From Bean to Cup CHIKKAMAGALURU

 How far will you go for coffee-out of your bed to the bubbling moka pot in the kitchen, to your favourite café for that morning kick? The search for a perfect and flavourful start to the day sends some on an all-India road trip across the country's top plantations.

- MUSKAAN GUPTA

An explosive lushness runs parallel to Karnataka's smooth roads that cut through hill stations which took decades to reach the bucket lists of obsessive coffee drinkers. When Baba Budan planted the country's first seven seeds in the 17th century, there was no knowing that centuries later, southern India would transform into a haven for a thriving beverage scene which would witness three distinct waves of coffee consumption.

Coffee-drinking has had a prolific history in the country. What started as colonial plantations, stirred up the interest of local communities who savoured strong concoctions with milk and sugar. Bolder, rougher and bitter coffees-mostly robusta-led the first wave of the consumption culture. As cafés started coming up in metropolises, roasters and pop culture pushed consumers to grumble about their morning brew. Demands for specific roasts, single-origin variants, particular flavour undertones and extraction processes kick-started the consumption of specialty coffee across India. But what is specialty coffee? How does one start to define it? How should you select a bean to your liking? India's first coffee hub, Chikkamagaluru, answers.