Heart of India’s coffee countryGiven its salubrious summer and fine winter climate, its neat and orderly coffee plantations and scenic country vistas, Coorg has emerged as a high-potential tourism destination-Set in the declining but still green Western Ghats in the south-west of Karnataka (pop. 52.7 million), Coorg is the heart of India‚s coffee country. During high season (April-June), the entire district is enveloped by the aroma of the roasted bean ‚ the world‚s most heavily traded commodity after crude oil. With its panoramic vistas, green valleys, thick forest cover and rolling hills and dales, Coorg is known as the Scotland of India for its wet and windy climate. Though one of Karnataka‚s 27 districts, Coorg (pop. 485,299) boasts a land area of 4,102 sq. km ‚ four times larger than Hong Kong and seven times the area of Singapore ‚ most of it under tree cover because unlike tea plants, the coffee bush requires shade. In a global agri-industry dominated by Brazil which produces 36 percent (192 million tonnes) of the world‚s coffee output annually (cf. India‚s 0.36 million tonnes), India is acknowledged as the producer of the finest mild coffees. With their tropical climate, high altitude (3,500 ft), abundant rainfall and fertile soil, Coorg and the neighbouring Chickmagalur districts in Karnataka have consistently produced and exported high quality coffee for over 150 years. The coffee output of these two districts accounts for 70 percent of the total coffee produced in the country. Coorg coffee is valued for its blue colour, clean beans and fine liquoring qualities and hence is in high demand in the international markets (nearly 80 percent of coffee production is exported). The numerous coffee estates here grow some of the world‚s best species ‚ arabica and robusta ‚ which are blended to suit national and individual palates. In March and April ‚ coffee blossom time in Coorg ‚ the snow-white flowers of the coffee bush waft a heady fragrance and present unforgettable vistas to visitors. When blossoms transform into berries, the bushes are cropped. The cherry-red fruit is then pulped, the seeds separated, dried and sent for curing. A holiday on a coffee plantation can provide the visitor a heady first-hand education experience of the entire process of coffee production from harvest to shop shelf. But there‚s more to Coorg or Kodagu (the name of the district in Kannada, the official language of Karnataka). This district is also one of the largest producers of pepper, cardamom and honey in the world.Not much is known about the early history of Coorg. Recorded history is available only from 1600 AD onwards when Kodava rajas ruled over the region and established their capital at Mercara by constructing a mud-walled fort. The martial Kodavas troubled Hyder Ali and his son Tipu Sultan who ruled the Mysore region in the 18th century by way of sporadic rebellions and violent insurrections. But in 1785 Tipu‚s large army marched into Kodagu and devastated the kingdom. Fourteen years later, with the help of the…
