Coorg Coffee Reaches More Than 400 Stores in Greece and Cyprus
Bengaluru/Athens: Coffee from Coorg has reached more than 400 retail stores across Greece and Cyprus, marking a significant step in bringing Karnataka’s specialty coffee to European consumers.
The Coorg Coffee Club, a specialty coffee venture based in Coorg, Karnataka, and Greek specialty coffee retailer Coffee Island launched The Origin Box in Athens on October 1, coinciding with International Coffee Day.
The collection features five specially processed coffees sourced from five estates in Coorg, with each coffee named after its estate and grower. The collection was formally launched by Indian Ambassador to Greece Ravi Shankar at an event attended by representatives of Coffee Island and The Coorg Coffee Club, media personnel and coffee enthusiasts, according to a release.
The coffees are now available at more than 400 Coffee Island stores across Greece and Cyprus, giving consumers an opportunity to experience Indian coffee as a traceable specialty origin rather than as a bulk commodity.
“I am very excited that coffee from Coorg, India is finding its place in Greece. This is a first-of-its-kind initiative from Coffee Island, in partnership with The Coorg Coffee Club, to promote specialty coffee from India,” Shankar said.
The first edition of The Origin Box brings together three coffee species — Arabica, Canephora (Robusta) and Excelsa. Each coffee was processed as an individual lot, with details documented from harvesting through fermentation, drying and roasting.
The Coorg Coffee Club has worked with 10 estates to develop 10 specially processed coffees, with five selected for the first edition. The initiative places emphasis on traceability, allowing consumers to identify the estate and grower behind each coffee.
For growers in Coorg, the launch represents an opportunity to showcase the region’s distinctive coffee-growing environment. Coffee estates in Coorg are located in the Western Ghats and traditionally cultivate coffee under native shade trees, creating an agroforestry landscape that has been part of the region’s coffee-growing practices for generations.
According to coffee expert and Coffee Lab founder Sunalini Menon, Indian shade-grown coffee can develop flavours ranging from citrus and spices to chocolate and caramel, along with a smooth and full-bodied mouthfeel.
“India is a land of shade-grown coffee, where the coffee plants thrive beneath endemic shade trees of rosewood, mahogany and cedars, along with fruit trees of figs, jackfruit, oranges and avocados,” Menon said.
The partnership between Coffee Island and The Coorg Coffee Club is built around sustainability, direct sourcing and traceability. While Coffee Island provides access to consumers across Greece, Cyprus and the wider European market, the Coorg-based venture brings together the estates, growers, processing practices and supply-chain story behind the coffees.
Coffee Island Managing Director Panagiotis Konstantinopoulos said the partnership would help bring the work and traditions of Indian coffee growers directly to consumers in Greece and Cyprus.
The launch also provided an opportunity for attendees to taste all five coffees side by side. For several participants, it was their first experience of specialty coffee from India.
Founder of The Coorg Coffee Club Karumbaiah said well-processed Indian coffee could stand alongside established specialty origins such as Ethiopia, Colombia and Kenya.
The availability of the Coorg coffees across more than 400 stores marks a notable international retail presence for coffee from the region and provides European consumers with a direct introduction to the estates and growers behind Coorg’s specialty coffee.
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