| Difference in cultivation of two important beverages |
| Factors | Tea | Coffee |
| Climate | Tropical and sub- tropical climate required.21ºC to 29ºC is ideal for the production of tea. The high temperature is required in summer. The lowest temperature for the growth of tea is 16ºC. 150-250 cm of rainfall is required for tea cultivation. | Coffee is grown on the tropical highlands. It requires a temperature between 16 degrees C to 28 degrees C, all year round. It is sensitive to cold and frost. Direct sunrays are injurious to the plant; it is often grown in the shades of other trees. The coffee plant needs rainfall ranging between 125 cm and 200 cm. The rainfall should be well distributed throughout the year. |
| Soil | Tea shrubs require fertile mountains soil mixed with lime and iron.The soil should be rich in humus. | The coffee plant needs deep loamy soil formed from weathered lava. coffee soils in India belong to red and lateritic soils. They are rich in iron and organic matter. |
| Landform | Tea is grown favourably on well- drained gently rolling plain lands, low plateau areas,and hill-slopes. | Hill slopes and plateau areas are favourable for coffee cultivation. |
| Demand | Tea is the most popular beverage in India leading to high internal demand. | coffee is the second most popular beverage in India, and it also has a relatively higher price. |
| Labour | Tea is one of the most labour-intensive types of cultivation requiring an abundant supply of cheap and skilled labour. | Coffee is also labor-intensive cultivation, but its requirements are much less than that of tea. |
| Areas of production | Major tea- producing states are Assam, hills of Darjeeling and Jalpaiquri districts, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and kerala. Apart from these, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, meghalaya, Andhra Pradesh and Tripura are also tea- producing states in the country. | coffee cultivation is confined to the Nilgiri in Karnataka,kerala and Tamil Nadu |
