Balmaadi Natural

Tamil Nadu, India

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India Balmaadi Natural

We’re really excited to kick off our Passenger subscription with a very special coffee from the Balmaadi Estate in India. This is a Biodynamic coffee farm - it’s Organic, but also goes beyond that to produce coffee in a way which is harmonious with the other life on the farm, even up to tolerating the monkeys which regularly pinch coffee cherries for their dinner!

  • Region: Tamil Nadu
  • Producer: Unnamalai Thiagarajen
  • Variety: Kent, S795
  • Process: Natural
  • Altitude: 1200-1800 masl
  • Harvest: Feb 2020

Situated in near the town of Ooty, in the far west of the Tamil Nadu region of India, Balmaadi Estate was one of a group of coffee farms originally established by Scotsman John Ouchterloney in the 19th Century. In 2003 the farm passed to its current owner, Unnamalai Thiagarajan, from her husband’s family. A remote, difficult to access location and a wonderfully complex but sprawling farm meant Unna faced massive challenges to make it a sustainable business. Studying her options, she came across Biodynamic processes – one of the earliest Organic philosophies. Biodynamic growers obey Organic rules but also look to create self-sufficient agricultural environments, where the biodiversity on the farm supplies for its own needs. Chiming with her own beliefs in the importance of existing in harmony with her environment, Unna has used this approach to turn the challenge of isolation and the semi-wild nature of the farm into an advantage.