Indian coffee steadily moving from commodity-led to quality, experience-driven market: Coffee Board

India’s coffee sector is steadily moving from a commodity-led approach to a quality and experience-driven market, said the coffee community here on Monday.

Addressing a media conference, Kurma Rao M., CEO and Secretary of the Coffee Board of India, said, “Indian coffee is gaining recognition for its quality and diversity.’’

Platforms such as the India International Coffee Festival (IICF) play an important role in connecting producers with markets, encouraging best practices, and supporting the long-term growth of both domestic consumption and exports, Mr. Rao observed.

He said the Speciality Coffee Association of India (SCAI) would host the IICF between February 12 and 14 in Bengaluru. It would be held in collaboration with the Coffee Board and Nescafé. This coffee exposition would gather the entire spectrum of India’s coffee ecosystems on a single platform, he added.

The 2026 edition of IICF would reflect the shift to a quality and experience-driven market with greater scale, deeper business engagement, and a stronger focus on showcasing the diversity and potential of Indian coffee across domestic and global markets, Hamsini Appadurai, president of SCAI, said.

According to industry captains, the festival, structured around a farm-to-cup framework, is expected to offer insights into the production, processing, roasting, and brewing of coffee through curated tastings, workshops, and cupping sessions.

These would also cover regional coffee profiles, processing techniques, and flavour management, encouraging informed consumption and a deeper appreciation of quality and traceability amongst domestic and global buyers and consumers.

Over 20,000 visitors and delegates, comprising coffee growers, processors, roasters, exporters, equipment manufacturers, cafe brands, baristas, and consumers from India, Germany, Japan, Italy and many coffee-producing and coffee-consuming countries are expected to attend the fest.

India-U.S. trade deal

The tariff reduction from 25% to zero (0%) would boost India’s coffee exports in general and shipments of speciality coffees in particular, said the coffee community, in response to a media query on the recent tariff impact on coffee.

It may be noted that the U.S. has granted duty-free access to Indian coffee as part of the recent trade deal.

India currently exports only a negligible amount of (over 10,000 tonnes of coffee to the United States) while the country’s exports volumes, including of instant coffees, to the US is expected to rise under the zero tariff regime, said an industry observer cum planter from Chikmagaluru.