Stock image for representation purposes only. Image by NickyPe via pixabay.com
In India, coffee is grown under the shade rather than in direct sunlight, as it is done in other parts of the world. The hills in the southern states of Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu provide suitable weather conditions for the plant, and lend the variant an excellent flavour and a fine aroma.
Much like its treasured taste, the story behind the origin of coffee in India is an interesting one.
Its origins are said to date back to the 1600s, when a Sufi Saint named Baba Budan brought a handful of beans from Yemen to India. During that time, Yemen had a monopoly over coffee. To ensure that it remained so, restrictions were imposed on the trade of raw beans. The beverage was exported to other countries in baked or roasted forms only, to prevent its cultivation in other parts of the world.
According to the legend, Baba Budan was returning from his pilgrimage to Mecca when he travelled through the seaport of Mocha, Yemen. There, he discovered the extraordinary bean and decided to bring it home. He managed to smuggle seven raw beans with him by hiding them around his belly. Upon his return to India, he planted the green seeds in Chandragiri hills, in the Chikmagalur district of Karnataka.
Since then, coffee in India has been cultivated extensively in the southern states.
As a tribute to the legendary Sufi Saint, the mountain range is now known as “Baba Budangiri”, and the coffee plant is still grown in the hills.
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