Nelliyampathy Hills / Civet Coffee

Nelliyampathy is a beautiful hill station, just 60 km from Palghat. A couple of weeks back we went for a quick get away and spent the weekend there. The road from Nenmara via Pothundy Dam is breathtaking, kids had fun counting those 10 hair pin curves.

We reach Green Land Farmhouse around 7 pm and it really was a much needed break from the city and the heat. We stayed in this farmhouse in the middle of the estate....no network was available....So we were off the grid!!
 

 Next day morning, we set off for a small trek, in the beginning the roads were okay....we could walk! But was misty!!

Then it narrowed.

Loved lazying around here for a couple of minutes.

Even took a family selfie...

Loved the view from here.....

I had to share what we found in the forest during out trek. Do you have any idea what it is??

This is Civet Coffee and when my husband, Homey showed me this seed which he had placed on a fallen leaf....I was intrigued as I have never heard of Civet Coffee though being a coffee addict, and he explained to me about it more, which I thought will share it with you

Civet Coffee is the most expensive coffee in the world!! and what exactly is civet coffee, this is actually coffee cherries that have been passed through the digestive system of a "Civet" or "Marapatti" is a cat-sized mammal found in Asia. A very unique combination of enzymes in the civets stomach will enhance the flavor of coffee and this is by breaking down the proteins that gives coffee its bitter taste.

It is said, that wild civets consume only the sweetest coffee berries especially when the fruit is at its peak, and so when it is swallowed by them, it is passed through the civets system, undigested or partially digested!! Once they are eliminated the beans will still be still covered with some inner layers of the cherry and must be processed further to extract the coffee beans prior to roasting. These are hand picked from forest floor, sun dried, and processed. Read more about it on wikipedia.

It was by sheer accident that Homey spotted this civet excretion and he explained to us more about this and for me it was something unimaginable...being a coffee addict...I assumed that I know everything about coffee! You should have seen Nidhi's face at that moment.....she is a coffee addict to the core....and always blames it on her genes (ya she puts the blame on me lol).

For fun I did share this picture on my Facebook page (follow me there) asking what it is....two or three friends commented as coffee, and I commented back saying coffee?? really??

I hope those who have not heard about Civet Coffee is enlightened about it....and if you need a break from the city....go right to hills....off the grid/radar....and enjoy the nature.

We had amazing food in the open there, especially this duck roast!

 Tea plantations.....