Coffee Production in India - Varieties

Varieties

The four main botanical cultivars of India's coffee include Kent, S.795, Cauvery, and Selection 9. In the 1920s, the earliest variety of Arabica grown in India was named Kent(s) after the Englishman L.R. Kent, a planter of the Doddengudda Estate in Mysore. Probably the most commonly planted Arabica in India and Southeast Asia is S.795, known for its balanced cup and subtle flavour notes of mocca. Released during the 1940s, it is a cross between the Kents and S.288 varieties. Cauvery, commonly known as Catimor, is a derivative of a cross between Caturra with Hybrido-de-Timor, while the award-winning Selection 9 is a derivative from the crossing between Tafarikela and Hybrido-de-Timor. The dwarf and semi-dwarf hybrids of San Ramon and Caturra were developed to meet the demands for high density plantings. The Devamachy hybrid (C. arabica and C. canephora) was first discovered around 1930 in India.

The Indian Coffee Association's weekly auction includes such varieties as Arabica Cherry, Robusta Cherry, Arabica Plantation, and Robusta Parchment.

Regional logos and brands include: Anamalais, Araku valley, Bababudangiris, Biligiris, Brahmaputra, Chikmagalur, Coorg, Manjarabad, Nilgiris, Pulneys, Sheveroys, Travancore, and Wayanad. There are also several specialty brands such as Monsooned Malabar AA, Mysore Nuggets Extra Bold, and Robusta Kaapi Royale.

Organic coffee

Organic coffee is produced with synthetic agro-chemicals and plant protection methods. A certification is essential by the accrediting agency for such coffee to market it (popular forms are of regular, decaffeinated, flavoured and instant coffee variety) as such since they are popular in Europe, United States and Japan. The Indian terrain and climatic conditions provide the advantages required for the growth of such coffee in deep and fertile forest soils under the two tier mixed shade using cattle manure, composting and manual weeding coupled with the horticultural operations practised in its various coffee plantations; small holdings is another advantage for such a variety of coffee. In spite of all these advantages, the certified organic coffee holdings in India, as of 2008, (there are 20 accredited certification agencies in India) was only in an area of 2,600 hectares (6,400 acres) with production estimated at 1700 tonnes. In order to promote growth of such coffee, the Coffee Board, based on field experiments, surveys and case studies has evolved many packages for adoption, supplemented with information guidelines and technical documents.