Balmaadi Organic/Biodynamic Natural

This coffee is available to customers outside the UK only

Balmaadi Estate is situated in the Nilgiris district of India’s southern state of Tamil Nadu. It is part of a group of plantations developed over 150 years ago by Scotsman John Ouchterloney, and sits nestled in the verdant O’Valley, criss-crossed by numerous mountain streams. With plantations at an elevation ranging from 1,200-1,800 metres, Balmaadi produces some of India’s highest grown coffee.

The estate merges into the forest and its coffee bushes are grown under the natural shade of Sholas, trees native to the Nilgiris Biosphere. This provides an ideal habitat for local animal and bird life; at sunset, groups of sambhar, bison and barking deer are a frequent sight and by night elephants and panther roam freely. Monkeys keep the estate’s workers company throughout the day and Balmaadi is currently creating a special monkey playground to keep the animals busy and away from the coffee cherries! Balmaadi also grows tea, cardamom and stevia (a sweet herb often used as a natural sweetner).

Balmaadi is committed to sustainable, ecologically-sound methods of agriculture, and maintaining the exceptional biodiversity of the area. The estate is certified organic and practices a mix of ancient Vedic methods and bio-dynamic techniques advocated by Rudolf Steiner. It produces its own compost and liquid manure, as well as biodynamic preparations including cow horn manure - produced by fermenting cow dung and powdered quartz inside a cow horn buried in the ground for six months - and ‘Pachagavyam’, which is concoction of 5 products from the cow - milk, curd, ghee, dung and urine - fermented and sprayed as a fertiliser.

Balmaadi usually starts harvesting its coffee in November. The ripe cherries are hand picked and sun dried. At no stage in the processing are chemicals used. The slow dried parchment is packed in clean, vegetable based jute bags and stored at an ambient temperature while awaiting further processing into clean coffee.

The estate’s humus-rich soil produces superior quality coffee; stringent standards of excellence as set by Coffeelab, Bangalore and IMO, Switzerland are Balmaadi’s benchmarks, and the estate was awarded the ‘ Flavour Of India, Fine Cup Award, 2004,’ for India’s best Arabica coffee and also the best Arabica coffee in the Nilgiris region.

Check out an interview with Balmaadi's owner, Unnamalai Thiagarajan, on our website here .

Biodynamic Agriculture

Already a recognised agricultural process in the world of wine, the reputation of biodynamic farming in producing high quality produce is growing worldwide. In 2008, Mercanta began sourcing coffees from Balmaadi - a biodynamic certified estate in India.

What is biodynamic agriculture?

Sometimes referred to as ‘super organic’, biodynamic was arguably the world’s first consciously organic farming system. It is founded on principles outlined in 1924 by Austrian philosopher, Rudolph Steiner, who acted in response to farmers worried about the destructive effect of chemicals on their land. Like modern organic farming, biodynamic farming eliminates the use of agrochemicals. It also adheres to a further strict set of principles that distinguishes it from conventional organics. These can be summarised as follows:

Soil regeneration – healthy soil is central to biodynamic farming. Biodynamic farmers approach the soil as a living environment, whose wellbeing depends on the quality, quantity and variety of bio-organisms such as bacteria, mushrooms and worms existing within it.

Biodynamic preparations – in order to maintain the soil’s natural balance, farmers use nine specific preparations made from animal, vegetal and mineral extracts which are applied in homeopathic quantities (i.e. they are extremely diluted). This includes the practice of fermenting cow dung and powdered quartz inside a cow horn which is buried in the ground for six months.

Biodynamic sowing and planting calendar – biodynamic farmers adhere to a strict calendar which is produced each year and which is based on the cycles of the moon, planets and constellations. This highlights the best days for sowing, planting, digging and harvesting.

Self-sufficiency – a basic principle of biodynamics is to conceive of the farm as a self-contained, living entity. Each farm aims to function as a closed, balanced system, providing its own seeds, fertilisers and feeds.

Guiding philosophy – Rudolf Steiner believed that there was a spiritual dimension to agriculture that modern science ignored. He conceived biodynamic farming as part of a much broader spiritual philosophy, and it is often considered by its adherents to be not only a farming technique, but a way of life.

Biodynamic certification is regulated worldwide by Demeter (www.demeter.net). This means that, unlike conventional organic certification, the standards for biodynamic certification are the same in every country and biodynamic growing methods remain consistent worldwide.

Cupping Date: 

2 November 2011

Cup: 

Clean

Sweetness: 

Ripe

Acidity: 

Mild

Mouthfeel: 

Creamy Full Body

Flavour: 

Blueberry Strawberry Liquorice

Overall: 

Creamy with a fully body and ripe sweetness; notes of blueberry, liquorice and strawberry.