Sunday, February 15, 2004


pearl mountain

today finds a little article on indian coffees. many people don't understand that india grows coffee, or that it can sometimes be very fine.

as i learned in last year's cupping with ken davids at the ever-wonderful dallis coffee, indian coffees have an inherent disadvantage here in the u.s.a. due simply to the shipping distance and cost.

but consumers and some specialty greenies and roasters do work with these charming mild coffees. perhaps the best known indian coffee is pearl mountain, which i've had as part of a pleasant blend.

also well-known is the moonsoned malabar, made famous to coffee lovers by dr. john in his josuma brand malabar gold espresso blend, which includes the controversial robusta, kaapi royale.

dr. illy has also shown interest in indian coffees, recently holding a cupping prize to encourage quality.

one thing about the article worries me, in that it seems to believe removing workers' benefits is a good idea. i must disagree; it's a short-term outlook.

india should compete on the quality of its coffee, not its low prices. it should work on putting sustainable and environmental programs in place, too. vietnam is not a good model for india to follow.

keeping worker benefits in place will help sell the coffee to western europe, whose populace believes in worker rights and environmentalism. it will aid in marking indian coffees as an upscale alternative at a time when the coffee market is moving heavily in that direction.

i myself dream of creating 2 blends with indian coffee for eddie stern's tea and should-be coffee stall: one, the ganesha blend; the other, the decaf mooshika blend. . .

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