ABSTRACT
India was one of the pioneers to initiate coffee cultivation and trade in the early years of the seventeenth century. The history of coffee cultivation in India appears to be a very fascinating saga and a bit of a conundrum for the present generation. According to legends, Arabica coffee was introduced into India in 1600 A.D. by Muslim pilgrim Baba Budan. He was reported to have brought seven magical seeds from Yemen and raised them in his hermitage near Chikmagalur district of Karnataka state. With this humble beginning, the coffee plants spread to the neighboring districts and remained a garden curiosity for a long period until the British entrepreneurs established commercial plantations in South India some time during the 1820s. Since then the coffee cultivation progressed rapidly to reach its present glory, where the country has occupied a premier position in the global market.
