in the 1940s, indian filter coffee, a sweet milky coffee made from dark roasted coffee beans (70%–80%) and chicory (20%–30%) became a commercial success. it was especially popular in the southern states of andhra pradesh, karnataka, kerala and tamil nadu. the most commonly used coffee beans are arabica and robusta grown in the hills of karnataka (kodagu, chikkamagaluru and hassan), kerala (malabar region) and tamil nadu (nilgiris district, yercaud and kodaikanal).