Waking up to coffee in Coorg!
An old dream of aroma & plantations, fulfilled!
It was sometime between 2016 and 2018. I was still active on Facebook then, and my cousin uploaded a photo with her arms stretched out amidst coffee plantations with the caption “Woke up to coffee”. I immediately made a mental note to add it to my travel bucket list!
Early coffee-loving days:
I’m from Assam - a region in northeast India famous for its tea, silk, and wildlife, amongst other things. I’ve grown up seeing Tea plantations.
But being a coffee drinker in this chai-crazy nation got me fascinated about coffee plantations instead!
At that time, I had almost zero knowledge about coffee though.
I have only tasted instant coffee at home and cold coffee & black coffee from popular coffee joints and a juice centre near my college.
I knew that I liked coffee better than tea and its aroma is most definitely one of my favourite fragrances!
My cousin’s picture made me imagine waking up to the aroma of coffee!
I thought the coffee plantations would smell like coffee just like a rose garden smells of roses!
Current status with morning caffeine kicks:
Today, my knowledge about coffee has grown for sure!
There is so much more to learn about this beverage - not just in terms of the end product but its growing process.
Probably, one day I can call myself a coffee connoisseur or aficionado!
But today I only know the basics. There are two varieties of coffee - arabica and robusta.
There are different types of roasts. There are different brewing techniques.
And at the end, of course, innumerable recipes!
Currently, I mostly prefer a cold brew - black, iced with a bit of milk (optional - literally a few drops). A friend saw me one morning having it in a whiskey glass and called it “Caffeine on the rocks!”
I probably like Robusta over Arabica and still figuring out my preferred roast.
Also, I loved the mad coffee recipes of Vietnam! Egg coffee was one of the highlights of my trip to Hanoi. (read the story from the link below)
(Read this interesting piece written by theroamingstoryteller about the history of Vietnam's unique coffee culture)
Coming back to the dream of waking up to coffee:
As a traveller, I mostly like experiential trips. Over the years, my dream changed to not just waking up to coffee but learning all about my favourite beverage that helps me start my day!
I wanted to learn about coffee - from farm to my cup.
This year, Jan 1, 2025, I finally did wake up at the coffee plantations in Coorg, with my family by my side. I went for plantation tours in two different estates.
My dream of waking up to coffee was finally fulfilled!
In both the estates, we woke up to a quiet sunrise and bird songs and started the morning slow with a local South Indian breakfast and filtered coffee.
Later in the tours, I learnt about coffee growing - the history, the seasonal process, and the environment they maintain to keep the estate flourishing.
I learnt that roasting is another game altogether, and one of the guides suggested that Italians do it the best. (Mentally, added this to my travel bucket list).
However “waking up to the coffee aroma” was not possible because coffee plantations do not smell of coffee!
But I have been waking up to the aroma of coffee, almost every morning, for so many years now. After all, making my morning cup of caffeine kick is a constant favourite of my daily life!
In that case, my dream has been fulfilled every single day - and I realized it just recently!
Here’s a prompt! Think hard - Is there anything that has been a dream ten years ago and you are living it now? Let’s take a moment to rejoice for a little fulfilled dream today!
I am Namrata Gohain, a designer-turned-storyteller, writer and content producer. I document stories on responsible travel, crafts, cuisine, slow living and my creative journey.
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In South India, January is the best time to have a wholesome coffee plantation experience as that's the harvest season.
I visited end-of-December, and thankfully the harvesting had begun by then. :)
Hi, fellow coffee lover.
You know what, these days, I am also learning a lot about coffee. Its types, brewing techniques, etc. :)