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TECHNOLOGY POWERS AFFORDABLE REPRINT OF ‘THE ROMANCE OF INDIAN COFFEE’

By P.T. Bopanna

Though most of my books are out of print, I have found a new way to make them available to the readers. Since reprinting my books will be an expensive affair, I have zeroed in on ‘print-on-demand’ technology which enables the printing of either a single book, or multiple copies.

This publishing platform can be used by individual authors for publishing their books in print at little or no upfront investment.

My book ‘The Romance of Indian Coffee’ which had won the prestigious Gourmand international award under the ‘Best in the World’ coffee book category in 2015, has been out of print for a couple of years.

Since getting the book reprinted and distributed involved lot of effort and resources, I approached Pothi.com, a Bangalore-based start-up founded in 2008, who specialise in ‘print-on-demand’ technology.

All my nine books have been converted into ebooks and uploaded on Kindle and Google Play. The ‘print-on-demand’ technology makes the books very affordable in black and white format. The colour option is expensive under this technology.

‘The Romance of Indian Coffee’ in black and white colour is available now on ‘print-on-demand’. The book can also be bought online through Pothi or Amazon and Flipkart. I have shared below the Amazon link.

The book offers a 360 degree view of Indian coffee – the fascinating history of coffee, many charming facets of coffee culture, its symbiosis with nature and what makes coffee such a captivating brew.

The book highlights how Indian coffee is unique and stands out in the global market. Unlike the coffee produced in other countries, Indian coffee is totally shade-grown, and is much in demand internationally.

In the book, I have chronicled the contribution of Ivor Bull, the British planter from Coorg, who conceived the idea of the ‘pooling system’ to save the coffee industry during the Second World War.

For those interested in the variety of ways in which coffee can be prepared, a separate chapter has been devoted in the book on how to prepare a good cup of coffee, especially South Indian filter coffee. Recipes for other interesting and popular coffee concoctions, including recipes for making coffee liqueur have also been included.

There is an interesting chapter on how the pioneering British coffee planters spent their days in the estates in 1880s. The book also deals with the current issues that threaten planters – deforestation, climate change, fluctuating prices, and man-animal conflict.

Brand specialist Harish Bijoor, who has a vast experience in the coffee industry, has written the foreword for the book. Among those who have contributed articles for the book include, agriculture scientists, Dr. Anand Titus Pereira and his wife, Mrs Geeta Nanaiah Pereira, who have been working diligently on their model coffee farm on sustainable technologies.