COURTESY OF SERAI CHIKMAGALUR (2)between arabica and robusta—the two main
types of coffee grown here—and the grading
process that segregates the beans according
to quality, one’s interest is piqued. Most coffee
plantations, he tells us, grow a variety of cash
crops too, like pepper and other spices, fruits,
and more. Towering rosewoods, teaks, and silver
oaks provide shade for the coffee plants. India is
said to produce some of the finest shade-grown
coffee in the world, most of it concentrated in the
Karnataka–Tamil Nadu–Kerala belt. Apart from
shading the coffee bushes, wood from these trees
is used to make furniture for The Serai resorts and
Café Coffee Day outlets around India.
Since it is neither flowering nor picking
season, we have to be content with green coffee
berries on bushes. But further mysteries of
coffee’s journey from bean to cup are waiting
to be revealed. Mohan holds forth on the various
grades of coffee, the exact proportions of arabica
to robusta (a closely held secret), and how much
chicory is recommended (never more than
20 per cent). Later, we go into town to visit Coffee
Day’s curing and roasting units.
The coffee estate that The Serai Chikmagalur
is set in, is on the edge of the town, but there
is no evidence of a seven-acre resort within
even when you roll in through the gates. The
driveway is long enough to give pause, and when
you step into the lobby, you’re still flummoxed
by the continuing wilderness. When the penny
drops, the explanation is ridiculously simple.
The resort is built along the slope of the rolling
hillside, the lobby situated at the highest point
of the built-up area. The open-air reception area
looks down upon a courtyard with a lawn and
infinity pool, and out on to the verdant coffee
estate, the town of Chikmagalur, and the forests
and valleys beyond.
The weather stays agreeable here all year
round, but the monsoon adds a fresh coat of
brilliance to the landscape, to the rolling hills,
lush forests, sprawling plantations, peaks and
valleys, and waterfalls. This year, the rains have
been abundant and in the blink of an eye, a fine
drizzle can turn into a downpour. The resortFrom top: Electric
buggies ferry guests
within the resort; the
high-ceilinged lobby
uses local accents.The monsoon adds a fresh coat of brilliance
to the landscape, to the rolling hills,
lush forests, sprawling plantations, peaks
and valleys, and waterfalls.
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