Melkodige Estate VCR

Saccharomyces-Inoculated Anaerobic Natural · Filter

A distinctive Variety Costa Rica from Melkodige Estate, selected for its ripe fruit potential and given a long, controlled fermentation before slow shade drying.

In the cup

Stewed Berries · Prune · Tangerine

Rich stewed berries and prune give the cup depth, with tangerine bringing a clear citrus edge through the finish.

Coffee details

Producers
Aveen & Yogitha Rodrigues

Farm
Melkodige Estate

Origin
Chikmagalur, Karnataka

Variety
VCR · Variety Costa Rica

Process
Saccharomyces-Inoculated Anaerobic Natural

Elevation
1,280 metres

Roast
Filter

The coffee

Variety Costa Rica is one of the more distinctive cultivars grown at Melkodige Estate, valued by the producers for both its resilience and its potential in the cup. Its bold, oblong seeds and naturally high cherry sugar levels make it particularly suited to natural processing.

For this lot, only ripe red cherries measuring 20° Brix and above are selectively hand-picked. After flotation and a brief surface-drying stage, the cherries are evenly inoculated with Saccharomyces yeast and sealed in food-grade barrels for 80 hours of anaerobic fermentation.

A short period in the sun brings fermentation to a close before the cherries move into shaded polyhouses, where they dry slowly for 17 to 20 days with regular turning. The finished coffee is then rested in jute for 60 days before release.

What emerges is a deeper, fruit-led expression of VCR, moving from dark, ripe fruit and prune into a more defined citrus finish.

The producers

Melkodige Estate is home to Aveen and Yogitha Rodrigues, a husband-and-wife team of trained horticulturists who bring both scientific curiosity and a deeply personal connection to the farm.

Coffee has been part of the family for generations, but their approach is very much their own: experimenting with varieties, paying close attention to cultivation and processing, and continually looking for new ways to understand what the farm can express.

Roasting

Roasted for filter to keep the cup defined, allowing the darker fruit to develop while preserving the clearer citrus notes through the finish.

Brewing

Recommended for filter.