Coffee spread to India in the 17th century, when Baba Budan, returning from a pilgrimage to Mecca, smuggled seven beans and planted them in the hills of Chikkamagaluru district, a mountainous region now known as Baba Budan Giri. The cultivation of raw coffee grew slowly in India and the first formal plantations were established by the British in 1840 in the same region where the first coffee beans were planted. Over the years, repeated battles with coffee leaf rust and an emphasis on yield have made India increase the planting of Robusta and prioritize shade-growing conditions. Today, India grows more than twice as much Robusta as Arabica and almost all coffee is grown under shade, much of it in forest conditions. Over 21% of India’s coffee is exported to Italy, where Robusta has long been part of traditional espresso blends. In recent years, Olam has found coffee for the specialty market. India is poised to attract increased attention from specialty markets, not only because quality is rapidly improving. Coffee plantations in India are home to abundant wildlife, including tigers and elephants, due to the forest-like conditions. Compared to shade-grown coffee in other parts of the world, coffee in India is grown under dense shade and almost co-cultivated with peppercorns, cardamom, areca nut, oranges, bananas and other crops.