When you hear “India,” you probably think of tea or spices. But how about chocolate-covered sour cherries? That’s exactly the flavor combination found in Fiftybeans’ Cherry Astra, complemented by a subtle hint of yogurt. In the cup, the distinctive fruitiness of juicy cherries meets the pleasant sweetness of chocolate, while the yogurt notes give the whole combination a delicately creamy texture. Whether you brew it as a filter coffee or an espresso, you’re in for a slightly unconventional taste experience.
The coffee comes from India, which remains somewhat of an uncharted territory in the world of specialty coffee. Behind this lot is producer Zuheb Abrar and his team from the Hospura Estate, where coffee trees grow at an elevation of 1,300 meters above sea level. It is precisely the specific local conditions and the genetics of the cultivated varieties that give Indian coffees their interesting potential, which truly shines through thanks to careful processing. Fiftybeans selected this lot primarily for its unusual combination of sweetness and juiciness, which is not always a given in Indian coffees.
Cherry Astra is a Chandragiri variety, also known as SL13. The beans underwent natural processing with anoxic fermentation, a process in which oxygen is deliberately removed from the fermentation tank. After harvest, optimally ripe cherries are carefully selected, cleaned, and placed in special food-grade tanks. Oxygen is then pumped out of these tanks, and the coffee is left to ferment for 72 hours in an oxygen-free environment. Afterward, the whole cherries are dried for approximately 3 weeks using a combination of drying on concrete surfaces and in a greenhouse. This processing method contributes to the distinctive fruity character, sweetness, and body of the resulting cup.
- Producer / Farmer: Zuheb Abrar
- Farm: Hospura Estate
- Elevation: 1,300 m above sea level