While the Mysore royal family forayed into specialty coffee, they unveiled Berunda Coffee

(From left) Dmitrii Kurbatov – Head of Marketing and Public Relations, Rajkumari Jayapalashri Anil, Founder, House of Berunda, Dhushyant Anil, Founder Member and MJ Dinesh, Chairman, Coffee Board at the launch of Berunda Coffee by Mysore Royal Family here on Friday. | Photo credit: Special arrangement

The erstwhile Mysore royal family ventured into coffee retail by launching three specialty coffees under the brand ‘Berunda Coffee’. The Gandaberunda is a mythical two-headed bird that served as the royal emblem of the Wadiyar dynasty.

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

Rajkumari Jayapalalashri Anil, founder of the Berund family, told The Hindu: “My mother used to tell me about waking up as a child to the smell of fresh coffee and watching my father enjoy his morning cup. Coffee in our family was never just a drink – it brought generations together. So Berunda coffee is a continuation of something that started at our family table long before I was born.”

According to Ms. Anil, granddaughter of Jayachamraj Wadiyar, there are more varieties of coffee on the anvil. Sustainability was non-negotiable, from shade-grown sourcing to sun-dried processing with a promise to bring more women into the story at every step, from real estate to the roastery to the management level, she said.

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

“The Indian coffee story has a huge scope to grow and improve and therefore our domestic consumption should increase substantially,” the Coffee Board chairman added.

Published – 04 Jul 2026 0:04 IST