Flavor Characteristics of Indian Monsoon Coffee Beans_What Coffee Does India Have_Are Indian Coffee Beans Expensive

Professional Coffee Knowledge Exchange

For more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style)

Indian Monsoon Coffee: A Unique Flavor Profile

Indian coffee is beloved by coffee enthusiasts for several reasons, but most importantly due to a processing method applied to the coffee beans, commonly known as the "monsooning" process.

Monsoon coffee (Monsooned Malabar) is a unique coffee from southern India processed using typical air-drying techniques, intentionally stored in open warehouses exposed to monsoon winds to achieve increased viscosity and reduced acidity.

However, when it comes to monsooned coffee, this new flavor was actually created unintentionally. From the 17th to 18th centuries, India transported coffee beans to Europe via sailing ships, a journey that took six months. The raw beans were placed in the lower decks of the ships, absorbing moisture and saltiness from the sea surface. By the time the raw beans arrived in Europe, they had deteriorated, with their color transforming from deep green to the yellowish-brown of rice grains. The fruity acidity of the coffee had almost disappeared, but surprisingly, it developed a rich nutty and grainy flavor with a full-bodied taste reminiscent of genmaicha (brown rice tea). When the transportation time to Europe was shortened by more than half, there wasn't enough time for the beans to mature and "transform," losing their original flavor. Thus, exporters想到了 that India's southwestern Malabar coast experiences a salty and humid environment from the Indian Ocean from late May to September each year. After several experiments, they successfully created a similar golden-colored, low-acidity coffee from the past, hence naming it "Monsoon Coffee," commonly known as monsooned coffee. For hundreds of years, it has been widely used by European coffee professionals for blending coffee beans, as it can increase viscosity and tea-like characteristics.

Indian monsoon coffee beans are stored in special warehouses until the monsoon arrives. The ventilated structure design allows humid monsoon winds to circulate among the coffee beans, causing them to expand in volume and develop a mellow but strong musty aroma. The monsooning process is labor-intensive: the coffee is spread out in special ventilated warehouses and raked or turned by hand to allow the beans to absorb moisture from the humid air. The entire process takes 12 to 16 months, during which the coffee beans expand to twice their original volume and acquire a dull golden color. Then, after additional processing to select out incompletely expanded coffee beans, the remaining beans are ready for export.

This dried coffee doesn't have a very strong aroma, but when water is added, a complex sweet fragrance of intensely roasted nuts (dry-roasted peanuts), caramel, and tobacco emerges.

Indian Coffee Bean Brand Recommendations

The Indian coffee beans roasted by FrontStreet Coffee - Monsooned Malabar Coffee and others - offer excellent guarantees in both brand and quality. More importantly, they offer extremely high value for money. A half-pound (227 grams) package costs only around 80 yuan. Calculating at 15 grams of coffee powder per pour-over cup, one package can make 15 cups of coffee, with each single-origin coffee costing only about 5 yuan. Compared to cafes selling coffee for dozens of yuan per cup, this represents excellent value.

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 :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473