Cauvery Peak — Restaurant in Tamil Nadu

Update - 1. Could you please justify your charges of Rs 500 for 5 year olds and 7 year olds?

During our visit, we only saw pictures of materials and beans. Didn't see anything being roasted. Never smelled the aroma at all. Never got to taste black coffee or milk coffee or any coffee as a drink / sample. Experience, it seems. Did you read the part where I had said that it is understandable we cannot see milling in process? Does coffee roasting follow seasonal schedules too according to you?! Perhaps coffee grinding as well? 500 bucks worth, you said?

Let me tell you what we did the following day. We visited an old friend of mum. She owns a small coffee estate. We visited her without much notice. She showed us parts of her estate. Showed us her green coffee beans and also beans roasted to that perfect brown. The aroma was divine. Then we went to another tiny room with a coffee grinder. She ground the beans in front of us, to suit her Indian filter. Brewed us some 100% pure Arabica black coffee and served it with jaggery. Then she showed us a chicory root and chicory powder to smell and feel. Then she brewed another drink with chicory. Strong milk coffee. We SAW, SMELLED, TASTED and FELT the difference between pure coffee and adulterated one. Then she brewed some of your Glenfell low-altitude coffee. It tasted ever-so-slightly different from her own due to the altitude difference. Now THAT is what I call an experience. All of this so casually for an unannounced visitor. In a smallish home. Infrastructure was nothing compared to your estate. But SO MUCH value. Thankful she did this so we understood even more what a waste of time your tour "experience" is. And here, what a lousy justification you manage to provide!

--------Had to delete parts of the original review to accommodate rejoinder.

This is where the tour went downhill literally and figuratively, because the new guide who took over from here, seemed in a hurry to go.

My mother spotted a couple of coffee grinders the likes of which she had used in her ancestral home, and she temporarily became the guide for this batch of eager visitors (by now all of us were eager to get ANY value for the money we paid for this tour and the guide had decided not to linger around to explain).

Overall, the MOST STRIKING feature of this "coffee experience tour" is that, till this stage, we hadn't experienced - seen / smelled / felt - any ingredient / raw material / processed material - anything AT ALL in any part of the tour! NOT EVEN A WHIFF OF COFFEE. No virtual presentations of various stages of wet-processing or milling. No real demos of coffee beans being roasted. No samples of coffee from each of the estates to experience the difference in flavours to understand better. No way of knowing what makes this 100% pure Arabica coffee so great. No explanations or visual guides to different kinds of coffee beans (especially the inferior ones, so one can appreciate quality better - now THAT is what a TRUE experience must give you!).

The price we had to pay - a hefty INR 500 PER PERSON including the children (there were 4 kids with us, 2 of them just about 7 years old, one was 5 and we had to pay a full 500 for ALL of them). Also, charging the same for harvest-season and non-season tours, makes absolutely no sense, especially when there are no in-house videos of how the machines work or touch-and-feel of materials at any point of the tour. Overall, the experience we had, was FAR LESS enlightening than had we chosen to see a free video tour on YouTube. Please take my word, and see that instead. Scenic view points, an uninterested guide, a bunch of non-functioning machinery, heirloom furniture and school ID cards are not really worth a lump sum of your hard earned money. You are welcome.

The nicest experiences of the day especially for the children, were the ~20 km drive that brought us to the estate from Yercaud town, a scenic detour enroute to make a quick stop at Nallur Falls, and spotting water snakes at the pond outside the estate. And all these were...

We traveled from Salem to Yercaud. Since we already had been to Yercaud and had covered the usual sightseeing spots, this time we decided to take the loop road to explore Cauvery Peak / Cauvery Estate.

The route that we followed for one day trip: Yercaud Lake - Shevaroys Temple and viewpoint - Karadiyur View Point - Cauvery Peak - Manjakuttai View point - back to home.

Cauvery Peak / Cauvery Estate - This is the main spot that we want to cover. This is a 100+ year old coffee estate offering estate tours. However, tours are given using your own car. There are NO estate-owned vehicle tours (We went during Dec 2021 and this was the status then. Check with Cauvery peak for the latest information).

Two types of tours are available - one in your own vehicle and the second, again using your own vehicle but some distance will be covered on a horse ride.

The guide usually comes in your own car along with you and if there are many vehicles then they all just need to follow the car in which guide is there. I am not sure about the timings but we went around 2 PM and we were put in the 3:45 PM batch. Depending on the crowd they are managing the timings.

What is covered as part of the coffee estate tour:

Firstly, at the entrance of the estate itself is the museum where you get to see all the types of machinery and other items related to coffee making process. The guide will explain to you in detail on the coffee-making process. Once done board back on the car and then you will travel through the beautiful coffee estate, I meant in between the coffee plantations.

The second stop is at the private lake (Manmade. Not natural). You will get down to take pictures and walk around it.

Thirdly, you will see the beautiful Kombai Valley View just adjacent to the private lake. This is a private viewpoint and only people entering the coffee estate get to see it. The public cannot see this view from anywhere else. This viewpoint overlooks the valleys and Salem city.

Fourth, after this, you get back into your car, and then they will take you to the coffee-making unit (Village Granary). This is one part of the process and is also the final spot within the estate.

The fifth stop is at the outside, near the refreshment area, where they will show how the coffee is roasted and powdered (Processing Unit). This concludes the tour. And yes there is no free/sample coffee tasting being offered as part of this trip which I think should have been there at least considering the entrance ticket cost that we pay for. The entrance ticket per head was Rs. 500. We went during December month and this is exactly the harvesting season too so most of the coffee fruits were cherry red. There is a period when they do plantation and a period when they do the harvest. Also, within the estate, you will see Orange trees, Pepper trees, and Lemon trees in between the coffee plantation.

There's a coffee shop/refreshment area where you get a few varieties of coffee and a few snacks and cake items. Also, they sell the coffee powders that they make it here.

Plan accordingly and reach the spot as early as possible so that you can see it in proper sunlight. Only snack items are there so plan for your meal accordingly.

There's a bus stop at this Cauvery peak but to opt for the tour you have to comeby your vehicle as there are no estate-operated vehicles. This is a big minus.

The ticket cost per head - Rs. 500 - is very costly but you can consider doing it once. The Cauvery peak place itself gives you the feel of you being in Kashmir / Swiss. Such is the beauty and the weather adds up to this.

Views of the private lake, Kombai valley viewpoint, within a coffee plantation, etc are all very beautiful. All are instagrammable spots. You will definitely enjoy it.

This was definitely a different and beautiful...

Coming from Australia, I’m very much into food-tourism (if you’ve seen MasterChef Australia you will know what I mean!). So after hearing about the coffee estate visit offered by Cauvery Peak, I made a special trip to Yercaud from Chennai, and was beyond impressed! Firstly, the property itself offers a beautiful open space to soak up the atmosphere of the mountains, with a garden café at the front providing a wonderful view over the valley.

However, the highlight of the visit was the Horse-ride and Coffee Plantation Tour. You don’t need to know about riding horses, just make yourself comfortable in the saddle and guides will lead the horses calmly through the plantation while explaining how the coffee plants are maintained and harvested. This was a very safe, easy and peaceful way to view the expansive estate, and visit a lake and one of the most impressive viewpoints in Yercaud (in my opinion). Our ex-jockey guide Siva happily answered our questions and took photos for us.

Following the ride we took the coffee tour where we saw literally every stage from growing to roasting.... Ganesh leads you first through a small museum displaying exhibits on coffee-growing around the world and the Cauvery Peak estates around Yercaud, plus a collection of family antiques. Then into the plantation where you can see the coffee berries on the bushes and stop at the lake and viewpoint (in case you didn’t go on the horse-ride). There’s lots of time to take photos and ask questions! From there is a visit to the wet-mill, dry-mill and roasting room - it's amazing just how many processes the beans undergo to reach the grading and roasting stage ! Ganesh also explained why coffee takes on various flavour profiles and the difference between typical South Indian filter coffee and pure coffee.

This was by far one of THE BEST activities I’ve done around Chennai - Cauvery Peak have created a first-rate and well-rounded experience, similar to the many 'farm-to-table' tours I've done in Australia. It’s excellent value-for-money and a unique experience for all ages which will give you a valuable insight and new appreciation for the quality and styles of coffee to brew at home or try in cafes.

We were also fortunate enough to meet the owners, Vishnu and his father, who took time to ensure their visitors have the best possible experience. A huge thanks to our friendly and knowledgeable guides Ganesh and Siva who made sure our visit was enjoyable and memorable. I’m already looking forward to returning soon with more friends!

TIP: Go as soon as possible, as this season is the best time to see the harvest and...