Of pepper vines and coffee beans

Ivor Bull is perhaps the most famous name among the planters who have left  their mark in India. He came to India after the First World War and as a planter, his work made a lasting difference to the coffee community in Coorg. After the Second World War, when the coffee exports were hit, Ivor Bull encouraged the ‘pooling system’, where planters came together and marketed their coffee like a co-operative. Ivor Bull affectionately known as the ‘Father of Coffee’ in Coorg, chose Pollibetta for establishing the first Coffee Company – Coorg Coffee Estates, which later came to be known as Consolidated Coffee Ltd.

Pollibetta has a huge ‘jack fruit tree’ still standing, which was saved from going under the axe by Ivor Bull. Axing trees was a fad advanced by some technically sound coffee planters. In these days of ‘bird sung’ coffee (an expression that implies ripening of coffee due to the melody of birds), Ivor Bull’s lessons on the coffee ecology ring true.

Pollibetta is located in the prime estate zone and even today one can see coffee fields, which are over 90 years old. As rich as its history is the rich yield of Robusta and pepper. The estate boasts of a 25-acre manicured 9-hole golf course and in its midst an area for various sporting activities.