Agsure Innovations lends a digital touch to coffee quality check
Abhinav Mahajan, director, Agsure Innovations with his coffee quality grading device.
Assessment of coffee grades and quality is set to go digital in India with a New Delhi-based start-up coming out with grading device that uses technologies such as image based processing and artificial intelligence. The box-type device developed by Agsure Innovations Pvt Ltd was showcased by the start-up to the coffee stakeholders at the centenary celebrations of Central Coffee Research Institute at Balehonnur recently.
Abhinav Mahajan, director, Agsure Innovations, said his company has developed a portable, machine vision-based coffee analysethat digitises the entire defect identification and grading process. “Instead of manual sorting, users simply spread the beans on a tray, close the device and take a high-resolution image. Proprietary algorithms then analyse the sample for defects, size and grades, delivering results in minutes,” Mahajan said.
Coffee stakeholders traditionally used to pick samples to identify defects and score beans by hand, which is time consuming and prone to human error.
Agsure is offering the device at an introductory price of Rs 1 lakh plus taxes, along with an annual subscription of Rs 25,000 that covers software updates, maintenance and continuous algorithm upgrades, Mahajan said. “We have sold about three devices mainly to overseas buyers in Turkey, Dubai and Indonesia, all of whom are large importers of green coffee beans. We are also in talks with a company in Uganda, which has requested a customised larger version of the device,” he said.
In the domestic market, the device has been showcased for the first time to the coffee stakeholders. Large corporate buyers of coffee beans have shown interest in the device, Mahajan added.
Founded by graduates from BITS Pilani, Agsure Innovations is self-funded and incubated at multiple government-supported centres, including the Atal Incubation Centre at Coffee Board. It is supported by Punjab Agri Business Incubator, ICAR-CIPHET, STPI Neuron- Mohali, a Centre of Excellence for AI and analytics. The company has also received a grant from the Agriculture MInistry.
While coffee is the newest focus, the company has already launched a similar device for rice and has sold around 64 units, so far. Mahajah said the grading device for rice identifies parameters such as broken grains, chalkiness and discoloration, following standard protocols laid down by agencies such as the Food Corporation of India (FCI). Going ahead the company plans to come up with a similar device for spices such as cardamom, fennel and cloves, which are largely graded based on size and visual quality. “The hardware remains the same. Only the software and the grading parameters change,” Mahajan said.
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Published on December 26, 2025
