India
The Patre family run this biodynamic estate atop a mountain in the Western Ghats of India. They are pioneers in both quality and sustainability, and they share the estate with bird populations, wild boars, monkeys and occasional elephants!
Monkeys running through the trees. Dappled sunlight falling through the silver oaks that provide shade cover. Forty-eight recorded bird populations fluttering through the branches and singing as the sun rises.
Ratnagiri has been farmed and run by the Patre family since the 1920’s, and Ashok is the third generation to steward the land. They don’t just steward the land but also the people, as this estate grows a lot of coffee, which means a big team of pickers, sorters and processors. The occasional elephant too, as well as wild boars and leopards.
To all intents and purposes, Ratnagiri, which means “Pearl Mountain”, is an organic and biodynamic farm. The attention to detail includes importing Scottish seaweed for fertiliser, which is testament to the lengths to which the family will go in order to maintain the balance between the environment, the farming and the team. This details is evident in the cup. Expect plenty of brown sugar sweetness, hazelnut and lashings of chocolate.
It lends itself to espresso, mokapot, AeroPress and cafetière, but it’s really lovely in filter & pourer brewers also.
