Does India Produce Coffee? What Coffee Does India Have? Current Status of India's Coffee Industry Development

Professional Coffee Knowledge Exchange

India may not be the first country that comes to mind when you think of coffee, yet it has a long and distinctive place in the world's coffee story. Here is a closer look at how India grows, grades, and drinks its coffee.

Indian Coffee Industry Overview

India's coffee industry is currently dominated by the south, with the states of Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu together accounting for over 90% of the country's total coffee production [1]. Around 250,000 people across India cultivate coffee beans [2], and nearly 80% of the nation's coffee production [3] is exported to countries including Germany, Russia, Spain, Belgium, Slovenia, the United States, Japan, Greece, the Netherlands, France, and Italy. Most exported coffee beans are shipped through the Suez Canal [1].

Growing Environment

Indian Coffee Bean Cultivation

Coffee in India is grown mainly on shaded hillsides in the south, where elevation, monsoon timing, and soil together shape a mellow, low-acid cup.

Climate

The most ideal climate for coffee growth is a temperature between 23-28°C and rainfall between 1.5-2.0 meters, followed by a 2-3 month dry season after the rains. Temperatures approaching freezing are unsuitable for coffee. Although rainfall in southern India is less than 1 meter, irrigation is available and both the temperature and relative humidity are favorable for coffee growth [4].

Fungal Infestation

In India, coffee plants are frequently affected by fungi. The most common one is Hemileia vastatrix, for which there is currently no complete cure [5]. Coffee plants are also affected by a disease known as coffee rot, which causes severe damage during the rainy season [5].

Popularity

India's first coffee shop opened on October 27, 1957, in New Delhi, and chain coffee shops gradually appeared across the country after that [6][7]. Today coffee bars are increasingly popular in India, with Cafe Coffee Day the largest chain nationwide [8]. As with coffee cultivation, coffee consumption is higher in southern India than in other regions [9].

Management

India's coffee industry is managed by the Coffee Board of India, under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry [10]. The board is responsible for promoting coffee cultivation and domestic and international sales, conducting coffee research, providing financial assistance to small-scale growers, ensuring working conditions for farmers, and managing unsold coffee [11].

Indian Coffee Varieties

Coffee from India is relatively rare and is typically available in only two varieties: Monsooned Malabar and Mysore Nuggets. Monsooned Malabar green beans are very dry and yellowish, with a sweet but somewhat monotonous flavor. They are stored in ventilated warehouses where they are exposed to the Indian Ocean monsoon winds for several seasons before shipment, resulting in low acidity but somewhat limited flavor complexity. Mysore Nuggets, by contrast, are fresh green beans with a richer character, featuring woody and grassy aromas, high body, low acidity, and a sweet taste.

About FrontStreet Coffee

FrontStreet Coffee is a roastery with a small shop but a remarkably diverse range of beans, offering both famous origins and lesser-known finds. If India's low-acid, full-bodied Monsooned Malabar appeals to you, FrontStreet Coffee's Indonesian wet-hulled Mandheling is a natural next step, sharing that mellow, earthy depth with a cleaner, sweeter finish.

Both FrontStreet Lindong Mandheling and FrontStreet PWN Golden Mandheling are wet-hulled, giving them a syrupy body and gentle acidity that fans of Monsooned Malabar will recognize immediately. The PWN Golden Mandheling goes one step further, undergoing three rounds of hand sorting plus one machine sort to keep the defect rate minimal and the cup clean.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If the mellow, low-acid character of India's Monsooned Malabar is what draws you in, FrontStreet Coffee's wet-hulled Indonesian Mandheling is the closest everyday match. FrontStreet Lindong Mandheling is processed with the wet-hulled method and roasted medium-dark, giving a full body with herbal, spice, and woody notes.

FrontStreet PWN Golden Mandheling takes that same profile to a higher level, using three hand selections and one machine sort to achieve a clean, sweet, and caramel-rich cup. For those exploring single origins more broadly, FrontStreet Brazil Cerrado Red Bourbon and FrontStreet Yunnan Small Bean offer softer, nut-and-chocolate alternatives at an approachable price.