The heady aroma of filter coffee at the stall of Girijan Cooperative Corporation (GCC) at the CII Partnership Summit on Friday was an instant hit with delegates, especially the foreigners. Several delegates took a coffee break from the back-to-back sessions and also picked up packets of filter coffee and coffee-flavoured chocolates from the GCC stall.
Damona Emami, Director of Health Management, CFIM, Florida, was floored by the taste of filter coffee. “I loved the flavour. It is something unique. I have already picked up a couple of coffee packets for taking it back with me,” she said. Others like Glenn Robinson not only enjoyed a cup of coffee but also clicked selfies with the life-size figure of Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and tribal women placed in front of the stall.
“The coffee project has generated tremendous response in the past one year, but also a lot of pressure and expectations on us. Last year, we procured 1,400 metric tonnes of coffee beans. This year we plan to scale it up to 2,000 metric tonnes,” GCC Vice-Chairman-cum-Managing Director A.S.P.S. Ravi Prakash told The Hindu . GCC is also planning to introduce instant coffee within a month’s time.
The organic coffee, popularly known as Araku coffee, is grown by the tribal people at an elevation of 1,100 metres above mean sea level under the shade of jackfruits, silver oak, mango and banana. It has a delicious fruit flavours intertwined with caramel with a finish of bitter sweetness.
“About 90 % of our products are exported to countries like Sweden, Switzerland, Dubai and Italy through established firms like Olam India, ITC and Mudra. This year, we did e-auctioning of coffee through the e-commerce platform of NCDEX,” Mr. Prakash added.
