Kelachandra Coffee bets on climate-resilient Liberica variety to tap speciality segment

Key Highlights

• The company has already secured forward contracts for about 35 per cent of this year’s total output, with interest from niche domestic roasters, she added.
• Liberica, native to Liberia in West Africa, was introduced to India by the state-run Coffee Board in the 1970s to protect Arabica and Robusta plants from leaf rust, a fungal disease.
• The variety has mainly been grown along estate boundaries, but is gaining renewed attention as climate pressures mount.
• First-phase plantings could yield up to 10 tonnes of processed coffee annually after a five-year maturation period, with volumes expected to rise as plants age, according to company projections.
• Kelachandra currently has 500 mature Liberica plants and planted 10,000 saplings last year that have not yet reached the production stage.