Erstwhile Mysore royal family forays into specialty coffee, unveils Berunda Coffee

The erstwhile Mysore royal family forayed into coffee retailing business by launching three specialty coffee varieties under brand name “Berunda Coffee.” The Gandaberunda is the mythical two-headed bird that served as the royal emblem for the Wadiyar Dynasty.

The coffee varieties are named after palace elephants — Drona, South Indian filter, and Arjuna and Gajendra, as hand-poured brews. All three are AA-grade, chicory-free, roast-date stamped coffees sourced from Chikmagalur, the BR Hills and Coorg.

Rajkumari Jayapalashri Anil, Founder, House of Berunda, told The Hindu, “My mother used to tell me about waking as a child to the smell of fresh coffee, watching her father savour his morning cup. Coffee, in our family, was never just a drink — it connected generations. So Berunda Coffee is a continuation of something that began at our family table, long before I was born.”

According to Ms. Anil, the granddaughter of Jayachamraja Wadiyar, more coffee variants are on the anvil. Sustainability would be non-negotiable, from shade-grown sourcing to sun-dried processing with a promise to bring more women into the story at every step, from estate, to roastery to leadership level, she said.

Speaking on the occasion, M.J. Dinesh, Chairman, Coffee Board said, although Karnataka led the country accounting for around 70% of coffee production, the domestic consumption of coffee was way too low at 70 gram per person a year while it was almost 12 to 15 kilograms in some of the European countries.

“India’s coffee story has tremendous scope to grow bigger and better and for that our domestic consumption should grow substantially,’’ Coffee Board Chairman added.