Ours is a story of metamorphosis
The tale of a fragrance transforming into an aroma.
A fragrance in the courtyard
Coffee is a part of our heritage that we hold very close to our hearts. Encompassed by the verdurous foliage of teak and jack trees around his home, our founder and great grandfather Thomas T Mattel was a romantic who was irrevocably in love with nature. He was mesmerized by everything natural. The drifting scents, the textures of soil, the songs of the crickets, rain falling through the canopies and the vibrant hues of Mother Nature enraptured him.
On one occasion, mystified by a potent and divine fragrance, he began to seek its origin. His curiosity led him to discover the star-shaped, white clusters of blossoms that had bloomed on the trees in his home’s courtyard.
The visionary
Our founder was an avant-garde visionary who saw the world through his kaleidoscope. A bibliophile who ardently read books of all genre and origin, he had a soft corner for Arabian stories. He believed in the magical beans he read about in his treasured Arabian tales. He even drank his coffee the same way as the Levantine Arabs who drink it plain and black.
Witnessing the ancient magic of a fragrance turning into an aroma, he envisioned himself becoming a part of this subtle alchemy. His search for an ideal cultivation ground for coffee ended when he reached Wayanad. Thomas T Mattel was one of the first few cultivators who discovered the coffee farming prospects that the land of Wayanad proffered.
After many trials and tribulations, he succeeded in acquiring a coveted piece of land in the lap of Chitragiri. Dedicating himself to his vision, he began experimenting by filling empty rice sacks with soil and planting coffee beans in them to discover the ideal germination conditions for coffee plants.
The land of spicy hills
On unearthing the potential of the soil ‘the land of spicy hills’ held for coffee cultivation, our forefather began planting Arabica coffee plants on his procured land. On further observation, he decided to change over the crop species to attain a better-quality yield by shifting from Arabica to Robusta plants.
The tribal community of Wayanad became a part of the family as they joined hands to toil on our lands and harvest the crops. With time, he expanded his boundaries by acquiring land in Mangalore, Mysore, Nilambur and Wayanad. From the compact little haven in front of his home, his utopia of coffee plants and chirping nocturnal crickets now ranges across acres of land.
The fourth generation
The “third wave of coffee” is rolling across the whole world with a surge in artisanal admirers. The aroma of roasted coffee beans brings forth a sense of delight, tranquility and true beatitude. The natural and careful journey of the fragrant coffee blossoms becoming the aromatic coffee beans is a chronicle in itself.
The fourth generation of our family has taken up the mantle – to champion the legacy and persevere the tradition. We place our trust in our land, our workers, our family and in Mother Nature just as our ancestors. Shade-grown drupes, handpicked cherries and sun-dried beans form a sustainable specialty coffee brand that suits your palate and principles.
We at La Boisson Noire believe in quality complemented by legacy.