May 5, 2010
India: Gems of Araku
By: Erika Tran

I was invited by Naandi Foundation to participate as an International Jury for the 2010 cupping competition event 'The Gems of Araku.' According to Naandi "it is the only coffee competition in India designed to celebrate Tribal Origin Coffees from Araku Valley in South East India. The idea of the competition is to install a sense of quality and pride amongst indigenous growers. This is the second year of the competition with the first held in April 2009."
Event Overview: The event took place over 2 weeks across 3 cities. It was composed of a cupping competition with social events, cultural performances, and an award ceremony for thousands of Araku farmers to celebrate the top ten coffees and all participants. As part of the International Jury, I arrived to Hyderabad March 28th. The event kicked off with dinner at the Great Kabab Factory where we had the opportunity to meet the Naandi Staff and the other International Jurors. It was a great group, exciting conversations and lots of wonderful food.

The following two days were filled with cupping sessions; on the 30th we had a Celebration Dinner , and enjoyed a performance by Bharatnatyam dancer Alarmel Valli. The following day we had time to sightsee during the day and that afternoon we departed to Visakapatnam. From there we drove to Araku Valley, where we had the opportunity to meet the farmers, David Hogg, Vice President, Livelihoods for Naandi, gave an explanation on Bio-dynamic, we visited the Central Processing Unit, award ceremony and in the evening we had a dinner with Dhisma Fold dance. Araku Valley people received us with flowers, smiles and traditional dance! Our last day we had the opportunity to visit a coffee farm. It was beautiful.

The International Jury participants included Jorge Cuevas from Sustainable Harvest, Mexico, Lindsey Bolger, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, USA, Alan Nietlishback, Volcafe Specialty, USA, Hidetaka Hayashi, Hayashi Coffee Institute, Japan, Yoshi Kato, Bontain Coffee Co. Ltd., Japan, Paul O'Toole, Bewley's Limited, Ireland, Sunalini Narayan Menon, Coffee lab Private Limited, India, Erika Tran, InterAmerican Coffee, USA.
Cupping: Overall 119 coffees were submitted, 32 made it to the final; where we as the International Jury had the chance to cup. Some of these coffees had very interesting fruit notes... described as Jackfruit and Papaya, they also had different spice notes.
For more information, please feel free to contact Erikat@iaccoffee.com

Holiday recipe...Strong Tree Organic Magyar Red Eye Chili Recipe:
Strongtree organic magyar red eye chili

Ingredients:
1 lb Ground Turkey (they prefer Northwind Farm Heriloom)1 lb Ground Beef (they prefer Grazin Angus Acres), 2 lbs Local Organic Yellow Onions, diced, 7 Cloves Organic Garlic, diced (not minced), 2 24 oz Cans Organic Black Beans, 12 lb Local Organic Carrots, diced, 1/2 Can Chipotles in Adobo, 2 T bsp Cumin, 2 Tbsp Chili Powder, 1 Tbsp Sea Salt, 1 Tbsp Black Pepper, 3 Dried Small Red Chiles, 3 Jalapenos, seeds removed, 16 oz Elan Organic Ethiopia Lekempti-brewed in a French Press

Brown turkey and beef with onions, garlic and carrots. Combine cumin, salt, pepper and chili powder and add to browned meat. Add tomatoes, beans, chipotles (with adobo) and jalapenos and stir. Simmer for 3 hours over low heat, then stir in Ethiopia Lekempti. Simmer another 3 hours over low heat. Be careful not to allow the chili to stick to the bottom of the pan, stir frequently. Taste and adjust seasonings to taste. Refrigerate overnight for best flavor. If it isn't thick enough you can stir in 1-2 tablespoons of corn masa. Enjoy!!
For more information on our Ethiopian Offerings, please contact us!