Philatelic delight: India Post launches coffee flavored stamps to push the branding of Indian coffee
Indian Postal department, in collaboration with the Coffee Board, has launched its new coffee scented stamps in order to give a branding push to Indian coffee.
Telecom minister Manoj Sinha released the stamp in the presence of commerce and industry minister Nirmala Sitharaman, which are a collector’s version and are priced at Rs 100.
Sitharaman, said: “Today is an age of branding, we need to brand everything, we need to sell everything, we need to have high profile marketing for everything to even reach the lower end of the pyramid.”
She further added, “promotion of Coffee, branding of different coffee should go with a lot more hype. There is a lot of creativity we need to (put) into taking coffee further.
Noting that countries like Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar have done, and are doing, a lot of things in packaging, value addition, presenting and marketing of the coffee, she said: “the Coffee Board obviously is now going to have to be on its toes.”
Stamp lovers were quite happy with the news as this innovative campaign trended on Twitter as #CoffeeFlavouredStamp. Also, many retweeted and congratulated the coffee board and Nirmala Sitharaman for their efforts.
source: http://www.thedrum.com / The Drum / Home> News / by Taruka Srivastav / April 23rd, 2017
Phanbem Kithan, a coffee farmer from Wokha village, collects ripe coffee beans at his farm.
Kohima (EMN):
55-year-old Phanbem Kithan, a progressive farmer from Wokha village, in Wokha district, has been growing coffee for the past 15 years. He tried his hands at coffee plantation in 2002. Since then, he has devoted his life to growing the crop. The harvest from his crops has been increasing with each passing year.
The coffee kiosk set up by the Land Resources department at the Hornbill Festival in 2016 at Kisama, and one which was the main attraction of locals and tourists alike, was supplied by Kithan.
The farmer credits his success to the Coffee Board of India (CBI) which he said has been with him at every step of his journey in growing coffee. The journey had not been easy in the initial period of his venture. However, the logistic support and assistance rendered by the CBI has enabled him to extend his plantation every year.
Today, in an area of 6.5 hectares, Kithan has 30,000 coffee plants of Arabica coffee and Robusta coffee. He said to be expecting a harvest of 1, 000 kilograms of coffee this year; it will generate an income of possibly Rs. 1, 60, 000.
Kithan has undergone about 14 training events in various parts of India. He also won the ‘Best Nursery Maintenance’ award of the Coffee Board of India for 2014-2015; he was awarded with a certificate and a cash prize of Rs 20,000.
The CBI, he said, is highly appreciative of the coffee from Wokha as the ‘best quality and organic’ although some improvements are still required to improving the colour of the coffee. He said also that there was no problem in marketing–the produce is sent directly to the coffee board.
To encourage farmers to take up coffee plantation, Kithan has set up a nursery, since 2009, with the assistance from the CBI for maintenance. Saplings are distributed to interested farmers after inspection and after ‘analyzing’ their ‘dedication,’ he said.
Offering advice from his expertise, Kithan said that a good and healthy sapling with at least 5-12 leaves can last for about 100 years, which should begin from the nursery itself. He expressed confidence that Wokha would be covered by coffee plantations in a few years time, and that the district would be able to yield 2-3 truckloads of coffee every year.
Stating that there was no loss in growing coffee, Kithan hoped that the state of Nagaland would take up the crop. The land is blessed with highly favourable climatic conditions and the soil type is suited for production of coffee.
With the expertise that he has gained over the years, Phanbem Kithan is more than willing to assist and share his knowledge with anyone who is interested in taking up coffee plantation.
It was informed that the department of Land Resources had distributed 13.40 lakh coffee seedlings to farmers covering an area of 670 hectares. Coffee plantation in the state has been developed by the department in collaboration with the CBI. 920 hectares have been developed spreading over the eleven districts of the state.
The department has also prepared a five-year plan for development of coffee in Nagaland covering an area of 5000 hectares across the state by 2019-2020; 10,000 households have been identified for this plan and will be implemented in convergence with the board.
According to the plan, the land to be used for coffee plantation is 917 hectares during 2016-2017; 1190 hectares during 2017-2018; 1710 hectares during 2018-2019; 953 hectares during 2019-2020.
Taking advantage of tree species, including plantation crops developed through watershed programmes, coffee being a shade-loving crop has shown easy acceptance by the rural community as either main or subsidiary crop.
Unlike decades ago when farmers stopped coffee plantation due to lack of marketing avenues, it is hoped that the department working on marketing strategies will encourage more farmers to grow coffee. Another prospect is that Nagaland would emerge to produce quality organic coffee for export and local consumption.
During a visit to the state in 2016, Dr Pieter Vermuelen, a coffee expert from South Africa, commented that Nagaland had the potential to developing a sustainable economy through exporting coffee.
source: http://www.easternmirrornagaland.com / Eastern Mirror / Home> Top News> Current Article / by Akono Tsukru / April 04th, 2017
Famous for its coffee plantations, South India didn’t grow the crop naturally. Now a major producer with several hill tracts growing unique flavours of coffee, it is where the story begins… well, not exactly.
The southern Indian state of Karnataka is strewn with coffee plantations. The state is, in fact, one of the major producers of coffee in India. ‘Arabica’ and ‘Robusta’ are the kinds of coffee that are grown here under methods which are unique to this part of the country, rather, to the world.
The coffee here is grown under the shade of tress and is often inter-cropped with spices like cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove, giving it a unique flavour and aroma.
Interestingly, growth of coffee here is so dense that it might come across as shocking when someone tells you that it all started with the seeding of mere seven coffee beans, which were smuggled to the hills of Karnataka.
The story that goes around in the coffee plantations down south is that an Indian saint, named Baba Budan, once went on a pilgrimage to Mecca and from there to Mocha – a port city in Yemen and a major coffee hub.
It was here, in the 18th century, that Baba Budan first discovered coffee, when he tasted it in form of a dark and sweet liquid called Qahwa. It is said that he found the drink so refreshing that despite it being a protected Arabic beverage and industry, he sneaked out seven coffee beans by strapping them to his chest and brought them to India.
The Baba Budan Hills in Karnataka
These seven beans, Baba Budan planted in the courtyard of his home, in Chikmagalur, Karnataka – the place now synonymous to the origins of coffee in India. It is from this small patch of land that coffee began to spread over an entire hill – now called the Baba Budan hill – and then gradually to rest of Karnataka and South India.
Coffee cultivation further boosted in India under various colonies. First, the Dutch began to grow coffee in the Malabar region of south India and then the British steered its movement all over the peninsula, where they found the conditions to be apt for the growth of the crop.
In fact, coffee plantations in India were made commercial under the management of JH Jolly of Parry & Co, a trading company. Jolly saw the potential of coffee beans growing in the plantations of Chandragiri in Andhra Pradesh and had a petition sent to the Mysore government in the adjoining state of Karnataka, for 40 acres of land to grow coffee.
This not just boosted the growth of coffee but, post this, the plantations flourished with their production turning into the sole business of many from the region and coffee becoming a major commercial product. Eventually, a coffee board was also set up, which took care of the marketing of Indian coffee. It is this board that we know as the Coffee Board of India, the Indian government’s body taking care of coffee commerce in India.
Today, the coffee industry in India continues to be a flourishing one with the hill tracts of South Indian states dominating its production and the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu following Karnataka in the list of traditional coffee growing regions. Coffee routes have further elongated to non-traditional areas, including Andhra Pradesh and Odisha on the eastern coast of the country and Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh of North-Eastern India.
The production of the crop that started on an ambiguous note has prospered into a full fledged industry, supporting the livelihood of many, especially, in the remote hilly areas of South India.
source: http://www.mediaindia.eu / Media India Group (MIG) / Home / posted in Freestyle / by Surbhi Kapila / New Delhi – March 30th, 2017
Coffee grown in the hills of Karnataka is making its way to the Starbucks Reserve store in Seattle
Coffee is undergoing something of a transformation in India. Local beans, grown in the country, are finally making it onto store shelves, where provenance and growing techniques are emphasised. Meanwhile, a certain section of savvy consumers trawls the Internet, searching for new ways to brew their daily cuppa using a range of different home-grown beans, each of which comes packaged with tasting notes that emphasise subtle flavours.
Meanwhile, an ocean away, India’s coffee prowess was given a different stamp of approval, when last October, Starbucks sold Indian coffee for the first time at its flagship Starbucks Reserve store in Seattle, the city in which the brand was founded. The coffee came from Tata’s Nullore estate in Kodagu, Karnataka, and was the company’s first microlot coffee. While Tata has 19 plantations in Kodagu (spread over 7,300 hectares), this was the first time that the company’s arabica beans made it to international shelves.
Microlot coffee refers to beans that are generally the best of the estate, and are those that imbibe flavours of the terroir. Arabica is one of two types of coffee beans, and is prized for its flavour, lower caffeine content and almost twice the concentration of sugar than is found in robusta. As a result, arabica is more expensive, and harder to grow.
Place of origin
Walking around the Nullore plantation’s block 19 (where the beans grew), what strikes you is the sense of calm that comes with standing in the midst of a 505-acre estate.
The microlot that was ultimately produced got its flavours from plants and trees that fruit bats propagate, while they make their homes in the silver oak trees above that provide shade to the arabica plants below. This two-tier system allows the coffee to grow under a canopy of trees, which includes jackfruit, pepper vines and fruits such as orange and lychee. On a tour of the block, Mandana, plantation manager, says, “We collected the coffee berries separately from eight hectares of this [block], where the fruit bat population is high.”
Changing trends
The story of the coffee though, goes beyond its growth, and rather is the story of how Tata Coffee is responding to changing customer demands, especially at the high-end, where international coffee drinkers are willing to spend between $10-30 to buy beans with unique tasting notes. Sunalini Menon, a well-known coffee cupper, who is also an independent member of the Tata Coffee board, has been instrumental in galvanising the plantation managers to experiment with microlot coffee. Chacko Thomas, the deputy CEO and executive director, says, “As a result of Nullore, we have 150 [microlot] experiments in progress.” Processing aside, the recognition has showed employees, that the beans grown in Kodagu can be cupped alongside the best in the world.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Life & Style> Food / by Aatish Nath / March 30th, 2017
The attention of the coffee world will be focused on the Melbourne International Coffee Expo (MICE), which is being held at the Melbourne Showgrounds from 30 March to 1 April.
All of the Australian Coffee Championships will be back at MICE for 2017
With the Australia Barista Championship, PURA Latte Art Championship, Cup Tasters Championship and Coffee in Good Spirits all taking place on the ASCA Main Stage, and Brewers Cup being held in the all-new Brewing Lounge, there truly is something for everyone over all three days at MICE2017.
All winners will be announced in a ceremony on Saturday 1 April.
And for the first time ever, MICE2017 will feature a brand new Brewing Lounge that will showcase the ASCA Australian Brewers Cup, where visitors will get the chance to taste all the competition coffee.
A range of SCAE (SCA) certified courses are also being offered to coffee aficionados and beginners alike throughout MICE2017. In partnership with MICE, reduced course fees are being offered to MICE attendees.
The show is part of a wider schedule of events that make up Melbourne Coffee Week.
On Thursday, 30 March, Ona Coffee and Dr Morse Bar and Eatery are invite coffee and beer lovers alike to join them for a BrewParty – a celebration of filter coffees, beer and good times. Special guests will include WBC 2015 Sasa Sestic and current Australian Barista Champion, Hugh Kelly.
And on Saturday, 1 April, Axil Coffee Roasters will host the MICE2017 and ASCA after party.
source: http://www.gcrmag.com / Global Coffee Report / Tuesday – March 28th, 2017
Kona Historical Society (KHS) will open the award-winning exhibit “The Kona coffee Story: Along the Hawaiʻi Belt Road,” on Monday, March 27 at H.N. Greenwell Store Museum.
KHS Board Member Alfreida Fujita gets a sneak peak at the KHS exhibit on March 23, 2017. Photo courtesy of Kona Historical Society.
This journey back in time to 20th century coffee farm life features never-before-seen photos and artifacts from the organization’s collection and archives. They have travelled to museums worldwide.
This Kona Coffee Story will be open Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and the first Saturday of every month from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission is $5 and free to students of all ages, KHS members and active and retired military persons with identification.
The coffee industry emerged in Kona in 1828, and like any other industry, it experienced its highs and lows. Personal written accounts in the exhibit reveal the voices of hard working farmers and community leaders. Black and white photos preserve family portraits and images of the industry farm lands, in addition to a miniature model of a coffee mill.
KHS hosted a special preview of the exhibit to a limited audience on Thursday, March 23, featuring refreshed content. Attendees included descendants of Kona’s coffee industry pioneers who shared their memories of life on the farm, reflected in the exhibit’s photos, artifacts and written accounts.
The exhibit will be on display through the end of 2017.
source: http://www.bigislandnow.com / BigIslandNow.com / Home / by Big Island Now Staff / Hawaii – March 27th, 2017
As the divisions of Coffee Day – the B2C service Cafe Coffee Day, in B2B the Coffee Day Beverages, Coffee Day Exports and Coffee Beans is sold to customers
The caffeine buzz has caught up in all cities in India closing the generation gap which once drank tea and coffee. At the BW Hotelier Indian Hospitality Awards & Summit 2017 at The Leela Ambience Hotel, Gurugram, a session on “Showcasing the Best of Indian Coffee” moderated by Bikramjit Ray, Executive Editor of BW Hotelier, the panelists spoke about the growing importance of coffee in the contemporary times.
The session was opened by Abhrajyoti Chatterjee, from Coffee Day who mentioned how their brand intends to serve coffee with passion. Coffee Day is a brand which exports coffee to Europe, Middle East, EU and many other places. They even have 1500+ acres of area for the production of coffee.
As the divisions of Coffee Day – the B2C service Cafe Coffee Day, in B2B the Coffee Day Beverages, Coffee Day Exports and Coffee Beans is sold to customers. Their brand has 41000 coffee machines in India with presence in over 1000 cities. Every year Coffee Day expands in nearly 100 cities. The machines like BMF, Indus, Sienna, Orion are the several machines which produce coffee. It also has divisions such as Coffee Day Lounges and Express Outlets in India.
The national coffee brand has a presence in 28 states, 127 cities and 665 technicians. Their huge setup which is only a backup and then we have our various outlets across India. The variations of coffee are like morning java, classic roast, filta fresh, arabica and robusta blend.
During the session it was discussed how the idea of coffee and tea could be interchanged in the earlier days. However, India is the fifth largest producer of coffee in the present times.
The session covered by Vishrut Gupta, Director Food & Beverages, Pullman New Delhi Aerocity Delhi and Sanjiv Mediratta, Group Advisor, F&B Soution and New Business Strategy, Coffee Day discussed how they are bringing a new experience for millennial in coffee. The idea of an expresso was mixing coffee with chocolate powder. More people are educated about coffee at present.
The QSR has had an impact on the purchase of coffee on people. The taste for coffee being lighter or stronger is understood by people. People liking to click more pictures with coffee is also gaining more customers for this beverage. The automatic machines also gives people the right experience of coffee.
Innovation was always present in food; but was lesser for beverages. Whether expresso, americano or latte, the youth being more exposed to the world is aware of the global trends of coffee.
source: http://www.businessworld.com . BW – Business World / Home / by Anisha Aditya / March 24th, 2017
At a museum in Al-Ahsa, in eastern Saudi Arabia, researcher Abdullah Al-Hijris told Al Arabiya about the history of the bean that originated in the fifth-century, explaining the secret methods of roasting and grinding one of the world’s most favorite drinks.
Al-Hijris said that the coffee museum, which was adopted by the National Authority for Tourism and National Heritage (CNTA) and is in line with the Kingdom’s 2030 vision, includes a collection of historical coffee items and tools up to more than 100 years old.
The researcher explained that the museum includes a laboratory to conduct scientific research on all types of coffee.
The museum also has an external building used to host visitors and offer them Arabic coffee.
source: http://www.english.alarabiya.net / Al Arabiya / Home> Lifestyle> Art & Culture / by Staff Writer, Al Arabiya Net / Sunday – March 26th, 2017
Video: source: http://www.youtube.com
“Boredom at work sets in soon nowadays. This is probably the reason why IT professionals opening restaurants is on the rise,“ says Ashish D’Abreo (40), on the logic driving him to pursue three diverse professions.
“Boredom at work sets in soon nowadays. This is probably the reason why IT professionals opening restaurants is on the rise,“ says Ashish D’Abreo (40), on the logic driving him to pursue three diverse professions.
When not building brands as a creative director of an ad agency (Origami Creatives), D’Abreo is either blending barista for his artisanal coffee startup (The Flying Squirrel) or delivering dialogues on stage as a freelance theatre artist over weekends.
Mind you, this jack of all trades has met with enough success in each sphere. His 15-year-old ad agency has clients like Chai Point, Caratlane.com and Bluestone.com. After gaining foothold in the online space, his coffee company recently ventured into the offline market with a microroastery café.
The avid coffee drinker has been dabbling in theatre for over a decade. This weekend too, he is performing in a play called `Park’ at Ranga Shankara. “When I was with Rafiki Theatre, I would act in 2-3 productions. Since my plate is full today , I just invest in one production at a time with Sandbox Collective,“ says D’Abreo, an MBA graduate from St Jose ph’s Colle ge of Commerce.
Question is how did a copywriter arrive at this triangle of work in the first place? “Idea was that when we can ideate for other brands, why not our own,“ says D’Abreo, who launched his coffee startup in 2013.Little did he know that the hobby of selling gourmet coffee from his friend’s plantation in Coorg would scale up one day.
D’Abreo traces the roots of his success in being an ad-man. “At my ad agency, we played each other’s roles all the time -be it design, layout, press visits, photoshoots or menial desk work. All streams flowed into each other seamlessly . Brainstorming sessions, where we switched from vodka to jewellery brand in a split second, coached me to juggle efficiently,“ says D’Abreo.
Each chosen profession gets a fair share of his time every day. “My play rehearsals are usually in the morning. By midday, I start looking into the online coffee orders and the micro roastery. Post-lunch, I dedicate time to my creative agency,“ says D’Abreo, who advocates the joint venture entrepreneurship module for those who wish to add professions to their career repertoire.
The father of a six-year-old also lists communication, support from family and time-management as requisites. Of course, travel and cooking often for family add brownie points besides working as his stress-busters.
“One is constantly trying to wear different thinking hats. However, it’s in this challenge that your life runs like a well-oiled machine and becomes interesting. This juggle is nirvana for me,“ he notes.
source: http://www.tech.economictimes.indiatimes.com / ET Tech / Home> Technology News> Latest Technology News> People / by Smita Balram / ET Bureau / March 22nd, 2017
Sunalini Menon started out as an assistant cup taster for the Coffee Board of India in 1971
The journey of Asia’s first female coffee expert, Sunalini Menon, is one of beating the odds while consuming copious amounts of coffee, says Phorum Dalal
“But she is a woman, and will be married off soon,” a panel argued.
The year was 1971, and the dilemma was whether to give the candidate a job of an assistant cup taster on the Coffee Board of India.
She had topped the written examination and oral tests, competing with PhDs and coffee experts, but the hesitation was due to her gender.
The person in question was Sunalini Menon, who spent the next 25 years, sipping, slurping and spitting coffee, identifying flavour notes, and determining the quality of the drink for coffee growers in India.
“The slurping is to expose the sip to oxygen and open its flavours, and spitting is to avoid consuming so much coffee,” the tiny figured lady explains with a broad smile when we meet her in Coorg.
Her melodious voice has us in rapt attention, as she excitedly spoke of Block no. 19, Tata Coffee’s micro lot from the Nullore estate, selected last year by Starbucks for sale under the Reserve Brand in USA.
Menon, who consults several traditional coffee growers, has carved a niche for herself. She closely worked on the micro lot (cream of the crop with artisanal properties, usually sold in small quantities for a higher price) that put Indian coffee on the global map.
The seed was sown in childhood. “In the summers, we would go to Polachi in Coimbatore and visit the tea plantation my uncle was posted at. Labourers picked tea and put it through steaming, drying and rolling processes. During tastings, the tea master would use a penny to weigh the tea. Tasters would slurp, sip and spit out the liquid,” says Menon.
Imitating them, the kids would take the leftover tea “gargle and make horrendous noises,” laughs Menon.
After a degree in dietetics, while applying for scholarships in New York Institute of Dietetics, Menon saw Coffee Board of India’s job ad for an assistant cup taster, and “memories of sipping, slurping and spitting came flooding back.” As no woman had ever held the post, she was sure she wouldn’t make it, but soon she completed the board’s two-member team.
The board sent her to Witnerthone near Zurich for a year-long intensive course in coffee tasting in 1976, followed by a six-month review training in 1982.
“My hosts exposed me to a lot of international coffees from Peru and Costa Rica, and also sent me to Germany. This was an eye opener, and palate too, because at the time, India didn’t have such exotic coffees. I learnt to identify characters and use my palate to decipher coffee”. When she returned, her boss had retired and she took over to become India’s first cup taster.
Friends and family would tease her, “Your job is to take coffee breaks. What fun’.
The sensorial method, though, involved a lot: focusing on fragrance, aroma, flavour, aftertaste, acidity, mouthful, sweetness, balance, uniformity, overall taste and cleanliness of the cup to determine the coffee’s quality.
“One that secures 80 or above is considered a speciality coffee,” explains Menon, adding that the science and chemistry behind the cup can also be evaluated individually to provide accurate results. “But so far, a holistic scientific value hasn’t been arrived at to conclude on the cup rating. Till it does, I guess we tasters will have a job,” says Menon.
After the market liberalised in 1996 and growers could sell their own coffee, the board shifted focus to research and training. Menon moved to Japan, where her husband was posted, but coffee growers coaxed her to return and continue independent quality checks and research on their plantation.
“Coffee has come a long way in India, primarily a tea growing country. The British introduced the coffee plant from Ethiopia. A drink for the elderly and usually consumed at home, it didn’t have a special aura. But the vision of grandmothers using the dabba filter to brew their cup has become a fad after Café Coffee Day (CCD) launched in Bengaluru in 1996,” recalls Menon.
That’s why, Block No 19 is special. Indian coffee being selected for a limited edition sale by an international company will encourage more plantations to work on micro lots. This milestone has opened a door to make artisanal Indian coffee a stand out,” says the woman who has paved way for women tasters in India. As for her poison, it’s “a blend of robusta and Arabica beans. Black please,” she signs off.
source: http://www.dnaindia.com / DNA India / Home> Lifestyle / DNA Sunday Team / Sunday – March 05th, 2017
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