GEMS OF ARAKU

Country India

State Andra Pradesh

District Vishakhapatnam

Village Thuraiguda

Farm Members of SAMTFMACS

Altitude 900 - 1100 masl

Variaties SLN5, SLN7, SLN9, Catuvai, S795

Harvest September - February

Process Washed, honey, or natural

Profile

India

Araku

In the south east of India running down to the Bay of Bengal lies the coastal state of Andra Pradesh, eight largest state in India and 10th most populous. In the north east, close to the border of Odisha, lies the Araku Valley, formed as part of the Eastern Ghats, a discontinuous mountain range that runs from Odisha in the north to Tamil Nadu in the south.

Coffee was introduced here in the early 1900’s from neighbouring Pamuleru Valley, and in 2007 Small and Marginal Tribal Farmers Mutually Aided Cooperative Society (SAMTFMACS), a coffee farmer cooperative, was formed to push the coffee production there even further. It operates across seven mandals in the area (a further sub-division of four revenue divisions within the district), Araku, Hukumpeta, Dumbriguda, Anathagiri, Paderu, Pedhabaylu and Munchinpet – covering 13,560 of land used for growing coffee.

An area that used slash and burn deforestation techniques that reduced the land to semi wasteland and with no traditional knowledge of how to grow coffee, production was low and of poor quality. By providing technical support and training in all areas needed for a small farmer, the cooperative has managed to significantly increase the quality and quantity of coffee grown. Coffee is now shade grown and an agricultural understanding has been developed alongside better business management skills to improve the yields and therefore income of the farmers. The further introduction of a programme based around the quality reward structure of Cup of Excellence has led to the Gems of Araku – a quality focused microlot based offering.

S795 is famous for being one of the first strains of arabica that exhibited resistance to coffee leaf rust. A selection from Central Coffee Research Institute (CCRI) in Balehonnur, it is thought to be a cross between s288 (itself an interesting natural hybrid between arabica and liberica) and Kent, a mutation of Typica. It is a frequently occurring varietal in India, though Catuvai is also a commonly occurring choice. SLN9 is a cross between Tafari kela, a geisha selection from Ethiopia and Hybrido de Timor, whilst SLN5 is a cross between a naturally occurring robusta and arabica hybrid from Coorg, known as Devamachy, and either a Rume Sudan selection (s.881) or S.333 (a hybrid developed at CCRI). SLN7, is a cross between the Typica dwarf mutation thats progeny (F2) were divided 70% dwarf and 30% tall, but highly susceptible to rust. A dwarf F2 was crossed with S795 in order to improve planting density and therefore yield due to the compact branching nature of the San Ramon, and gain rust resistance from the S795.

Gems of Araku

G e m s o f A r a k u

C o f f e e d r y i n g i n A r a k u