Excelsa - India
This shade-grown coffee, part of an agroforestry system, has a lower caffeine content (0.9%-0.98%) than Arabica and higher resilience to climate change. This natural anaerobic 84h lot offers high sweetness and low acidity, with notes of liquorice root, cacao, and dried apricot. With over 128 Coffea Species, Excelsa provides an exciting opportunity to explore new flavor profiles as well as playing a significant role in the future of coffee production.
This shade-grown coffee, part of an agroforestry system, has a lower caffeine content (0.9%-0.98%) than Arabica and higher resilience to climate change. This natural anaerobic 84h lot offers high sweetness and low acidity, with notes of liquorice root, cacao, and dried apricot. With over 128 Coffea Species, Excelsa provides an exciting opportunity to explore new flavor profiles as well as playing a significant role in the future of coffee production.
This shade-grown coffee, part of an agroforestry system, has a lower caffeine content (0.9%-0.98%) than Arabica and higher resilience to climate change. This natural anaerobic 84h lot offers high sweetness and low acidity, with notes of liquorice root, cacao, and dried apricot. With over 128 Coffea Species, Excelsa provides an exciting opportunity to explore new flavor profiles as well as playing a significant role in the future of coffee production.
Origin: India, Karnataka
Producer: Komal and Akshay
Farm: Mooleh Manay Estate
Altitude: 1000 masl
Species: Excelsa
Process: Natural anaerobic
Tasting Notes
LIQUORICE ROOT / CACAO / DRIED APRICOT
This Excelsa has an exciting and unusual flavour profile that sits outside the box of Arabica speciality coffees and we think is a great way to experience the genetic diversity of coffee.
In the cup this year we think it tastes like liquorice root, cacao, dried apricot.
Excelsa is back!
Produced by our friends Komal and Akshay who we were privileged to visit in 2023 at their beutiful farm.
Mooleh Manay estate is located near the beautiful backwaters of the Harangi Reservoir in Coorg, Karnataka. The producers take a data-driven approach to farming and coffee processing, believing that data is essential for optimizing agricultural practices and ensuring the highest quality coffee production. The farm cultivates a variety of coffee species, including Arabica, Robusta & Excelsa, and uses meticulous processing methods to bring out the best the coffee has to offer.
The farm is something truly unique, with coffee shade grown in a fantastic agroforestry system.
As well as producing amazing coffee at Mooleh Manay, Komal and Akshay run SICC (South India Coffee Company). SICC Labs is the research and development wing of the South India Coffee Company. SICC Labs focuses on low-intervention Coffea species for the future, aimed at climate-proofing coffee and coffee agricultural practices.
About Excelsa
Traditionally, coffee farms in India planted Excelsa trees along their borders. These trees served a dual purpose: marking the farm's boundaries and providing an additional source of income. However, many farms have removed Excelsa in recent years due to the challenges of harvesting and its susceptibility to berry borer if left unpicked.
With over 128 species in the Coffea species, the focus has primarily been on Arabica and Robusta. Excelsa offers a unique opportunity to explore new flavor profiles as well as the potential to play a significant role in the future of coffee production.
Excelsa beans are smaller and rounder than their more common counterparts. Local growers often group Excelsa with Liberica under the name "Mara Kaapi," meaning "Tree Coffee" in the local language.
DNA testing has confirmed the authenticity of Mooleh Manay’s Excelsa plants.
Also the Excelsa grown here has been tested for its caffeine content which is 0.9% - 0.98% which is lower caffeine than Arabica.
Excelsa lower caffeine content and unique flavor profile make it an attractive option for coffee lovers, while its potential as a climate-resilient coffee species could help to create a more sustainable and resilient coffee industry.
We are proud and happy to collaborate with such fantastic producers who research and explore the potential of Excelsa.
The processing
Harvesting Excelsa is challenging due to the sheer size of the tree: one needs to climb the tree with the help of a ladder and harvest the fruit from the branches.
This lot is from the Mooleh Manay Estate is a natural anaerobic lot showcasing atypical high sweetness, low acidity and a long liquorice like aftertaste.
Post harvesting , the coffee is brought to processing center, where lower-density cherries, often unripe or damaged, are removed by floating them in water.
Anaerobic Fermentation (84 hours): The cherries are then placed in sealed tanks for 84 hours, following fermentation, the cherries are transferred to a polyhouse for drying.
The cherries are placed on raised beds for optimal airflow and even drying. They are continuously raked to ensure consistent moisture loss throughout.
Once the coffee beans reach the desired 11% moisture content, they are ready for storage.
The bagged coffee is allowed to rest for two months, allowing the coffee to further develop and mature.
