Super Coffee, Indian Answer To Decaf Reuter

India, with an eye on growing world market for decaffeinated coffee, is developing super coffee clones that are naturally low in caffeine, scientists said at a coffee conference on Wednesday.

The clones could be an answer to the costly process of extracting caffeine from coffee beans to make decaf, they said.

India has discovered three indigenous species which were low in the stimulant, Sunalini Menon, chief executive,Coffeelab said.

They are naturally decaffeinated and indigenous to India, she said. We may cross with other strains to ensure good cup quality.

The three species of arabica coffeeBengalensis, Travancorensis

and Wightiana would be developed on a commercial basis, she said.

 

India is a large Asian producer of coffee, with annual output totalling 195,000 tonnes of equal proportion of robusta and arabicas.

Decaf coffee is a major segment of the fast-growing gourmet or speciality coffee market.

In the United States, it accounts for 20 per cent of the multi-million-dollar gourmet market, according to one US roaster.

But it costs about 20-25 per cent more to produce decaf compared with regular coffee.

But part of the cost is being offset by the sale of the caffeine, used in a number of drugs, to pharmaceutical manufacturers, roasters said.