Coffee cultivation gaining popularity among tea gardeners.

[DalalErMaNodi]

Coffee cultivation on tea gardens giving hope to tea planters. Experts say this could be an economically viable alternative to rubber production

Tea gardeners in Moulvibazar have seen a new business prospect in the market of coffee and started leaning towards coffee cultivation.

One such tea garden -- Mathiura Tea Garden -- in the district's Rajnagor Upazila already started cultivating coffee on a 44-acre land.

Ibadul Haque, senior manager of the tea garden, said they planted Arabic variety of 10,000 coffee trees on roadside land, around their bungalow and in other sections.

"We have planted coffee seedlings experimentally and the fruit has already started to grow," he said.

Mentioning the government ban on rubber cultivation on the tea gardens, he said, coffee could be a good alternative to rubber.


"We cannot rely on tea cultivation alone. The price of tea has been falling rapidly due to several crisis including of coronavirus. Thus, coffee could be an economically viable option," he said.

The senior tea planter also said that it was unfortunate that there was no coffee processing factory in Bangladesh. But coffee market has a bright future here.

He further mentioned that they collect coffee in two ways. One is the raw coffee and another is crushed.

In case of raw coffee, it needs to be crushed in a machine before drinking while processed coffee mostly serves clients as instant coffee, he added.

There is a huge demand of raw coffee in both Bangladeshi and foreign markets. There is a tendency that tea is mostly taken by the lower class people while coffee is for the elites.

The demand for coffee has been on the rise in the market and among young people, he said.

Our 10,000 seedlings can be harvested by the end of February next year. These trees are about five years old.

Senior tea planter Ibadul Haque said that the coffee cultivation gives new hope to the planters.

Kazi Fazlul Bari, deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension in Moulvibazar, told this correspondent that coffee has a great potential in this district.

It depends on the variety, the soil and the care. The agriculture minister himself has expressed his necessary opinion to popularise coffee cultivation in the district.


Source

 

[Chhatrapati]

That's right, dried (not broken) is at around Rs 250/Kg and you don't need to take much care on the plants, only that the farming season will be once in a year. And it's labor-intensive. I had a small plantation around my house in a 1 acre plot the yield is less than 50 Kilos but it's worth it given I don't have to do much in terms of fertilizers or watering. If the condition is right, the next yield will be in December.

 

[Bengal71]

tea is mostly taken by the lower class people while coffee is for the elites.

This is BS

 

[Arthur]

There is a tendency that tea is mostly taken by the lower class people while coffee is for the elites.

Clearly this reporter never tested a good cup of tea!

And what they sell off as coffee in BD street corners, is better suited for toilet cleaning not drinking.

This is BS

 

[Arthur]

Why? How many lower class did you see drinking coffee? You need to pay at least Tk 10 or more for a cup of coffee while at Tk 5/6 you can get cuppa from any tea-stall.



That's not point here i think. Reporter is talking about who can afford what.

Yes, I get the point. Tea wasn't every persons "cup of tea" either, when British started selling it here. Same with coffee.

It's all about the "new open".

 

[Bengal71]

Why? How many lower class did you see drinking coffee? You need to pay at least Tk 10 or more for a cup of coffee while at Tk 5/6 you can get cuppa from any tea-stall.



That's not point here i think. Reporter is talking about who can afford what.

Coffee is drank by every tom, dick and harry in the coffee drinking countries. There is nothing "upper class" about it. It's just that we are a tea drinking nation and coffee is slowly gaining popularity, these people haven't traveled across the world to know enough that coffee is not some elite people's drink.

 

[DalalErMaNodi]

What he meant is that : Coffee is now slowly gaining popularity in Bangladesh as a beverage, because the upper class in their neverending quest for living the high life are picking up coffee as a way of standing out and making a statement.

You know how these people are, trying to stand out; to be unique, to distance and demarcate themselves from beyond the 'plain' lower to middle class drones.

 

[Bengal71]

He is not talking about other countries, only BD.

It's coffee he is talking about. Our country is not standard setter for anything.

 

[Arthur]

"New Open"? Drank coffee in Dhaka at least 9 years ago. How is it the new open?

Exactly... it shouldn't be. But somehow 9 years later some people thinks tea is ক্ষ্যাত & কফি খাওয়ার ভাবই আলাদা.....

 

[Bengal71]

Exactly... it shouldn't be. But somehow 9 years later some people thinks tea is ক্ষ্যাত & কফি খাওয়ার ভাবই আলাদা.....

hahah, exactly

 

[mb444]

BD has many areas with similar climate to Indonesia so coffee production is a real possibility. Good initiative.

 

[The Ronin]

What he meant is that : Coffee is now slowly gaining popularity in Bangladesh as a beverage, because the upper class in their neverending quest for living the high life are picking up coffee as a way of standing out and making a statement.

You know how these people are, trying to stand out; to be unique, to distance and demarcate themselves from beyond the 'plain' lower to middle class drones.

The demand for coffee has been on the rise in the market and among young people, he said.

Absolutely wrong and ridiculous statement!! Seriously where did ya get this idea? Elites still prefer tea as it's lot easier-quicker to make and mainstream. No one's trying to trying to stand out; to be unique, to distance and demarcate themselves from beyond the 'plain' lower to middle class drones. Middle class people also drink coffee sometimes as some of these "young people" come from a middle class family too. Nothing special about drinking coffee. If you think elites don't drink tea then who do you think spends 200-300tk for cuppa?

I drink it cause tea taste like watery to me and have to add four tea-spoon sugar in it to make it drinkable. Malai tea is the only thing that taste good actually. Perhaps i prefer coffee cause it taste kinda like chocolate, smells good and i don't have to add much sugar in it.

It's coffee he is talking about. Our country is not standard setter for anything.

The article is about rising popularity of coffee among local gardeners and people. He is talking about what different classes of Bangladeshis can afford.

 

[Bilal9]

If you think elites don't drink coffee then who do you think spends 200-300tk for cuppa?

When I am in Bangladesh I frequent a few coffee joints like

North End Coffee Roasters

to keep my espresso habit going.

Tk. 300 for an espresso is like over-the-top reasonable.

Which actually doesn't make me an elite.

By the way, these guys have been offering Hill Tract Blend beans for over four/five years now...

 

[The Ronin]

When I am in Bangladesh I frequent a few coffee joints like

North End Coffee Roasters

to keep my espresso habit going.

Tk. 300 for an espresso is like over-the-top reasonable.

Which actually doesn't make me an elite.

By the way, these guys have been offering Hill Tract Blend beans for over four/five years now...

If you think elites don't drink tea then who do you think spends 200-300tk for cuppa?

Sorry my bad. I mistakenly typed coffee instead of tea. There are some cafes-restaurants charge Tk200-300+ for a cup of tea. So if elites want to stand out and make a statement, they can do with tea too.

 

[Bilal9]

BD has many areas with similar climate to Indonesia so coffee production is a real possibility. Good initiative.

Each Indonesian Island has uniquely different type of coffee beans to offer, such as Java, Sumatra, Sulawesi.

Indonesia has large amount of Coffee bean exports.

@Indos would you know if Coffee drinking was a long tradition in Indonesia, before the arrival of the Dutch?