More people may start meeting over a cup of coffee if the Coffee Board gets its formula right. It is aiming to entice more people into taking to coffee drinking. It will use the idiot box. The board will make short films on the different coffee-brewing methods.

As a step in this direction, the board has invited proposals from reputed and established advertising film/ documentary film-makers to undertake the project. As subjects for the short films, the Coffee Board has chosen brewing methods like filter coffee, Mocha Coffee, French Press, Espresso apart from roasting and grinding methods.

"The objective of the documentary/advertisement is to educate the public on coffee brewing as part of the promotional campaign of the board," said a senior board official.

"Once the film is ready it will be telecast on Doordarshan, local TV channels and DVDs for sales promotion," he added.

The films will come handy in promoting coffee in the non-traditional coffee areas like north India, where the average person drinks only half-a-cup of coffee every year. Besides, the board also plans to change coffee's image from the boring, unimpressive and formal drink to a young, hep drink.

The board has resorted to the exercise after it met with mixed success in conducting `kaapi shastra' programme for people interested in coffee brewing and retailing in a few towns and cities where quality experts from the Coffee Board and a few guest speakers from the industry make up the core of the faculty.

The coffee promotion exercise is relevant to the board as the economy is growing and the disposable incomes are rising.

In fact, after two decades of stagnation in domestic coffee consumption, around 50,000 tonnes (1980 to 2000), there has been a surge in coffee consumption in the country which is now placed around 80,000 tonne.

This is mainly due to the efforts of some of the enterprising coffee retail chains in the recent years that were quick to see the opportunity.

Even then, the per capita coffee consumption of 80 gm is abysmally low compared to the average per capita coffee consumption of over 4 kg of any developed country. Hence, there is immense scope and potential to largely expand the Indian domestic coffee market.

Commenting on the Coffee Board's move, Ashok Kurian, President, Speciality Coffee Association India said, "This will make an impact on people who do not drink and educate the new generation growing up on the cafe culture."

"The Coffee Board's initiative will also increase the incremental sales and help coffee growers as well," he added.