Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/491365
STiR tea & coffee industry international 43 Last year Karnataka produced 77,425 metric tons of Arabica and 152,800 met- ric tons of robusta, accounting for 72.4% of India's total production. Kerala and Tamil Nadu, which sit further south, produce 25.7% of the na- tion's coffee with non-traditional areas in the north and west contributing 2%. India now has 415,341 hectares un- der coffee in 13 distinct growing regions. Prized Arabica, much of it growing above 4,500 feet covers 205,775 hectares. Pro- duction rose to 102,000 metric tons last year comprising 33% of the coffee har- vested. There are now 290,918 coffee farms large and small providing liveli- hoods to 606,702 workers. Fourth generation planter and man- aging director Ashok Kuriyan, 62, is pragmatic about the industry. He has witnessed many ups and downs in his investment in coffee during 38 years at Balanoor, a coffee, tea and spice con- glomerate that produces tea, coffee, pep- per, rubber and ornamental plants includ- ing roses. Most of his estate is planted in robusta (S.274, CxR) but Kuriyan also produces shade-grown Arabica (Sln.795, Sln. 9, Sln. 6, Chandragiri, Cauvery, and some Kents). Graded "mild" by the ICO coffee acidity and finished size of beans vary greatly by region. Estates rise from the lush jungle floor in Chickmagalur to the 6,500 ft. cof- fee highlands in the Pulneys at the south- ern tip of the country. Annual rainfall can top 175 inches. Three of India's specialty grades are uniquely cured. These are My- sore Nuggets, Robusta Kaapi Royale, and Monsooned coffee from the Malabar Coast. See, Monsooned Magic, pg. 48. Kuriyan and his son, Rohan, oversee 2,000 acres of tea, spice, and coffee and manage a modern pulping mill, tea fac- tory and warehouse. Coffee is planted on 1,100 acres with 50 acres of IMO certified organic Arabica. There are eight divisions of robusta and four Arabica divisions. The pulp house is at 3,660 ft. elevation. Balanoor annually produces 550 met- ric tons of coffee and 600 metric tons of tea with 40 metric tons of pepper. Even the 754 Grevellia (Grevillea Robusta) trees planted to shade the gardens are harvest- ed, bringing between INRs385 and INRs 405 per cubic foot or US$120 per tree. Removal of jungle trees like Ficus, Syzy- gium Jambolana, Acrocarpus Fraxinifo- lians are forbidden under the stringent forest rules and regulations. Grocery Channel In 1963 when Nestle first entered the Indian market it found it necessary to re- formulate in order to satisfy the taste for chicory. The resulting blend, known as Sunrise coffee, sold much better than the internationally celebrated Nescafe. Many small supermarkets sell only instant coffee, typically stocking Bru, Nes- cafe, and Sunrise. Bru Instant, a coffee-chicory blend, sells for INRs80/50-gram packet (US$1.33), while Bru Gold pure coffee beans are INRs107/50g. Sunrise costs INRs87/50g, Nescafe classic INRs107/50g. Rupees trade at $US1.7 cents. Kannan's Department Store off Cross-Cut Road does sell ground, roasted cof- fee. Kannan's is an old-fashioned Indian store, crowded and dimly lit, with sepa- rate billing, cash, and delivery counters, which means interacting with at least three different people to make a single purchase. If the power goes out during business hours, most customers know their way around well enough to keep shopping in the dark. Kannan's roasts their own coffee. They carry an 80% coffee/20% chicory blend, INRs 80 for 200 grams, and a 60/40 blend that's INRs72/200g. Chennai-based Alive coffee's 70/30 blend is INRs75 for 200 grams. Leo, another Chennai label, offers Degree Blend, 70/30, INRs68/200g; Madras Blend 80/20 INRs82; pure coffee INRs92/200g; and, Top Blend pure coffee, INRs100/200g. Tea giant AVT markets a 60/40 blend for INRs60/200g ($US 99 cents). Cof- fee Day's Perfect is a 57/43 blend that's just INRs62/200g. The only special on the shelves is Bru's Green Label ground roast, which is INRs 143 for 500g, a sav- ings, according to the label, of seven rupees. Instant offerings include Bru, Bru Cold Coffee, Nescafe, and Sunrise. Across town in R.S. Puram, Nilgiri's is a small, well-lit, modern supermarket with green-coated cashiers. In addition to Alive and AVT, they carry Salem-based Narasu's Coffee. Their Udhayam blend is 80/20, INRs72/200g and their pure cof- fee's INRs92/100g. Next on the shelf is Kannan's Jubilee Coffee, INRs86/200g and Cotha's Coffee, an 85/15 blend that's INRs88/200g. Alongside the usual instant powders, Nilgiri's carries Narasu's Pure Instant coffee for INRs 78/50g and Insta Strong with chicory for INRs67/50g. The selection of instant coffees also included a surprise from Girnar: an instant premix coffee, sugar and whitener already added, flavored with cardamom. A box of ten single-serve packets runs INRs110 ($US1.83). None of the supermarket packages in Nilgiri's of Kannan's indicate whether the beans are Arabica, Robusta, or a blend of both. Indians consume about 90 grams of coffee per person each year, compared to about 4 kilos in the US and Europe. According to India's Coffee Board, the coun- try exports about 70% of its coffee crop each year. The 30% that stays in India gets spread pretty thinly. Still, the amount consumed domestically has roughly doubled in the last decade, from 60,000 metric tons in 2000 to an estimated 115,000 metric tons in 2011, and is increasing about 5% every year. Coffee drinking remains a relatively rare habit within India, though it seems that's on the verge of change.