & Tasting Room in Seattle, America. It is almost considered a shrine in the world of high-end coffee.

While the formal deal has been inked between Starbucks and Tata Coffee recently, here’s looking deeper into what that cuppa might hold. For starters, it’s said to be intensely aromatic, “with notes of caramel, citrus, toasted nuts and milk chocolate”.

The coffee comes, not surprisingly, from the largest Arabica plantation (394 hectares) in Coorg district, from the Nullore estate owned by Tata Coffee Limited, close to Madikeri. “When we cupped the Tata Nullore Estates coffee, we noticed it was different from other Indian coffees. The flavour of this rare coffee exemplified the types of unusual coffees we want to deliver under our Starbucks Reserve programme,” says Andrew Linnemann, vice president, global coffee quality and engagement at Starbucks Coffee Company. The Starbucks Reserve programme features the rarest and most exotic coffees — unique, small-lot coffees that the company roasts in Seattle. “Each coffee is one-of-a-kind — sourced from small coffee-growing regions in Latin America, Africa and the Asia-Pacific. All the coffees are roasted with care to bring out their peak flavour expression,” adds Linnemann.

“Nullore Estate coffee was a microlot,” points out Sanjiv Sarin, managing director and CEO, Tata Coffee Ltd. Microlots are generally considered the “cream of the crop” from an estate, and come with a unique taste and story; they are usually sold in small quantities, mostly only a few kilos! Therefore, they are pricier.

“We have been working on premium differentiated coffees for some months now and set up a process to identify potential blocks in our estates whose coffees will qualify. Nullore passed our assessment. A small batch of carefully cultivated coffee was isolated from the regular farm produce and was handpicked and sun-dried. Producing quality microlots is a meticulous and tedious process,” reiterates Sarin. The Nullore Estate coffee will be available at the Seattle tasting room later this year, and only for a limited period. The pricing has not yet been decided.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> MetroPlus / by Bhumika K / July 26th, 2016

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *