ORIGIN OF COFFEE

PLANTATIONS
 Origin of Coffee

Coffee grown worldwide can trace its heritage back centuries

to the ancient coffee forests on the Ethiopian plateau. There,
legend says the goat herder Kaldi first discovered the
potential of these beloved beans. After a slow discovery in
Africa, coffee went west into Europe to be discovered and
coveted by the newer civilizations as well as east into Asia
where it was planted and harvested.
 Introduction of Coffee in India

Coffee was introduced to India during the late seventeenth

century. The story goes that an Indian pilgrim to Mecca,
known as Baba Budan smuggled seven beans back to India
from Yemen in 1670 (it was illegal to take coffee seeds out of
Arabia at the time) and planted them in the Chandragiri hills
of Karnataka.
 Coffee Plantations in India

There are approximately 250,000 coffee growers in India;

98% of them are small growers. Over 90 percent of them are
small farms consisting of 10 acres (4.0 ha). Italy, India's
largest export market, accounted for 20% of bean coffee
exports. Europe, where people prefer the more bitter and
stronger flavours of the Robusta blend, made up 42% of
India's exports.