How to Roast and Brew Indian Monsooned Malabar Coffee?

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Asian Coffee Origins

When talking about Asian coffee, the first thing that might come to mind for most people is probably Indonesia's Mandheling.

But in fact, the earliest country in Asia to cultivate coffee should be India.

It is said that Indonesia's coffee tree varieties were introduced and planted by the Dutch from India in the 17th century.

Famous Indian Monsooned Coffee

The famous Indian Malabar coffee is called Monsooned Coffee.

The name comes from MONSOON, which means monsoon.

It is said that its origin lies in the process of shipping raw coffee beans from India to Europe in the past, where the raw beans were affected by the high temperature and humidity of the Indian Ocean.

This triggered some changes, including: the raw beans expanding in volume, color changing from vibrant green to golden yellow, a mellow taste, and a unique flavor.

Today, with advancements in packaging and transportation technology, Indian coffee can be quickly transported to consumer countries without getting damp.

The key point is: what enthusiasts want is the unique taste of monsooned coffee.

Modern Monsooning Process

Today's monsooned coffee is processed at its origin, where coffee is placed in open-air warehouses and exposed to moist monsoon winds.

Workers constantly turn the beans to avoid excessive moisture and mold growth.

The monsooning process reduces the acidity of Indian coffee, increases its sweetness, creates a subdued aroma, and gives it a rich texture.

Some people describe it as having an "ocean flavor."

Coffee Bean Examination

Let's actually look at the beans. In the photo, there are four raw beans: the top-right one is a typical fresh washed raw bean, colored dark green to vibrant green.

The bottom-right one is monsooned Malabar, colored light golden yellow.

The two on the left are spoiled monsooned Malabar beans (not sure if they're toxic).

Monsooned Malabar should probably be considered soft beans, right!?

Roasting Experiment

So for the first batch, I tried not to roast too long or too dark, planning to finish after the first crack ends.

The photo shows the roasting wasn't very even - my technique needs improvement!!

Visually, about 5-10% of the beans hadn't reached first crack, but a similar proportion had already started approaching second crack.

It seems achieving even roasting is quite a challenge!!

Interestingly, Malabar raw beans are larger than typical raw beans, about 1.5 times larger.

But the roasted beans aren't much larger than the raw beans!

Taste Testing

Five days later, I conducted a taste test.

When monsooned Malabar is ground, you can clearly smell an aroma similar to Japanese genmaicha (brown rice green tea).

The photo shows the result of a SINGLE SHOT extraction left to sit for more than 10 seconds.

Compared to the half-cup or more of crema from Brazilian Daterra Santa Colomba or Costa Rican Dota Conquistador, the amount of crema from monsooned Malabar can only be described as average.

About FrontStreet Coffee

FrontStreet Coffee: A roastery in Guangzhou with a small shop but diverse bean varieties, where you can find various famous and lesser-known beans, while also providing online store services. https://shop104210103.taobao.com

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473