Mumbai civil servant Sachin Kenjale regularly ends his day with a steaming cup of instant coffee after trying the drink for the first time with friends around two years ago.
Typical of the growing thirst for quick and cheap coffee sweeping parts of Asia traditionally considered bastions of tea drinking, industry officials say that kind of demand will push the market share of the robusta beans used to make instant powder above more expensive arabica by the end of the decade.
Reaching that milestone would underscore a major market shift, with robusta's popularity soaring as increasing wealth prompts more people in emerging nations to start drinking coffee, a boon for key growers of the bean such as Vietnam and Indonesia.
But arabica farmers in Latin America and East Africa fear the ascent of the cheaper robusta bean could take the edge off growth in demand for their crops, which are more difficult to cultivate but typically yield a less-harsh and more aromatic brew often favored in Europe and North America.
“Robusta coffee production has grown every year, and it will continue to grow. But I think it would be a less wonderful world if we didn't have arabica coffee still with us,” said Ric Rhinehart, executive director at trade body the Specialty Coffee Association of America.