This Is How Coffee Is Cultivated In Tamil Nadu’s Nilgiris

Who does not enjoy a cuppa of freshly brewed hot coffee in the morning? It is, after all, the best way to kickstart the day with energy and a much-needed boost. The refreshing aroma is the perfect drink to fix your mood as well. It is consumed in several ways – black, cappuccino, latte, cold-brewed and much more. Do you know how the coffee beans are grown and how coffee is made? Just like tea, coffee grows in hilly areas. In India, coffee plantations are in many hilly regions of the southern Indian states. As per reports, India’s coffee production was estimated at 374 thousand metric tons for the fiscal year 2024. Karnataka is one of the biggest contributors, followed by Kerala and then Tamil Nadu.

It is said that the quality of Indian coffee beans that are grown in the shade instead of direct sunlight is of higher quality. Coffee plantations in Kalingapatti in the Nilgiris Tamil Nadu are considered to be of superior quality. Coffee plants produce fruit that after ripening falls off, which are then picked up. These ripe fruits are soaked in water and then its skin is peeled by using hands or machines. After that, the pods inside the fruits are separated and dried in the sun before being roasted in a wood-fired oven. While roasting, the aroma of the coffee spreads everywhere.

These roasted coffee beans are then ground with the help of machines and then packaged and sold. The coffee produced in the Nilgiri is in high demand all over the world. Dry ginger is also sometimes added to the coffee powder. Merchants directly collect the coffee powder from the manufacturers. A kilogram of coffee beans is sold for up to Rs 300 and a kilogram of coffee powder is sold for Rs 400. Merchants buy coffee beans with skin for Rs 200 per kilogram and if they are soaked and roasted, then they buy for Rs 300. These beans are grown naturally without the use of any chemicals and exported to other states and countries.

The coffee plants are grown as intercrop in tea plantations. These plants absorb the nutrients from the fertilisers applied to the tea plantations.