History of coffee in India, that has won over even the chai-lovers

India is a diverse country with various communities, cultures, cuisines, languages, art forms and religions. Same is with the coffee varieties in India. There are almost 16 different types of coffees which are cultivated in India. Every coffee is distinctive, every coffee is unique in India. Here is a look at the interesting history of coffee in India.

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History of coffee in India

According to the Coffee Board of India, some four hundred years ago, a young saint called Baba Budan set his sail for Mecca. Travel-weary, he stopped for some refreshment at a street stall and was served a thimbleful of a dark, sweet liquid called ‘Qahwah’. So rejuvenated was he by this thick black brew, that he decided to carry it back home for his people. But the Arabians guarded their secret fiercely and the local law would not allow it. Thus was born the idea of a daring voyage. With the holiest motives, Baba Budan strapped seven seeds of the Arabian coffee plant to his belly, undetected under his ritual garment. As his ship docked in India and his co-pilgrims were kissing the soil of their homeland, Baba Budan planted those seeds in the hills of Chikmaglur in Karnataka. A few years later, the coffees of India were born.

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Coffee in India Today

According to the India brand equity foundation, India is home to 16 unique coffee varieties and 3 speciality coffees with states of Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu being the major contributors. The area under the plantation has increased in 1960-61 from 120.32 thousand hectares to 434.436 hectares in 2015-16. Coffee in India has become the second-largest traded item after oil. From the total production of coffee in India, about 75 per cent is exported. Even coffee sales have been boosted from ₹ 1,050.36 crores in 2001-02 to ₹ 5,176.57 in 2015-16.

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