In Search of Coffee in Coorg
I drink only two cups of coffee a day. My day is spoilt if the coffee is bad or served at a wrong temperature.
I think the smell of freshly roasted coffee beans is one of the most heavenly aromas that exists in the world. I can get high just inhaling the smell of freshly roasted and ground coffee. It is so powerful, seductive and a truly beautiful devil in black!
I learnt to appreciate coffee at the age of thirty-seven and since then I have been tasting coffee at speciality coffee shops in and out of Singapore. The more types of coffee I tried, the more I want to try. From just drinking coffee made by others, I ventured into brewing coffee on my own and soon I became the owner of many coffee gadgets and accessories.
When I was in Papua New Guinea for ten days, I was drinking one of the best coffees from the Eastern Highlands. I did not stop at that. I visited coffee plantations in countries like Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Mexico, Thailand, and India. Within India, I have visited coffee plantations in the states of Odisha, Kerala and most recently Karnataka.
Karnataka produces about 71% of India’s coffee and Coorg in Karnataka produces 33% of India’s coffee! Coorg, a beautiful hill town is covered with acres of green, lush coffee plantations. I had to the pleasure of not just touring but also roasting and grinding my own coffee blend when I visited @fivefarms.in coffee plantation in Coorg.
I have not been exposed to Indian coffee much except when I am travelling in India. I became much more enlightened after my visit to @fivefarms.in and my meeting with Subbaiah and Ashith, partner and founders of @fivefarms.in.
Subbaiah and Ashith stay in a 75-year-old bungalow surrounded by the Malcode coffee estate in Chetthalli Village, Coorg, Karnataka. This coffee estate produces Arabica and Robusta coffee beans and the popular #Indianblackpepper — Paniyoor black Pepper.
The husband-wife team are third generation coffee farmers and founders of fivefarms.in – one of India’s premium single estate coffee stores. Subbaiah told me that they believe in very traditional plantation skills but ensure that they apply only modern roasting and grinding techniques to their coffee beans.
They conduct Seed to Cup tours of the coffee estate. I learnt the history of how coffee was discovered and brought to India, its culture, farming techniques including harvesting, inspection of the coffee plants, and production process from its raw state.
After the tour, I had the pleasure of sampling a sumptuous lunch prepared by Ashith and her mother-in-law, ending with a cup of freshly brewed coffee!
I left the farm with about a kilogram of freshly roasted and ground coffee!! Thank you @fivefarms.in
