Coffee is loved all over the world and especially in South India for centuries, unlike North India aligned to Tea. The British first brought in coffee cultivation about 3 centuries back into Coorg. All the plantations were established by the British and managed by them. They hired the local manpower, the Kodavas for upkeep of the Coffee Estates. During the course of time, Kodavas too acquired the skills and stated coffee plantations. Kodavas means Coorgi, a person from Coorg District.

The Kodavas are basically tribes in the forest land known for their bravery and hunting skills. They started hunting the wild boars and other forest animals to protect their plantations from being destroyed.

The coffee walk will take you through the coffee plantation and give you a first hand experience on the coffee plants and coffee. Coffee cultivation is an annual affair and takes a complete year for a new yield.

The types of coffee are Robusta, Arabica and Pea Berry. Robusta and Arabica are grown in Coorg.

The plant start flowering around pre-monsoon shower, called Mungaru male in Kannada. After these showers the flowers open up and blossom. During this time entire Coorg is filled these white charming coffee flowers smelling sweet like Jasmine. After about 7 to 10 days they dry up and start forming the seed. The seed takes about 6 months to become a 1cm sphere and once they ripen, i.e. when they become dark red, they are ready to be picked.

The Coffee picking starts during December-January and normally a month long process. The picked red cherries are dried; they become brown and dry and then packed into 50kg bags and sold to the Coffee curing works.

The Coffee curing works will separate the seed and pulp and then buyers pick it up. These seeds are roasted and ground to make Coffee Powder which can be used by us.