Coffee is enjoyed around the world for its unique taste, aroma, and as a source of the stimulating constituent-caffeine. Coffee is grown primarily along the equator and in subtropical areas to the north and south, where the plant is well suited to the warm and humid climate.
While coffee originated in Africa, coffee in India dates back centuries as well. Legend has it that in the late 17th century, a man known as Baba Budan brought seven green coffee beans from Yemen to Chikmagalur in southern India.1 Today, coffee has since proliferated in India, with over 459,000 hectares of land used for cultivation in fiscal year 2020.2 Chikmagalur is part of the southern state of Karnataka, which in the same year was largest producer of coffee in the country.3
Perhaps one of the most interesting features of coffee grown in India is the frequent use of intercropping, rather than dedicating an entire estate to coffee cultivation alone. In Chikmagalur some typical intercrops include cardamom, vanilla, orange, and pepper.4 The forests of Chikmagalur are home to the country’s national bird,4 the Indian peacock, or Pavo cristatus.5
The region of India where coffee is said to have been first planted is also the same area where Vidya Herbs acquired a coffee estate in 2015. Since then, Vidya has completed and unveiled an onsite coffee processing facility. The facility features fully automated processing capabilities from the first stage of production (separating berries from the bean), to roasting the green coffee beans, producing instant coffee and packaging.
Social responsibility is a core tenet of Vidya Herbs’ efforts across all of its business, but related to coffee specifically, great focus is put into ensuring the communities harvesting it have improved access to healthcare, equipment that supports more efficient harvesting under safer conditions and relief material after local, major weather events.
The vertically integrated supply chain for producing coffee intended for beverage applications is also applied to Vidya’s nutraceutical offerings. Green coffee harvested onsite at the coffee estate is shipped directly to the company’s extraction facilities in Bangalore, India for further processing into standardized extracts.
Green coffee extracts produced by Vidya Herbs include both conventional and organic grades standardized to various constituents including caffeine, chlorogenic acid, protein as well as several proprietary, clinically studied products developed by the company’s R&D Center. R&D innovation efforts are led by K Shyam Prasad, Vidya Herbs’ Founder and Managing Director.
“As a result of years of working with coffee throughout the botanical’s entire lifecycle as both as a crop and nutraceutical ingredient, Vidya has accumulated great insight into ways consumers can use and benefit from all that coffee has to offer” said Steve Geiger, VP/GM of Sales and Operations for Vidya Herbs USA. “Vidya Herbs continues to develop unique extractions derived from coffee, with more to come in the near future that we are excited to share with product development teams looking to turn a household good into a scientifically compelling addition to their formulas” added Steve.
References:
- Robertson, Carol. The Little Book of Coffee Law. United States, American Bar Association. 1-272 (2010)
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/977990/india-coffee-cultivated-area/
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/861053/india-coffee-productivity-by-state/
- https://www.indiacoffee.org/coffee-regions-india.html
- https://knowindia.gov.in/national-identity-elements/national-bird.php
