Coffee production in India

Did you know that coffee production in India started when Baba Budan, while on a pilgrimage, smuggled seven coffee beans from Yemen by concealing them around his waist, and planted them in Karnataka?

Coffee production in India is dominated in the hill tracts of South Indian states of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The total production of coffee in India was 349 thousand metric tons for fiscal year 2022. The country exports over 70% of its production. Indian coffee is the best shade grown coffee in the world.

Coffee growing has a long history that is attributed first to Ethiopia and then to Arabia (Yemen). The earliest history is traced to 875 AD according to the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, and the original source to Ethiopia (Abyssinia) from where it was brought to Arabia in the 15th century.

In the Indian context, coffee growing started in 1670 with an Indian Muslim saint, Baba Budan, who, while returning from a pilgrimage to Mecca, smuggled seven coffee beans (by hiding them in his beardsources also say in his waist band) from Yemen to Mysore in India. He planted them on the Chandra Drona Giri (1,829 metres (6,001 ft) ('Giri' means "hill") in Chikkamagaluru district. It was considered an illegal act to take out green coffee seed out of Arabia. As number seven is a sacrosanct number in Islamic religion, the saint's act of carrying seven coffee beans was considered a religious act.

The first plantation was established in 1840 around Bab Budan Giri and its surrounding hills in Karnataka. It spread to other areas of Wynad (now part of Kerala), the Shevaroys and Nilgiris in Tamilnadu. With [[British colonial]] presence taking strong roots in India in the mid 19th century, coffee plantations flourished for export. The culture of coffee thus spread to South India rapidly.

Initially, Arabica also known as "Mocha" or "Mocka" was popular. However, as result of serious infestation caused to this variety by [[coffee rust]], an alternative robust variety of coffee, appropriately named as [[robusta]] and another hybrid between [[liberica]] and Arabica, a rust-tolerant hybrid variety of [[arabica|arabica tree]] became popular. This is the most common variety of coffee that is grown in the country with Karnataka alone accounting for 70% of production of this variety.All coffees grown in India are grown in shade and commonly with two tiers of shade. Often inter-cropped with spices such as cardamom, cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg, the coffees gain aromatics from the inter-cropping, storage, and handling functions.

The four well known varieties of coffee grown are the Arabica, robusta, the first variety that was introduced in the Babudangiri hill ranges of Karnataka in the 17th century.

The four main botanical cultivars of India coffee include Kent, S.795, Cauvery, and Selection 9. In the 1920s, the earliest variety of Arabica grown in India was named Kent after the English planter L.R. Kent, a planter of the Doddengudda Estate in Mysore.

In 1942, the government decided to regulate the export of coffee and protect the small and marginal farmers by passing the Coffee VII Act of 1942, which established the Indian Coffee Board, operated by the Ministry of Commerce (India). The government dramatically increased their control of coffee exports in India and pooled the coffees of its growers. There are now 250,000 coffee growers in India; 98% of them are small growers.

Traditionally, India has been a noted producer of ''Arabica'' coffee but in the last two decades ''robusta'' beans are growing substantially due to high yields. which now account for over 60 percent of coffee produced in India. The domestic consumption of coffee increased from 50,000 tonnes in 1995 to 100,000 tonnes in 2021. The domestic per capita coffee consumption is negligible especially in regions other than South India when compared to black tea consumption. The amended Internal Sales Quota made in September 1996 saw the liberalization of coffee for all growers in the country and a freedom to sell their produce wherever they wished.

Ideally, both ''Arabica'' and ''Robusta'' are planted in well drained soil conditions that favor rich organic matter that is slightly acidic (pH 6.0-6.5). However, India's coffees tend to be moderately acidic which can lead to either a balanced and sweet taste, or a listless and inert one. Blooming is the time when coffee plants bloom with white flowers which last for about 3-4 days (termed "evanescent") before they mature into seeds.

Processing of coffee in India is accomplished using two methods, dry processing and wet processing. Dry processing is the traditional method of drying in the sun which is favoured for its flavour producing characteristics. In the wet processing method, coffee beans are fomented and washed, which is the preferred method for improved yields.

Indian Coffee House is a restaurant chain in India, run by a series of worker co-operative societies. It has strong presence across India with nearly 400 coffee houses. However, now Coffee bars have gained in popularity with other chains such as Barista; Café Coffee Day is the country's largest coffee bar chain.

Indian coffee, grown mostly in southern states under monsoon rainfall conditions, is also termed as "Indian monsooned coffee".

Source: Extracts from the Wikipedia article with my contributions in December 2010.

Narasipur Char