The Coffee Museum is located in the Chikmagalur district of Karnataka. This museum gives one a deeper insight of how coffee is made. In terms of historical description with regards to coffee this museum offers a very good detailed description that deals with all the processes of how coffee is made right from the picking up of coffee beans to grinding of the coffee beans. This museum not only gives information with regards to the history of coffee but also gives information about the geography, botany and also traditional and technological aspects of coffee. It was the idea of the Coffee Board of India to start the museum and let everyone know a lot more about their favourite drink.Since the museum covers everything about coffee right from its origin to the growth it serves as a recreational tour and is also extremely educational. It literally gives one a ride through India's coffee world. Inside the museum, one is greeted with pots that contain bright deep red coffee berries on both sides of the museum.There are also life sized posters on the walls of the museum which have interesting information about coffee. The next thing that one gets to see is the coffee map of India which highlights both the traditional and not very traditional coffee growing regions of India.The next thing that one comes across is a documentary that basically talks about the origin and growth of coffee. Then what follows is the Evaluation centre. There exists an entire floor which is dedicated to a gallery that shows various photographs in transparent shelves along with short video presentations which basically talk about the story of coffee and further explain how the coffee beans are evaluated and then graded.The lower level of the museum gives the visitor an opportunity to learn interesting facts about coffee. These facts deal with the cultural practices and ancient old traditions with regards to coffee. This section also deals with the latest technology used to make coffee. One also gets to see a coffee movie here where real farmers present their version of how coffee is grown. There is also a coffee encyclopedia here which one should definitely see. There are also beautiful green gardens here and this museum has well experienced guides who will make the journey of learning more about coffee interesting because of the knowledge that they have.The final section of the museum deals with product tasting.
TRANSPORTATION AND BEST TIME TO VISIT THE PLACE
In order to reach the coffee museum one can take a taxi or also drive to the place by car. The nearest railway stations to reach here are Birur, Kadur or Tarikere. One can get down at either of these stations and then accordingly take a taxi from there to reach the museum. When it comes to travelling by air, one can get down at the Mangalore, Bangalore or even Hubballi Airport and then take a taxi accordingly to reach the place. The best time to visit the museum would be from the months of September to March because during this time the temperatures around are moderate and it will make the trip a more pleasant one.
ACCOMODATION AND FOOD
There are many places where one can stay around the museum. The prices too are quite affordable. Some of the names of the hotels are Harsha Comforts, Sunyata Eco Hotel, The Grand Kubera Palace, Robusta Inn,iPalace Luxury Hotel,etc. Since Chikmagalur is known for its coffee plantations,coffee here is very famous and all coffee lovers should definitely try coffee here. Around the Museum there are many restaurants where one can eat food at such as Love 2 Lassi,Malnad Veg Restaurant , Malnad Chef on Wheels, Peaberry,Cafe Agape,etc
PLACES TO VISIT
One can visit the Sri Torana Ganapati Temple. This temple is dedicated to Lord Ganesha who is worshipped in the form of Vara Prasadi and Kshipra Prasadi. The locals here believe that Sri Narasimha Bharati IV established the idol of Lord Ganesha here. Another tale that goes around here is that the Acharya here who was contemplating on resolving an issue had a vision of the Ganapati. He then later offered his prayer by offering a dhurwa to the image of Lord Ganapati which was carved on the Torana of a nearby door and his problem got solved immediately. From that time this Ganapati is worshipped as the Torana Ganapati.The architecture here is also quite mesmerizing.
The Sringeri Mutt is one of the sacred Hindu temples near the coffee museum. Sringeri was the site that was established by the great sage Adi Shankaracharya who was the founder of the Advaita philosophy and it also the first of the four Peethas. Situated at this place is the Sharadamba Temple which is dedicated to Goddess Sharadamba who is considered to be the Goddess of learning and wisdom. There is a golden idol of the Goddess here which was earlier made of sandalwood.
The VidyaShankara Temple was built approximately in the 14th century. It is made entirely of stone and is a mixture of Hoysala and Dravidian style architecture and is an interesting place to visit. The Kudremukh National Park is another place that one can visit. It is declared as a UNESCO world heritage site. One can undertake many activities here like trekking,hiking and even river crossing and also get to see a variety of animals here.
The Ballalarayana Durga Fort is one of the few forts that can be found in the Western Ghats.One can only reach this fort through trekking. This fort was constructed by the wife of Veer Ballala I who was the King of the Hoysala Empire. This fort was built in the Karnata Dravida architectural style which was popular at the time of Hoysala rule.An ancient Kalabyraveshwara temple is situated right below the fort and it is believed that Ballala I and his wife used to visit the temple everyday. However now one just gets to see remains of the fort as it was not preserved properly.
Thus, the Coffee Museum is a must visit place for all the coffee lovers .
