Chikkamagaluru: Coffee drinkers may not be aware of it, but their steaming cuppa could have a large content of chicory, an adulterant that is often blended with coffee powder.
Introduced by the British, chicory has been in use for a century- and- a -half in the country, says coffee planter, G B Bhoje Gowda, who claims that most coffee powder is 80 per cent chicory, as it is cheaply available in the market. While you can buy a 50 kg bag of chicory for between Rs 3,000 and Rs 4,000, a 50 kg bag of Arabica coffee could cost you about Rs 7,500 and of Robusta, Rs 3,000, which is not enough return for the planters, says Mr Gowda, who owns a plantation in Aldur, Chikkamagaluru.
"The Coffee Board doesn't tell you that of the two lakh tonnes of coffee powder that is consumed in the country annually, nearly 1.5 lakh tonnes is chicory blended," he rues, explaining that as chicory is black in colour , it easily blends with coffee powder made from Arabica and Robusta seeds.
"Adding chicory makes coffee thicker, but does nothing for its taste. Even without chicory coffee can be thicker if extra milk is added," he maintains, revealing that with the demand for coffee growing, those involved in the business are thriving. "A chicory unit owner in Chikkamagaluru supplies chicory powder to the entire south India, while small units too are doing good business," he adds.
But warning that planters could be in trouble if this trend is not checked, he says the Union and state governments must ban chicory blending in coffee as this will help stabilise the price of coffee in the market.
