Nolen Noir - An Ode to Artisans
At Earth Story Farms, we closed this harvest with a gentle sigh; the kind that rises when a season asks for everything, and the land replies in its calm, unhurried voice.
Two years ago, we began listening more intently than ever before; to the three soils that shape our farm: the iron-rich Laal Maati, the moisture-holding Bele Maati, and the alluvial Moram stretches. We watched how each held water differently, how some drew sweeter sap only when their roots drank from deeper, slower moisture, and how older, stoic trees offered richer nectar on mist-heavy mornings.
It wasn’t experimentation; it was devotion — a practice of stepping back and letting nature decide which trees would yield the most honest sweetness. Across seasons, generous and stubborn, we mapped which soils whispered the right minerals, which pockets breathed the right humidity, and which palms carried that unforced sweetness that cannot be manufactured or hurried.
From that long, patient conversation emerged a sap unlike anything we had tasted here, gentle, deep, quietly complex. A sap that felt as though the land had chosen it. From these select saps came a gur we knew had to be held with dignity, stirred without shortcuts, cooked slowly over mellow Sonajhuri wood, and allowed to thicken in its own time. Just craft, patience, and respect.
Only 300 bottles exist — because the land offered only this much, and we refused to take more than what came naturally, freely, willingly.
This is our ode to the trees that gave with restraint, to the soils that existed long before us and will remain long after, and to the artisans who know how to honour them. If this gur carries power, it is the power of humility — of cycles continuing, of land teaching us that sincere listening yields flavours that feel like quiet blessings.
We remain deeply grateful to Bhaskar Chitrakar, the last living keeper of the Kalighat Patachitra tradition, for lending his hands and history to a culinary gem that itself survives only through art; to the sandesh chhanch makers of Notun Baajar, who carve devotion the way their forefathers once did; and to the people of Earth Story Farms, who believe that craft, land, and patience speak louder than scale.
Their work reminds us of something profound: art forms do not fade from lack of beauty; they fade when we stop listening. Revival begins when we choose to listen again.
And now, our Nolen Noir is yours to love — offered with pride and humility. Because this is how Earth Story Farms has always begun, and this is where we will always return.
The Nolen Noir box contains:
300g of Nolen Noir: Shaped by its terroir and made with deep reverence, this gur carries the soil, season, and the quiet devotion we poured our souls into.
A sondesh mould cum fridge magnet: A hand-carved sondesh mould to make sondesh with, today, and to keep on your fridge forever, as a lasting memory of a living craft.
A vial of Moram Maati: The very soil that nourished this harvest; sealed as is, so you can meet the land that shaped the gur, firsthand.
Our love and deepest thanks: For supporting and sustaining near - extinct crafts; the making of gur, the legacy of Kalighat patachitra, and the painstaking art of sondesh - chhanch making.
For bulk orders of our Nolen Noir box, please reach out to us on +91-6289519925.