Whole arabica beans from the Araku Valley in the Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh, India — the Selection lot, chosen from the valley's harvest.
Why Araku is worth knowing about
India is not a country most people associate with fine coffee, and Araku is why that is changing. The valley sits between 900 and 1,400 metres in the Eastern Ghats, and the coffee is grown by thousands of Adivasi smallholder families who have been working with the Naandi Foundation since 1999.
The model matters as much as the coffee. There are no middlemen: the growers own the process and the value stays in the valley — an arrangement its architects call Arakunomics. The farming is organic and biodynamic, which is labour-intensive but requires no purchased inputs, and for a smallholder that is the difference between a margin and none.
The coffee earns its place independently of the story. Specialty grade begins at 80 points on the 100-point scale; Araku scores above 90, which no Indian coffee had done before.
Altitude, and why it is on the label
High-grown coffee is prized for a real reason. At altitude the nights are cold, so the cherry ripens more slowly, and a slower ripening concentrates sugars and acids in the bean instead of letting it bulk out with starch. The result is denser beans and a cup with more acidity, more sweetness and more definition. Araku's 900 to 1,400 metres puts it firmly in that territory.
Why whole beans
Grinding multiplies the surface area exposed to oxygen. Whole beans hold their aroma for weeks; ground coffee loses most of it within days of opening. If you own a grinder, this is the format to buy.
Storage
Airtight, cool, dark, and not in the fridge — coffee absorbs food smells readily and condensation on cold beans does real damage.
Araku Coffee
Araku Coffee
Araku Coffee
Araku Coffee
