Karunai Raj farms at Palamalai, in Adukkam. His family settled on this hill a few decades ago.
His plot is a forty five minute walk uphill from the village, and through the harvest he makes that walk every morning. He picks only the fruit that is ripe, then carries it back down the same day with his wife and children back to the village for post harvest processing.
His produces holds a florality and a malic, green apple/ plum acidity. We found it in Lot 003 last season, and it is here again in Lot 011.
He has told us that picking red fruit only is what changed both the quality of his coffee and the price he is paid for it.
VITHAI — HARVEST TRANSPARENCY
The Harvest Story
Karunai Raj
Greengage · Honeysuckle · Cardamom
Red Catuai
1500 MASL
Washed
Palamalai, Adukkam
Our hands-on selective-harvesting training — picking only fully ripe cherry — lifts cup quality directly, and because we pay a quality premium on clean fruit, it lifts farmer revenue in the same motion.
Karunai Raj
FARMER