Indian Monsoon Malabar Coffee
The coffee cravers round the globe, love to push all physical and geographical boundaries in an eternal search of gourmet coffees, be it single-origin or blended cuppa. Your pursuit for a finer coffee can even take you to the remote Malabar Coast of Karnataka, India, where the cool monsoon winds and shady coconut beaches cradle the most sophisticated, subterranean and gentle tasting coffees you can think of.
India, apart from its association with fine-tasted teas, has been prominent in the production of export quality coffee beans with a larger share of the beans originating in the coastal Karnataka at Malabar region. Known as Monsoon Malabar or ‘Monsooned’ Malabar, the coffee beans are simply adored for their mellowed sweetness and earthen woody undertones best suited for an espresso cuppa.
Taste Characteristics:
Monsoon Malabar coffee is loved for its tempered sweetness, surreal taste of monsoon and good-bodied flavor. The name Monsoon Malabar is derived from an extraordinary fermentation process that the coffee beans go through – exposure to the annual monsoon winds reducing the innate acidity and swelling of the beans to produce full-bodied, less bitter coffee with a hint of sandalwood and spices.
The process of ‘monsooning’ is carried out on the concrete floors of the open-sided warehouses, where coffee beans are spread out and frequently tossed in a three hourly interval to tap in moistures evenly from the monsoon winds. It takes almost ten days to season the beans up to 15%, in a humid and saturated airflow. While done, the beans are packed in loosely knit gunny bags, to allow the air to circulate helping the coffee beans to perspire. After the process of ‘monsooning’, the raw and pungent coffee beans expand doubly from the size of the green coffee cherries, shading the bitterness and acidity, surfacing the mellow undertones, soft and moistened with an all-pervading earthy aroma of the coastal winds.
The ‘post-monsooning’ process requires retaining the moisture in the beans up to the desired levels so that when they are shipped across, they do not lose the adequate 14%-15% moisture and the microbes working on the moist, swelled beans. That is how you get a singular, full-bodied, intoxicating coffee, with a tinge of newly baked chocolate and a distinct earthiness not so common in other coffee blends. The smoky tobacco taste will surely find its way in your mouth.
Geographical Indications:
Situated on the western coast of India, Malabar facilitates the production of the finest quality Indian gourmet coffee with its stable, annual monsoon winds to weather the un-roasted beans stored in open warehouses. The south-west monsoons from the Arabian sea helps the beans to expand in size, changing the color of the cherry brunette to a golden pale yellowish tint and squeeze the density of the coffee beans to 40-60%.
The process is carried out from the months of June to September. In the 12-24 weeks long process, the beans undergo a spectrum of biological, physical and chemical changes, like the dip in the sugary contents. What you get is the results of the micro-flora working on the beans to change the flavor, taste & texture of the coffee. That is how the beans get a lift and the coffee gets its character.
Why Buy this Coffee:
In the preparation of the Indian Monsoon Malabar coffee, coffee beans are de-pulped and graded in coffee curing processes, then beans sieved and finally stored for wholesale trade. Only the high-quality ‘A’ grade Arabica coffee beans are pulped and cured, so that the coffee retains the goodness all the way.
The beans continue to develop in taste after several roasts. The roasted Monsoon Malabar beans require a resting period of at least 10 to 15 days before they are fully absorbed and stabilized. That is why fresh roasts are not so intended for your espresso coffee needs. The more you wait, the wiser you get in terms of your Monsoon Malabar experience. The full-blown flavor is quite unmatched to the other roasted lots which oxidize and age early, post roast.
Even the suppliers and distributors of the coffee beans would like to have few days’ worth of roasts in bulk to meet the insatiable demands of the Monsoon Malabar cravers.
Tonnes of Malabar coffees are exported to European countries from India every year to meet the escalating demand overseas. No wonder, India has become the seventh largest exporter of gourmet coffee worldwide.
If you prefer a ‘go-slow’ coffee matured like an aging wine, and crave for some discounts price-wise, it is time you head out for an Indian Monsoon Malabar.
Cup Characteristics
Loved for its tempered sweetness, surreal taste of monsoon and good-bodied flavor
