Smokin' hot

The Ol' smoky flavour emanates the aromas of charcoal, pepper and burnt wood

Sipping on a new coffee is always risky business. You drink your morning cuppa a certain way, and it sets pace for your day a certain way. A new blend or micro-lot pour comes with its premonition and only the first sip will determine whether the bean impresses.

Earlier this week, on one morning, we unboxed a package from Maverick & Farmer, which held two latest flavours - Ol' smoky and Orange you curious. The beans were of medium ground size, which is perfect for a pour-over method. We put the kettle to boil, like the pour-over cup with a disposable filter and placed it on an empty cup. While the water boiled, we ripped open the bag of Ol' smoky, which might just be the first cold-smoked coffee in the world. The first aromas are of charcoal, pepper and burnt wood.

(From left) Sreeram G, Ashish D'Ábreo and Tej Thammaiah

This cuppa was held in the company of owners Tej Thammaiah, Ashish D'Abreo and Sreeram G, the former founders of Flying Squirrel. While Thammaiah, a third-generation coffee farmer, joins us from the Ajjikutira family estates in Pollibetta, Coorg, where the coffee has been harvested, roaster and barista D'Abreo joins us from the roastery in Bengaluru along with Sreeram.

In the pour-over method, hot water is poured over ground coffee beans. The coffee pours into the cup through the filter. This process opens up the aromas beautifully

The coffee cupping session that followed was a virtual experience; on a Zoom call, thanks to the lockdown. The chat began with Thammaiah showing us his office space, a lush 150-acre-farm that also produces pepper, vanilla, citrus fruit of different kinds, avocados, ginger and honey. Coffee harvest season begins in late October and spans all the way to March. The estate grows its Arabica on high-altitude terrain of the Western Ghats.

Fourth wave

The third coffee wave began in India in 2013, when bean-to-cup coffee became popular and a lot of roasters began focussing on micro-lots and making freshly ground coffee to be brewed in the comfort of homes a popular passion. Over the years, the fourth wave seems to hit the country with roasters playing around with flavours and processes. "The third wave gave credit to the production, and now roasters are asking the question: 'What can we do next?'" D'Abreo explains, adding that the coffee cherries, after plucking, are subjected to different processes like pulping, fermenting, drying, and roasting.

Every batch must be test-roasted

Cold comfort

As we sipped the hot black coffee and let it linger on our palate, sweet notes of smoke opened up. The first taste on the palate reminded us of a Laphroaig, a single malt scotch whisky. It enveloped the palate with a peppery taste.

The trio's Tuesday morning meetings, where they explore ideas to create new flavours, led to the inception of trying to cold-smoke the beans. "We cold-smoke the beans for 13 to 14 hours, and it took us six months to perfect the right level of smokiness. After the beans are plucked and wet-processed with certain parameters of fermentation and PH balancing, they are placed in a smoking room and cold-smoked as burning fruit wood is passed through them," D'Abreo explains.

Orange in my coffee

D'Ábreo drying coffee beans

A stark opposite from the smoky was more palatable and sessionable, like a glass of bubbly with tarty notes of citrus. "For Orange you curious, the process intervenes with fermentation. The green beans are soaked in orange juice from fruit that grows on the farm. Microorganisms consume the sugary pulp around the coffee beans and produce certain enzymes and acids that contribute to flavours and aromas," shares D'Abreo.

The day of writing this copy coincided with the last cup of Smoky, and having savoured it through the week, the coffee had grown on the palate for the medium roast hit of caffeine with the smoothness of a sweet cloudiness of charcoal. The Orange and the Smoky made a great cold brew but we're sure, and Sreeram agreed, something stiffer might work well too. The conversation steered towards the addition of milk and sugar, and Sreeram agreed to the 'each-to-their-own' policy. "We do recommend customers to consume the coffee a certain way, but then it is like adding water and ice to whiskey. Now, define a purist?" he laughed.

Log on to maverickandfarmer.com COST Rs499 (200 gms)

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