January 2010

Yahava goes to India

Our motorbike adventure to India all began on the
4th January 2010. We hope you enjoy our magical trip as much as we did.

Below are faces of people who put so much work, effort and love into the simple green bean we roast for you each day. Sometimes it's nice to reflect on them as you're drinking your morning cup.

20 December 2009
Our transport: This is the best way to get around the coffee plantations. All set and ready to go! Ready and waiting in Bangalore. Royal Enfield motorcycles are still built new in India. These are our transport for the coffee harvest.

Hope they still look this good when we are done!

The Plan: Heading from Bangalore to Hassan to Koopa and on to Coorg and Ooty by motorcycle you ride down highways crammed with bikes, cars, kamikaze buses, cows, pigs, horses and goats as well as the odd elephant. The roads in South India while being improved, are death defying on motorcycle.

The things your team at Yahava go through to get you great coffee!

4 January 2010: Bangalore bean Hunters
Location: Bangalore

Arriving at Bangalore International.

Breakfast in Bangers. Masala Dosa, Indly and Paratha.

Picking up the bikes.

Bangalores traffic is a little scary! Once underway it's actually a lot scary. We headed for Hassan and didn't reach there until dark. Bus drivers will run you off the road if they want the space you're in. Seriously not for the faint hearted.

Meeting and lunch with Devia from Allana Coffee. Devia LOVES our Iced Koffee so we always bring him a bottle or two.

7 January: The Allana Coffee Plant
Location: Hassan

Raking coffee on the "Patio" for drying.
Cupping at Alana Coffee. We cupped Monsoon Malabar

Arabica and Robusta as well as various plantations A grade. Final sorting for the highest grade coffee. This is done after machine sorting at this plant, ensuring very high grades.
More coffee being spread onto the patio's (also known as barbeques).

8 January: Kelagur Coffee & Tea
Location: South Western India

We travelled from Hassan high up into the mountains.

The Royal Enfields ate up the miles at a average speed of 50kmph! The plantation is beautiful but like the others has suffered damaging rains.

Looking down from the accommodation over the tea trees.
Next morning the light hitting the trees is fantastic. The thinned canopy is carefully prunned to provide 35% shade as the sun moves across the plantation.

Coffee! Final sorting before pulpping.

Alex helping with the processing. Hardest he's worked all year!

Tea plantations & processing

Tea is picked every 10 days so the fields always look this good.

It is then sent to the Tea processing plant.

The picked leaves are blown overnight with fresh cool air.

They are then cut finer and finer at each step on this machine. Tea cut tea is then encouraged to lose its moisture. The cut tea tumbles through this machine to lose its moisture.

The tea is then collected......and spread on the floor in sections. Here it will lose its green colour and naturally turn the dark brown we know.Here you can see the colour change.

Then black tea needs to be fired. 3 kgs of wood is burned to produce 1 kg of black tea.

This machine applies the heat to the tea.

Which is then sorted by a series of machines - to remove stalks and any other matter first -- then to sort into grades for pot or finer grades for tea bags.

No... tea bag tea is not sweepings off the floor!

This is then bagged by hand in this small plant.

Small scales and hand filling bags.

Kelagur Tea.

10 - 12 January : Devon Estate Tea & Coffee
Location: Koppa Karnataka India

This is Devon Estate Coffee & Tea. They grow tea, robusta and arabica coffee. Great people and we enjoyed playing cricket with the plantation children.

Driving in to Devon on the first day. A very beautiful tea garden.

The Arabica S795 and Pulp Natural ‘Honey Coffee’ was grown at their sister plantation 4 hours drive away in the region and foothills of Merthi Mountain.

Coffee drying beds.

Coffee cupping in search of the finest Indian Arabica, we think we may have found something very good. Until we taste it with WA water and on our machines we will not be certain. But it is VERY promising.

Playing cricket against the whole village. Not sure who won! But great fun, wonderful friendly people.

12 -15 January: "The Guru"
Location: Madekeri

Drove to Madekeri and arrived in the middle of the night due to major road construction, lack of direction, bad weather, dangerous public transport, holy cows etc to be met by an interesting man we named “The Guru” .

We were welcomed into his palatial home overlooking the town and enjoying a hot shower, scotch and good conversation.

After a well earned sleep, we were driven to Ottumani estate and introduced to the pulp natural processing and amazing Honey Coffee.

After a traditional Coorg pork curry lunch we enjoyed a game of snooker at the Madekeri Gentlemen’s Club.

15 -16 January: The Elephant experience
Location: Tamil country

On our way to Gudalur, we entered Tamil country and the National Wildlife Park where tigers, elephants, antelope, wild boar and vicious monkeys roam freely and enjoy chasing motorcyclist. 

The Gatekeeper told us not to stop for any reason and keep a minimum speed of 50kms! 

John decided to stop and take photos of an elephant grazing....the elephant was photo shy and stampeded towards John who could only just get away in time.

It took Scott and Alex until bedtime the day after to stop laughing about Johns encounter with a killer elephant...we suggested he reads the signs next time.

16 January
Location:Tamilnadu

Coffee 'Drive In' on the way South -Badra Stop - Actually not a bad cup and nice food

Heading up massive mountain roads. Scott carves it on his Enfield.

Asking directions doesn't come naturally to men. But if you want to find your way you better get used to it! People everywhere love to help.

Another great plantation. Mainly robusta but we learnt a lot here. This is a Rainforest Alliance plantation and they have taken great steps to protect the environment.

A sea of coffee cherries!

Scott and John helping with the pulping. Nothing like getting your hands dirty to truly understand the business.

Despite all the machinery - some things are best done the old ways.

Most Indian plantations seem to look after their workers well. We met many happy children and handed out gifts we bought with us. The plantations typically have their own schools and hospitals and this one had just built this entertainment and community rooms. With large screen satellite TV.

Civet cat parchment (or cat poo coffee) is gathered daily for sale. fetches a premium dollar on the export market.

Good looking coffee here.

17 January
Location: Guidulur

We found an old Organic plantation that was the first to move to Organic certification. Their coffee looks good and samples are on their way to us. However production is just 30 tonnes at this stage so we may only be able access a few bags and we will have to pay a premium - ok if its good!

Here we are around 5000 feet up with peaks well above us. Quite beautiful.! At the bottom of the pic you can see the coffee beans being laid in the sun for drying. Being an organic plantation they use the ground sheets rather than concrete.

Here batches of yesterdays picking are drying. It looks really very good. Consistent and clean. Good size beans.

OK we get a lot of questions about Monkey parchment coffee - not so keen now huh?

Cherries still ripening. A friendly picker shows a handful.

An angry elephant caused all this damage. At 6500 feet up this plantation is on the edge of elephant country. They regularly come down and damage the coffee trees. The locals accept this as a fact of life. Even if an elephant hurts or kills someone it is never hunted

17-19 January
Location: Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Kanataka

Heading further into the mountains, through Tamil Nadu/Ooty. This major tourist region is located at the tri-junction of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Kanataka.

It is 8000ft above sea level and is located in an area called The Blue Mountain.  It’s a place where locals holiday in the summer because its much cooler.  

After a day of riding across a network of potholes we had to turn round as we run out of road. Two days later we arrived at the west coast to make our way up towards civilisation-Goa!

On our way to Goa, Alex decided to eat some local prawns and ended up in hospital with a bad, bad, bad belly! Unable to ride any further,  Scott and John came to the rescue and found a vehicle to pick him and his bike up from the side of the road where they left him a few hours before. 

19 January: India's West Coast
Location: Calicut / Mangalore / Goa

We have come down from the beautiful mountains to India's busy west coast. This guy is chopping bricks by hand. A common practice on building sites!Cows everywhere on the roads in India. Animals roam freely around the town of old Goa.

We took plenty of small toys to hand out to kids. They loved it.I got a little attached to one particular kangaroo. I named him Ulu the roo! Here he is hanging on for dear life. He spent most of the trip staring at me to get me to slow down.

Always obey the law when traveling. Saves so much time.
All kinds of animals can be found hanging out on the side of the road. Not tethered, just hangin

21 - 25 January: Last Days in India
Location: Goa

We are winding down now after a hectic trip. Tired bodies, tummies and minds. Arriving in Goa, Alex was put to bed and we went out to celebrate!

Aguada Central Jail in Goa. As the sign says...this jail is still operatiing.

A beach ship on the Goa coast.

Goa has huge mines, these barges run all day ferrying minerals out to many ships waiting in the bay

Aguada fort on the Goa coast.

A Beach Party every night at Goa

Old Goa has a strong Portuges influence. With a number of old buildings left from their rule.

Goodbye India.

We will be back...

The Koffee Baron