Bangalore: The fifth edition of the India International Coffee Festival (IICF 2014) is back in Bangalore after a hiatus of four years, after making its mark felt in New Delhi, a non-traditional coffee market in 2012.
Organised by the India Coffee Trust with the support of the Coffee Board of India, the theme of this biennial conference “The changing face of coffee” will be held at The Lalit Ashok from January 21-25 is reflective of the increasing popularity of the retail coffee culture spreading across the country.
Visitors to IICF 2014 will be treated to an exposition of the latest technologies and products by 60 leading coffee companies both national and international, including instant coffee makers of India, café chains and leading product/farm equipment companies.
“Per capita (per person, per annum) coffee consumption in India is just 90 gm compared to 4-5 kg in developed markets like the US and Europe, and is the highest, at 12 kg in Finland. While the coffee industry in India is doing very well with exports going up by 33 per cent in the last quarter of 2013 compared to the previous year, we are also focused on promoting coffee consumption within the country, which is currently at 1.2 lakh tonnes per annum. I hope the IICF attracts more investments in the Indian Coffee Industry,” said Jawaid Akhtar, Chairman Coffee Board of India.
Forty-one global experts from the industry, including Roberio Oliveira Silva, former Director, International Coffee Organisation, Deverl Maserang, Ex-Vice President, Starbucks, Prof Jaakko Tuomilehto, University of Helsinki, and some 900 delegates are expected to attend.
The five-day event will host workshops on the first two days on themes like brewing coffee by espresso method, advanced roasting skills, brewing filter coffee etc. Conference sessions on marketing and production trends, a workshop on coffee entrepreneurship, coffee awards to recognise best exporters, roasters, curers, best coffees and best Baristas will also be presented. For the first time, a national Coffee Quiz, which attracted over one lakh participants from across the country, will have the six finalists competing for the award.
