The few remaining working coffee estates in Valparai are run by Tata Coffee. The production is mostly for the ‘instant’ market. Unlike in the rest of the state, it is very hard to get a decent cup of coffee to drink in any Valparai establishment. I am a very finicky coffee drinker and in all our lengthy stays, have yet to get a good cup of kaapi here. So following the ‘when in Rome’ principle, we stick to drinking tea in this tea town.