Flanked by the two tribal hamlets of Petakana and Janiguda and located immediately adjacent to a protected forest area, SM Plantation is a young and relatively small coffee farm that is quickly gaining popularity for its ecotourism and farmstay offering. From the very start, the farm owner Mr. SN Satapathy had a clear idea of creating a lush green farm instead of a commercial plantation – a place where he could spend his retirement in tranquillity. The coffee plants here are intercropped with a variety of spices like pepper, cinnamon, cardamom, allspice along with different fruits and vegetables and retains a very homely vibe. Lack of proper technical guidance on farm practices, inadequate road accessibility, and virtually no access to the coffee market impeded the development of the plantation in the initial phase. However, things are now changing for the better in the last few years. Post retirement, Mr. Satapathy is now dedicatedly spending more time, energy and resources on improving cultural practices and infrastructural upgrades.
A generational transition is also underway as Mr. Satapathy is now assisted by his son and nephew, who are helping in farm management and the running the farmstay. With the focus of the plantation now firmly set on producing distinctive quality of specialty coffee, practices like highly selective picking, varietal segregation and tweak in post-harvest processing are being gradually implemented. The single-varietal naturals produced by the plantation this year has earned rave reviews and is slowly making its way into the offering of various domestic roasters. The future looks even more promising!
Cupping Notes: Depending on the varietal, the naturals have shown a range of notes like Butter Biscuits, Candy, Green Grape, Roasted Almonds, Nuts, Prune, Raisins, Red Apple, Apricot, Caramel
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