The Provenance Ledger

Hill, gate, grade,
bag, harbour.

Every consignment that leaves Sulthan Bathery carries five lives behind it. The grower, the buyer, the grader, the packer, the shipper. This page is the ledger of how that chain works — in our hands, on paper.

§ 01 · The Place

A district built on shade and elevation.

Wayanad sits at 700 to 2100 metres on the Western Ghats — a UNESCO biodiversity hotspot. The district contributes around 80% of Kerala's total coffee production. Robusta dominates here at 70% of output; the rest is Arabica, pepper, cardamom, ginger and forest-fringe spice.

The bean grows under a layered canopy — silver oak above, coffee in the middle, pepper vines climbing, cardamom and ginger on the floor. This isn't sustainable as an aesthetic — it's just how the hills work.

§ 02 · The Five Stages

How a lot earns its card
before it earns its bag.

STAGE · 01

Collection

Our field buyers move through Pulpally, Mavu and Bathery every week of the harvest. The cherry is weighed at the gate, the price set against that morning's mark — and the lot is recorded in the field ledger before it leaves the farm. Cash settlement, no paper trail wasted.

Field-side weigh Same-day settlement Lot ID assigned

STAGE · 02

Grading

At our Sulthan Bathery unit the lot meets the bench: size sorting on calibrated screens, density measurement on a column, moisture meter for storage stability, defect count by hand. The card is filled out lot-by-lot — what came in, what went forward, what got rejected.

Screen 17/15 · 13 · <13 Density column Moisture ≤ 11.5% Hand defect count

STAGE · 03

Processing

Cleaning, polishing, and drying as the buyer specifies. Sun-drying for the natural lots, low-heat tray-drying when the rain doesn't cooperate, vacuum-packing for the Arabicas and cardamoms that need it. No bleaching agents. No solvents. No filler.

No solvents No bleaches Buyer-spec roast Vacuum option

STAGE · 04

Packaging

Jute, PP, or vacuum foil. 5, 10, 25, 30, 50 or 60 kg. Country mark, lot stamp, batch number, processor signature — printed directly on the bag or applied as a tamper-evident sticker. Private-label and own-brand both supported.

Jute · PP · vacuum Private label Lot stamp Country mark

STAGE · 05

Dispatch

Cochin port for the southbound corridors, Mangalore for the Gulf. Phytosanitary certificate, lot card, packing list, invoice — packed in the courier folder before the truck leaves our gate. FOB, CIF or DDP — your call.

Cochin · Mangalore Phytosanitary cert FOB · CIF · DDP

§ 03 · The Paper

What goes in the folder
with every container.

DOC · 01

Phytosanitary

Issued by India's Department of Plant Quarantine. Confirms the consignment is free of pests & disease.

DOC · 02

Lot Card

Our own format. Lot ID, farm origin band, grading record, moisture, processing method — printed and signed.

DOC · 03

Certificate of Origin

For Wayanad Robusta — the GI confirmation rides with the consignment, attached to the BL.

DOC · 04

Lab & Spec Sheet

Moisture, ASTA colour, curcumin, volatile oil — whichever specs the lot was sold on, with test reference.

See it on paper

Ask for a sample lot card.

We'll send a redacted lot card with a real sample. Read the chain, taste the bean.

Request sample & card