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Shade grown
Almost all Indian coffee grows beneath a two-tier canopy of native and planted trees, often interplanted with pepper and cardamom. Ripening is slower under shade. The result looks closer to managed forest than to open farmland.
Indian Green Coffee · Global Export
Green coffee selected at origin in southern India, graded and prepared for roasters, importers and distributors across Europe and beyond.
India grows its coffee in the hill districts of the south, under tree shade rather than in open sun. Karnataka accounts for most of the crop, with Kerala and Andhra Pradesh supplying the rest of what we handle. Arabica sits on the higher slopes, Robusta below it, so both species come out of one origin and one harvest window. What leaves the country is green coffee, unroasted and sorted by screen size and grade.
COFICOM works between that supply and the buyers who need it. We select lots at origin, arrange curing and grading, prepare the export paperwork, and ship against an agreed specification. There is no retail side to the business. The point is a short chain between an Indian estate and your roastery.
Ten grades across Arabica and Robusta, plus the monsooned lots. Availability shifts with the harvest, so ask what is currently in the warehouse.
Grades follow the Coffee Board of India's classification, in which Plantation is washed Arabica, Cherry is natural Arabica or Robusta, and Parchment is washed Robusta. Screen retention percentages, moisture, defect counts and cup scores are confirmed lot by lot against the sample you receive.
Almost all of India's coffee comes off a narrow band of hill country in the south. Elevation is the variable that moves the cup furthest, and it also decides which species goes where: Arabica on the upper slopes, Robusta below. The ranges below are the Coffee Board's published figures for each district.
Elevation of the growing districts
Swipe the chart to see all six districts.
Picking and processing windows
Arabica
Robusta
Monsooning
Where the districts sit
Elevation, rainfall, variety and intercrop figures are as published by the Coffee Board of India for each region. They describe the district, not an individual lot, and lot figures are confirmed per shipment. Nilgiri coffee is sourced on request rather than held as a standing offer.
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Almost all Indian coffee grows beneath a two-tier canopy of native and planted trees, often interplanted with pepper and cardamom. Ripening is slower under shade. The result looks closer to managed forest than to open farmland.
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Few origins supply both species at commercial scale and export quality. That means an Arabica programme and a Robusta programme can run out of one country, one harvest window and one set of paperwork.
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Monsooned Malabar exists because of where the Malabar coast sits. Months of controlled monsoon exposure rebuild the bean, and the cup changes with it. No other origin reproduces the profile.
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Chikmagalur, Kodagu, Wayanad and Araku are separate growing environments, and they cup differently. Enough range, in practice, to source contrast inside a single origin instead of one profile repeated.
Six stages sit between a cherry on an Indian hillside and a pallet on your dock. We keep the chain short and put the specification in writing.
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We buy from estates and curing works in districts we already know, rather than off an anonymous list.
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Lots are chosen against your brief: species, grade, process, cup profile and the volume you actually need.
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Curing, hulling, grading and screen separation all happen at origin, before anything is committed to a bag.
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Samples go to you first. Nothing ships until the lot in the warehouse matches the sample you approved.
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Bagging, marking and documentation are prepared for your port and its customs requirements.
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The shipment is booked and tracked on the agreed terms, with one point of contact from order to arrival.
Every lot is prepared with the deforestation data an EU importer needs, and Rainforest Alliance certified coffee runs across the catalogue.
Regulation (EU) 2023/1115
The due diligence statement is filed by the EU operator placing the coffee on the market, which is usually the importer rather than the exporter. What that operator needs from origin is data, and preparing it is our side of the job.
India is classified low risk in the Commission's first country benchmarking. Operators sourcing from low-risk countries may use the simplified due diligence procedure and are not required to carry out the risk assessment and mitigation steps in Articles 10 and 11. Geolocation data is still required.
2020 Sustainable Agriculture Standard
Certification covers farm-level practice and the chain of custody that carries a certified claim through to your warehouse. Certified coffee runs across the catalogue rather than sitting in one corner of it.
Certified scope is confirmed per contract. Ask for it at enquiry stage and we will state on the offer which lots carry a certified claim.
Unroasted lots only, prepared to export grade. Standard jute by default, or another packing if your line needs it.
From evaluation samples up to container quantities. Tell us the requirement and we will confirm what is workable for the season.
Commercial and shipping paperwork prepared for the destination market. Buyer-specific documents are arranged in advance rather than at the port.
Booking, consolidation and routing are arranged with our forwarding partners, to the port and Incoterms you already work on.
One point of contact, direct answers, and a written offer stating grade, price basis and shipment window.
Grade, volume, destination port and timing. Send what you have and we will come back with what is workable.
Discuss your requirementsTell us what you are sourcing and we will reply with what we can offer.