The evening of 29th February was a very special and monumental one for the team at Beachville. At the new branch on Khader Nawaz Khan Road, around 30 coffee enthusiasts from various walks of life gathered together to mark Beachville's launch of its newest coffee from Attikan Estate.
With Hamsini Appadurai of Sangameshwar Estates and Beachville's founder Divya Jayashankar conversing with each other and the audiences that had gathered, what ensued was a vibrant conversation over Attikan beans brewed many ways, and delightful bites like idli arancini and guntur cheese toast curated by Manoj Padmanabhan.
Hamsini began the evening by evoking the legend of Veerappan, and indulged us in stories about how he would hide at Bilgiri Rajan hills, and quietly visit a little temple located inside the Attikan Estate where the coffee is cultivated. This connection between her estate and the infamous Veerappan is one of the reasons why the brand is also called “Veer Attikan” (apart from also being a reference to bravery/veer ).
The journey from farm to cup, and the various steps that go into it was the focus of this evening. Between Hamsini who farms and processes the beans and Divya who roasts and brews them, what we received was a comprehensive overview of a rather lengthy and nuanced process.
One of the key markers of Attikan's uniqueness is that it is among the highest elevations at which coffee is cultivated in India (at over 1600 meters above sea level). Divya spoke about how the higher elevation provides a very desirable acidity and body. She pointed particularly to how this is exciting for her as a roaster, as it lends itself to various roast levels (light, medium or dark), and shines in each of these forms in terms of its flavours. The event itself was a testament to this, as we had Attikan served as a filter coffee, cappuccino, americano and latté among other things and it shone with distinct sweet flavours of fig and caramel in each form. (The brand Attikan gets its name from Atti pazham or fig, which grows in abundance on the estate).
What was particularly worth noting as a theme that emerged throughout the event was the idea of sustainability. Hamsini spoke about sustainability both in terms of hightening climate change and what it has done to the micro-climate of the zone, as well as sustainability and ethics with respect to the farmers and indigenous people who labour to bring this coffee to people. She pointed to the importance of upholding CSR initiatives that aid education, literacy and acknowledging the labour of the farmers who work under very demanding conditions.
A big bonus for the attendees was receiving brewing recommendations from both experts as well as dessert pairing recommendations from Janani Kannan who curates the dessert range for Beachville.
Here is what we heard!:
Divya Recommends: Brewing Attikan beans as a South indian filter coffee. Even when it is light-roasted, much against conventional wisdom, this coffee makes for an excellent filter decoction.
Hamsini Recommends: The tricolate brewer, which is a pourover device with a shower-head fitting that allows for a uniform and even extraction.
Janani pairs it with: A Caramelised white chocolate dessert would go perfectly with the smoothness of Attikan coffees.
