Gowri Estate

       Lying in the north-eastern corner of Yercaud, Gowri estate is at an elevation between 1300 - 1400m above sea level. The relatively high altitude coupled with an unusually high percentage of native shade trees imbibe the area with colder temperatures which helps in growing slow ripening and dense coffee. A testament to this is the ‘Best Arabica Coffee in India’ award won by the estate in 2017.

      Apart from rare varietals of arabica like HRC, Gowri estate is also home to an excelsa (another species of coffee) like heirloom coffee bushes.

       There are also patches of nearly undisturbed and un-lopped Shola forest (evergreen type forest with lots of moss and epiphytes on each tree) which have been preserved by the owners for a few generations!

     With this much floral diversity, Gowri estate is also a hub for eco tourism where guests can stay in refurbished cottages and get a first hand view of nearly unspoilt nature and exceptional coffee growing practises!

      The estate is managed by MSP coffee , a firm run by Mr. Navin Rajes, Mr.Ashok Rajes and Mr.Kamalesh Pandianathan. The three hereditary coffee planters are also avid coffee connoisseurs who believe in efficient estate management and scaling up speciality coffee. They have incorporated a lot of good management practices from their corporate stints , into the running of the estate.  These include performance based incentives for estate staff , extremely thorough record keeping and giving estate managers  the responsibility of delegating labour , managing the nitty-gritty  for the various post harvest processes.  Such practices negate the need for excessive micro management and  also motivates the workforce to keep pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with the coffees grown in the Subcontinent.