State Brews Big Plans for ‘Kalimpong Coffee’

MP | 25 July 2025 |  Kolkata:  Encouraged by the growing export potential of Kalimpong coffee and its appreciation abroad, the state Food Processing Industries and Horticulture (FPI&H) department has decided to expand coffee cultivation on both government and private farmland in Kalimpong and Darjeeling.

“Kalimpong coffee is on par with varieties from Kenya and Vietnam. Some farmers are already exporting it to Australia, the US and Korea. Our primary objective is to establish ‘Kalimpong Coffee’ as a distinct brand, much like the globally acclaimed Darjeeling Tea,” said a FPI&H official.

Smaraki Mahapatra, secretary of the FPI&H department, said the government is working to put in place export logistics for coffee. The department will soon hold discussions with the Coffee Board of India and seek expert input on enhancing cultivation and marketing.

Samuel Rai, director of the Directorate of Cinchona and Other Medicinal Plants, which functions under the FPI&H department, said the state has started producing its own coffee seedlings, reducing reliance on imports from South India and the Coffee Board. “We have set a target of producing six lakh seedlings next year, up from 1.5 lakh this year,” he said.

Currently, around 1,250 farmers are engaged in coffee cultivation in the hills, with nearly three-fourths based in Kalimpong and the remainder in Darjeeling. This year, 12 tonnes of coffee cherries were harvested on government land, of which two tonnes were used for seedling production. Private farmland yielded an additional 15 tonnes.

“For the past three to four years, we’ve been getting buyers from Kolkata, Siliguri, Kathmandu and Sikkim. Kalimpong Filter Coffee brands have gained popularity at Biswa Bangla stores,” said an official.

Recently, a truckload of parchment coffee was procured by a buyer in Kerala. Rai added that the Directorate has submitted a proposal to the state government to boost production and upgrade the existing processing unit. At present, there is one state-owned processing unit, while most private players operate their own facilities.

The Directorate has also developed three new products—Green Coffee, Coffee Body Scrub and Himalayan Choco Coffee—which are set to be launched in due course.