Estate: Baarbara Estate
Region: Chikmagalur, Karnataka
Altitude: 1500 MASL
Varietal: S795
Process: Intenso yeast fermented naturals
Harvest: Feb 2025
Roast style: Contemporary, Light, Filter
Tasting Notes – Rose water, Banana, Red grape, Cocoa nibs
At G-Shot, we have a complicated relationship with Naturals and super-processed coffees. We love the intensity. We love the sweetness. But we are often the first to walk away when "fruit" turns into "ferment." There is a very thin line between a complex, fruity cup and one that just tastes boozy and pungent. This microlot walks that line with absolute confidence. It is bold, it is undeniably a Natural, but it is executed with a level of precision that keeps it on the right side of "wild."
Managed by fourth-generation planter Sreeraksha Purnesh, Baarbara Estate bridges a 120-year family legacy with cutting-edge processing science. He was one of the first people we met back in 2017 during our first visit to the coffee estates in Chikamagalur. This was back when G-shot was still a concept! At that time nobody was talking about specialty coffee and profile roasting was a strange idea; so were the quantities we were willing to buy. Sreeraksha was as supportive back then as he is now. The quality of coffees coming from Baarbara estate has kept with the times. They experiment and innovate a LOT, producing an array of unique coffees each year.
For this microlot, Sreeraksha moved away from the unpredictability of wild fermentation and inoculated the tanks with a specialized "Intenso" yeast culture. Think of this yeast as a conductor for the orchestra; it takes control of the metabolic process, suppressing spoilage microbes and allowing for a massive 72-hour anaerobic fermentation. This extended contact time builds incredible fruit depth and structure without ever crossing the line into "vinegary" territory. To finish, the cherries were moved to raised beds for slow, even drying, locking in those delicate floral aromatics that would otherwise be lost on a hot patio.
We are roasting this coffee as light as we can while developing it fully. Even though we are pulling it out while the first crack is just popping, we do end up developing slight roast character. The ground aroma of this coffee definitely makes you shake your head in disbelief – so much fruity, floral magic is happening all at the same time. On a V60 brewed fast you will extract a lot of the more delicate notes listed below whereas on immersion style brews there is definitely a cacao background over which the fruity/ floral flavours pop. If you are “courageous” enough to brew espressos from lighter roasted funky coffees, by all means give it a go – and tell us what you think!
