Naturals the way they should be

Before we talk about Gundikhan, it is worth understanding what a natural-processed coffee actually is.

In the simplest terms, the coffee cherry is picked and dried whole, with the fruit still around the seed. As the cherry dries, the sugars, acids and microorganisms present in the fruit interact with the coffee, creating a natural fermentation. Done well, this can add sweetness, body and ripe fruit character to the cup. Unlike a washed coffee, where the fruit is removed before the coffee is dried, a natural spends its entire drying period inside the cherry.

It is one of the oldest ways of processing coffee. And for a long time, coffee producers simply did what made sense for the place they were growing in.

Ethiopia and Brazil became famous for producing exceptional natural Arabicas for good reason. Both have regions where the climate and harvest season can provide the dry conditions needed to dry whole cherries reliably. In Ethiopia, particularly in the highland regions, dry sunny periods can make natural processing a practical choice. In Brazil, the relatively dry harvest season and large-scale patios made natural processing particularly well suited to the country.

In contrast, many of the wetter coffee-growing regions of Central America, Kenya and southern India developed a strong preference for washed processing. Removing the fruit before drying made it easier to control the drying process in climates where prolonged humidity and rainfall could make drying whole cherries difficult.

To me, there is something rather beautiful about that. Make the best of what climate and nature give you, rather than constantly trying to fight them. The process should work with the place, not against it.

Historically, natural processing was also often associated with less selectively harvested coffee, particularly where the extra labour and infrastructure required for washing could not be justified for lower-value lots. This sometimes meant that ripe, unripe and overripe cherries were processed together. That is very different from the carefully selected naturals being produced today, where the best lots can begin with only perfectly ripe cherries.

Which brings me to my problem with what the natural process has become.

It’s not very often that we feature a natural processed coffee on our website. Not because I have anything against naturals, but because I am not a big fan of what the natural process has become today. With the recent obsession with “funky” flavours, more often than not, fermentation defects are being passed off as specialty coffee.

When fermentation becomes so overpowering that it masks the actual character of the coffee, all you are left with is a generic fermentation note being described as winey, ripe guava, tropical fruit or whatever the flavour wheel demands that day. That, to me, is not coffee. You could get that same damned fermentation note from almost any fermented beverage!

A good natural, in my view, should do something very different. The fermentation should complement the coffee, not become the coffee. It should bring out what is already there rather than cover it up.

And producing one in India is not easy.

India’s coffee-growing regions are tropical, with substantial rainfall and a climate very different from the dry harvest conditions that make natural processing relatively straightforward in places such as Brazil. Finding a sufficiently dry window is not always easy. The cherries need to dry quickly enough to prevent uncontrolled fermentation, but slowly and evenly enough to preserve the character of the coffee.

For a farmer attempting a high-quality natural, every lot is therefore a bit of a gamble. You need ripe cherries, careful sorting and, above all, the right weather during drying. This is one of the reasons we often struggle with quantities when buying naturals. The farmer is taking a real risk with every lot.

So why Gundikhan?

This is precisely why Gundikhan Natural caught my attention.

Gundikhan produces some of the finest Arabicas I have come across, and I believe a part of that quality comes from what surrounds the coffee. The estate is blessed by nature, a remarkably diverse native ecosystem that feels very different from many of the coffee farms in the region, where native vegetation has largely disappeared and silver oaks remain primarily as shade trees.

I have been visiting coffee farms in this region since 2014, and I have rarely come across an estate with such a density of old native trees, undergrowth and other flora and fauna. Gundikhan almost feels like a forest that happens to grow coffee.

There is something naturally magical about coffee grown in such harmony with its ecosystem. The relationship between the forest and the coffee is a story in itself, and one for another day.

But that natural advantage is only the beginning.

The cherries are picked ripe, then carefully sorted by flotation and hand-garbled. They are laid out on raised beds, where good aeration and uniform drying are critical. Most importantly, the coffee is dried within an 18 to 24 day window.

And the difference is in the cup.

The gentle fermentation during drying complements a bean that was already blessed by nature. It adds a little sweetness, lets some ripe fruit shine through, but doesn’t bury the actual character of the coffee underneath a wall of fermentation.

You taste the coffee first, and the natural process second.

That, to me, is what a good natural should be.