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Araku Valley: Where the wild coffee grows

8 Photos . Updated: 23 Feb 2019, 08:50 AM IST Diya Kohli
  • The green hills, microclimates and diverse terrain of Araku Valley offer the perfect conditions for growing coffee
  • Strict quality control is maintained through every stage of growing, harvesting and processing in order to create international-standard speciality coffee
Viewed from a hot-air balloon 1,000ft above ground, Araku Valley is a canvas of green hills and paddy fields. This is the unique perspective that the Araku Balloon Festival hopes to offer its guests, creating a new kind of tourism experience in the valley. Photo: Aniruddha Chowdhury/Mint
1/8Viewed from a hot-air balloon 1,000ft above ground, Araku Valley is a canvas of green hills and paddy fields. This is the unique perspective that the Araku Balloon Festival hopes to offer its guests, creating a new kind of tourism experience in the valley. Photo: Aniruddha Chowdhury/Mint
Responsibilities are usually divided in the coffee-growing families, with women entrusted with the labour-intensive task of picking uniformly red coffee cherries. Photo: Aniruddha Chowdhury/Mint
2/8Responsibilities are usually divided in the coffee-growing families, with women entrusted with the labour-intensive task of picking uniformly red coffee cherries. Photo: Aniruddha Chowdhury/Mint
Crimson-red cherries indicate the ripeness which is essential to create high-quality coffee that matches global standards. Photo: Aniruddha Chowdhury/Mint
3/8Crimson-red cherries indicate the ripeness which is essential to create high-quality coffee that matches global standards. Photo: Aniruddha Chowdhury/Mint
The procurement process for the Araku Coffee brand, owned by an Adivasi cooperative, is meticulous, and the cherries are weighed and graded in front of the farmers. Photo: Aniruddha Chowdhury/Mint
4/8The procurement process for the Araku Coffee brand, owned by an Adivasi cooperative, is meticulous, and the cherries are weighed and graded in front of the farmers. Photo: Aniruddha Chowdhury/Mint
The iconic red truck is a symbol of pride for villages which consistently deliver a high yield of perfectly matured cherries. Photo: Aniruddha Chowdhury/Mint
5/8The iconic red truck is a symbol of pride for villages which consistently deliver a high yield of perfectly matured cherries. Photo: Aniruddha Chowdhury/Mint
Coffee cherries are sent to the central processing unit (CPU) the same day they are harvested. Here, the skin and pulp is removed through wet and dry methods. Wet processing involves the cherries being washed, fermented and stripped to seed through multiple machines. Photo: Aniruddha Chowdhury/Mint
6/8Coffee cherries are sent to the central processing unit (CPU) the same day they are harvested. Here, the skin and pulp is removed through wet and dry methods. Wet processing involves the cherries being washed, fermented and stripped to seed through multiple machines. Photo: Aniruddha Chowdhury/Mint
After washing, the seeds are dried on raised beds and raked regularly to rid them of moisture. Photo: Aniruddha Chowdhury/Mint
7/8After washing, the seeds are dried on raised beds and raked regularly to rid them of moisture. Photo: Aniruddha Chowdhury/Mint
The green coffee beans are stored in temperature-controlled rooms before being sent on to Araku Coffee’s roastery in Hyderabad. Photo: Aniruddha Chowdhury/Mint 
8/8The green coffee beans are stored in temperature-controlled rooms before being sent on to Araku Coffee’s roastery in Hyderabad. Photo: Aniruddha Chowdhury/Mint 
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