Coffee from India - Robusta Kaapi Royal AA, washed.

Robusta grows in India at altitudes between 300 and 1,000 meters above sea level. Usually on the slopes of small mountains where the ideal combination of conditions occur; sunshine, shade, rainfall, mineral rich soil. Robusta coffee is usually grown on plantations with a fairly large forest cover. The presence of a variety of flora and fauna, is further enhanced by plantings of pepper or orange. Coffee grown in natural shade has a higher density and is more uniform than coffees grown on plantations not sheltered from the sun. Processing harvested coffee cherries using the "washed" method requires quite a bit of labor but also a lot of water.

The ripe coffee berries with the green coffee bean inside are harvested by hand. The first selection takes place during harvesting to avoid unnecessary acidity in the flavour bouquet from unripe coffee cherries. At the end of the day after harvesting, another selection of the harvested coffee takes place, this time at the collection point of the entire plantation, any berries that are not quite red in color are removed. The top of the coffee berry is removed by washing. After another wash, the coffee beans are given an all-night bath and then dried in the sun.

Kaapi Royal AA washed robusta coffee is the name for India's premium robusta. First introduced during the 1992-1993 harvest, Kaapi Royal AA is a bean that came into being because of India's extraordinary commitment to the speciality coffee market. The name Kaapi Royal AA, can be given to beans that meet very strict criteria. One of these criteria is the desired bean size ( screening 18, or 7.6 mm) 95% of the beans must meet this parameter and 100% of the beans must be larger than 6.65 mm. The presence of peaberry or coffee beans with defects is not tolerated. One of the key factors characterising Kaapi Royal AA beans is the repeatability of flavour between harvests. The result of this repeatability is a very stable flavor bouquet. The robusta beans of Kaapi Royal AA are clean, uniform and large. It's worth noting that Kaapi Royal AA is even sorted for color, so that the whole harvest meets the absolute highest requirements. Kaapi Royal AA works well as an enhancing bean for a variety of espresso blends, as well as all coffees with a significant milk content. The coffee's flavour tends to "mellow" with coffees containing a high proportion of milk. Most espresso blends that contain a different robusta bean than Kaapi Royale AA tend to exhibit this fade. Kaapi Royale AA goes above and beyond the milk characteristics perfectly. Another function of robusta in blends is to maintain a thick, dense froth (crème), so dense that it can even hold a sugar cube on its surface. Since robusta contains on average 2 times more caffeine than arabica coffee, Kaapi Royal AA also adds a nice "kick" - important information for all those who treat coffee as a "functional" drink.

The coffee has an intense peppery aroma with a touch of sweet licorice. The taste has a bittersweet bitterness and nutty and herbal notes. One of the lowest acidities for a robusta. Velvety, soft body. After the tasting, the aftertaste of dried fruit and dark chocolate, cocoa, remains. I particularly recommend this coffee in the dark roast.