Our very first event as specialty Coffee Producers
We got our specialty coffee samples tasted by Blue Tokai, a cafe in India. They loved the taste so much that they invited us to be a part of an event that introduced 4 new estates that started specialty coffees as a new way to connect to their customers.
Tyler - The host of the show
The event was held to taste all the new coffees processed at these farms. Tyler hosted this event and spoke to the public about how tediously the coffees are made, the labour and the new challenges that come with growing the coffees at the farms. She also shared the experience and the journey that Blue Tokai offers to the planters from whom they sourced the coffee lots.
My Parents cupping our estates coffees at Blue Tokai
A privilege to cup these coffees and getting to learn the basics of how to identify the aromas, slurp them and even have multiple estates coffees to compare with. My parents have cupped coffees before but never with such a broad selection of varieties and uniquely processed coffees bearing complex yet subtle characteristics.
Roasters, Brewers, Planters and enthusiasts cupping coffees.
The people within the industry already have a lot of insight into the variety and type of beans that locally exist and a good amount of knowledge that they have acquired over the generations. Them coming together and sharing this experience helps them to have a broader understanding and a better sense of what they have already worked with. Exchanging ideas and thoughts while smelling the aromas brings in a lot of memories of vivid aromas that have been smelt in the past delicacies and fructose filled fruits.
Note: Florals are very hard to find when you have just started finding aromas.
St. Margaret Estates processing detailed cards
This specific coffee is called Ben’s Brew, a naturally processed coffee that was named after my grandpa Benjamin Mascarenhas 👴🏼 It was anaerobically produced, where the coffee cherries are fermented in an oxygen deprived environment. Naturally processed means the cherry is not stripped of its skin or mucilage but the bean is intact. The variety of the beans is Old Peridenia, which is a very old robusta variety that existed at least 100 years ago. The coffee board of India had pushed planters to grow these plants back in the day.
Slurp or Spit
The event was held at 5-7 pm and consuming so many caffeine filled slurps would make the event attendees feel more active at nighttime. So they let us have a paper cup to spit out the coffees that have been tasted.
Cupping 26 Indian coffees
What a turn out this was! The cafe was full of enthusiasts slurping away the coffees and identifying nuances within each sip. Thoughts were being shared between the slurps and memories being formed. 🧠
Tasters spoons 🥄
It was my first time seeing these kind of spoons in use for such a professional cupping experience. It reminded us of the soup spoons that we normally use 🤣
Bucket of spit 🪣
It was hilarious to see an entire bucket of caffeinated spit in the cafe.
Ahhh Smelling Aromas 👃🍊🍐🍭🍿🍫
Aromas for newbies were divided into sweet, zesty, fruity, caramel, and florals. Interestingly fig, orange and lemony fragrances, candy like, buttery finish on the popcorn, nutty and subtle florals like chamomile were easily found.
Blue Tokai is an Indian coffee brand. The name TOKAI symbolises the feathers on the Indian Peafowl, which are found at the coffee estates it comes from the ancient Malabari language 🦚
Showcasing the estate!👩🏻🌾
We love selling the story of each produce that comes from our estate. But for the first time we got to do this live in front of the customers and later connect with them one on one. The history, the journey and the modern practices of the farm was showcased in the event. The location and elevation of the farm along with the varieties we grow and the processing techniques that go behind are shared.
Table full of beans☕️
Blue Tokai’s roastery took the green beans and roasted them based on the type of process the beans went through. The main types of processing are Natural, Honey and Washed process. The roast for naturals was medium to dark roast. Honey was medium and washed process were roasted light to medium.
Introducing the 6 new specialty lots
Talking about conservation and coffee, the journey we have had by the coexistence of wildlife and the locals
Meet the producers - St. Margaret Estate
Three generations spent their lives producing commercial coffees with the best quality and sold them to the traders. Me being the 4th generation planter, I focused on selling our beans directly to the roasters and customers.
A super successful event where I pitched our robustas against the arabicas of the other farms, interestingly it was subtle, sweet and bombed with flavours. When I told them our was a 100% robusta farm, they were shocked that it didn’t taste rubbery or bitter, which pushed me to pump up my next years coffee fermentations to make them more complex and bold.
Women in coffee
Ironically enough the women’s day was just a week later. And it was so cool to show the world our community, what we do and the power of women in this industry.
The last glimpse of the table
So many coffee droplets were found on the cupping table and made their own little art on our estate cards 🤌🏼✨
Last but not the least, I was so excited to be a part of the Blue Tokai family right at the start of my specialty coffee journey. It has truly changed my vision and the way I treat the coffee batches.
I hope you enjoyed reading this post, can’t wait to write more soon. My experience with this industry has been a part of Hive and I’m so happy to see you guys reading away and engaging with the coffee community on this platform.
Lynn Mascarenhas
A huge thank you to everyone who has supported me in this journey.👩🏻🌾✨