New Coffee, The Planter's Life And Estate Trails: Here's How You Can Get A Real Caffeine Kick

Amidst infinity pools, coffee plantations, and bungalows, you can check out the whole bean to cup experience through a plantation trail in Coorg. Plus, a new coffee by the Tata group.

Coffee plantation trails are quite the fun. And with Coorg being just a road trip away from Bangalore, you know you’ve got a chance to see how a morning cuppa is made from scratch. Perhaps the best way to go about your coffee experience is to drive down to the 180 acres of sprawling rainforest resort of Taj Madikeri Resort & Spa, where amidst all the greens, luxury, wildlife, and you’ve got yourself a weekend getaway with bae or the fam. Oh, did we tell you that the place also has wait for it… 30,000 square feet of spa. Yup, just spa! The resort organises coffee plantation tours that you can take part in, but that’s of course before you’ve tucked in some authentic Kodava cuisines at Nellaki. I got here after a five-hour journey and was famished. And clearly, it was a good thing. In the spirit of their new coffee launch, the Tata Coffee Grand, there was a specially curated menu that incorporated the instant coffee into the recipes of the dishes.

The multiple course meal was kicked off by an amuse bouche using the coffee powder. This was followed by a fresh salad, perhaps the best we’ve had in a while. It got a bold Tata Coffee Grand espresso dressing for a serious caffeine kick. But what stole the show was the innovative main course. It was your usual New Zealand lamb chop, but with a perky coffee and Pirangi chilli rub. And I highly recommend you do a version of this dish at home, just the way it was done here. I know I will. All one needs is some Tata Coffee Grand. Wrapping up the meal was a Chocolate Raspberry Tart with white coffee ice cream, and what a good note it was.

After that, it was onward to the estates so some coffee plantation exploring. But first, a night at the charming Woshully Bungalow, to live the planter’s life!

Part of the Plantation Trails by Tata Coffee, you’ve got yourself a three bedroom bungalow at Woshully, which was formerly the estate manager’s residence. Upped with all your modern amenities including AC and WiFi, the property still retains its typical Kodava charm and architecture. Read more about that here. Bird watching and plantation trails are organised by the bungalow, so be sure to get your ornithology hat on as you learn about Hill Mynas, Babblers, and the White-bellied Blue Flycatchers.

Like they say, to be a successful planter, you’ve got to get your hands dirty. Or maybe that is what I think they say! But nothing like a plantation tour to understand how coffee grows and the transformation from bean to instant decoction. Our itinerary the next morning included the whole bean to mug experience where we learned about how this coffee is made using a technology called Freeze Dried Coffee. The exciting tour is also an opportunity to see for yourself all the stages of coffee cultivation — from the blossoming to the ready-to-pluck stage and washing, drying and roasting to the final product. By the end of the tour, you’ll be an expert at not only picking the right beans but also being able to tell your Arabicas from your Robustas.

The writer was invited on a FAM trip organised by the Tata Global Beverages Limited {TGBL} team.