The town that runs on tea but doesn't advertise it
Coonoor smells different from Ooty. Ooty smells of eucalyptus and diesel. Coonoor, especially on the Hubbathalai and Havukal roads that curl above the town, smells of green leaf drying, a grassy, faintly fermented smell that sits at the back of your throat and stays there. The tea is everywhere, but the industry is mostly invisible unless you know to look past the storefronts selling vacuum-sealed packets with hill station fonts.
