Which Brand of Indian Coffee Beans is Best? Is There a Secret Ingredient in Indian Coffee? Is Indian Coffee Famous?

Introduction to Indian Coffee

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

Monsooned Coffee

Monsooned coffee (Monsoon Malabar) is a unique coffee from southern India processed with typical air-drying techniques, deliberately stored in open warehouses exposed to monsoon winds to increase viscosity and reduce acidity.

Monsooned coffee is stored in special warehouses until the monsoon arrives. The ventilation is designed so humid monsoon winds circulate among the beans, causing them to swell and develop a mellow yet intense musty flavor. The process is labor-intensive: the coffee is spread out in special ventilated warehouses and raked or turned by hand so the beans absorb moisture from the humid air. The beans swell to twice their original volume and take on a dull golden-yellow color. After further processing to remove incompletely swollen beans, the rest is ready for export.

The aroma of this dried coffee is not very intense, but once water is added a complex sweet fragrance emerges - intensely roasted nuts (dry-roasted peanuts), caramel, and tobacco.

Indian Coffee Growing Regions

The Western Ghats region of India produces large quantities of coffee, and the southwest monsoon is crucial to its growth. Besides Karnataka state, high-quality coffee is also grown in Tellicherry and Malabar in the southwestern state of Kerala, and in the Nilgiris in the southeastern state of Tamil Nadu (formerly Madras Province).

India has both plateaus and plains, with the plateaus mainly in the central region and the plains along the eastern and western coasts. The soil and climate suit coffee well, and many varieties are grown, predominantly Arabica. Robusta was introduced in the late 19th century and also accounts for a significant share. Monsooned coffee comes from southern Karnataka around Mysore and the Tamil Nadu region around Madras.

High-quality Indian coffee is also graded as Arabica plantation coffee, with the finest grades A, B, C, and T. Monsooned coffee is divided into Monsooned Malabar AA and Monsooned Basanically. India also produces some berry-shaped coffee. October to February of the following year is the ideal season for producing monsooned coffee. June to September is the harvest period, while December to February of the following year is the season for processing Indian specialty coffee.

Characteristics of Indian Coffee

Monsooned coffee is India's most representative coffee. India was in fact the first country in Asia to grow coffee, and cultivation was started by its colonizers, the British. As early as the 17th and early 18th centuries the British were not the tea lovers they are today; they preferred coffee, and India's coffee industry grew rapidly under British demand and promotion.

Strictly speaking, monsooned coffee is not a variety but a unique way of processing green beans that accidentally created a new flavor. From the 17th to the 18th century, India shipped coffee beans to Europe by sailing ship, a journey that took six months. The green beans were stored in the bottom of the hold, absorbing moisture and saltiness from the sea air. By the time they reached Europe they had already changed color, from dark green to the yellowish-brown of rice grains. The coffee's fruit acidity had almost disappeared, but it had unexpectedly developed a strong nutty, grainy flavor, with a rich mouthfeel somewhat like genmaicha. Northern Europeans in particular liked this golden-colored alternative coffee.

Monsooned coffee uses sun-dried beans. The storage houses face west, and the beans are spread evenly inside with all windows open to welcome the salty, humid southwest monsoon winds. Once they reach a certain stage they are bagged, but the beans cannot be packed too full and the bags cannot be stacked too densely, to avoid mold from poor ventilation. The beans must also be periodically poured out and replaced in fresh burlap bags to prevent mold, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive. The process takes approximately twelve to sixteen weeks. After maturing, the beans undergo smoke treatment to repel weevils, and finally hand sorting to remove any beans that have not turned golden yellow.

Historically the sea voyage took about six months, and the beans were exposed to monsoon conditions for at least six months to a year; the modern monsooning process recreates that effect in roughly 12 to 16 weeks. Either way, the quality and quantity of the beans change significantly. Their volume expands to one to two times the original size, while weight and density drop, with a moisture content of approximately 13%.

When steamships shortened the journey, producers found that consumers still wanted the color and flavor that long voyages had given the beans. To recreate that original flavor, the monsooning process was adopted.

Flavor Profile and Brewing Recommendations

Flavor: smooth and palatable, full-bodied, with spicy notes and a full body.

Recommended roast: medium roast.

Rating: two stars, Good.

The Indian Coffee Market

Today the Indian Coffee Board controls the entire industry, buying coffee uniformly and then selling it through large auctions. These coffees are blended together to reach certain trade volumes, which erases differences between estates and regions. As a result, many high-quality producers lack the incentive to produce distinctive, high-quality beans. The government tried to address this in 1992, and through those efforts the famous Valley Nuggets coffee was obtained from A-grade plantation seeds in several high-quality production areas.

Recommended Indian Coffee Bean Brands

Indian beans roasted by FrontStreet Coffee, such as Monsooned Malabar, offer full guarantees in both brand and quality. Just as important, they are extremely good value - a half-pound (227g) package costs only about 80 yuan. At 15 grams per pour-over, a package makes 15 cups, so each single-origin cup costs only about 5 yuan. Compared with coffee shops charging tens of yuan per cup, that is exceptional value.

FrontStreet Coffee is a Guangzhou roastery with a small storefront but a wide variety of beans, where you can find both famous and lesser-known coffees, along with online shop service.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Monsooned Malabar is a medium roast, and if a balanced, low-acid medium roast is what you enjoy, FrontStreet has several strong options. During roasting, three factors decide the final flavor - acidity, sweetness, and bitterness: the darker the roast, the more bitter and full-bodied the cup; the lighter the roast, the more acidic and lighter it becomes. For a balanced cup, a medium roast is the place to start.

If you dislike both acidity and bitterness, FrontStreet Brazil Queen's Estate is a good fit. Grown in Brazil, the world's largest coffee producer, it is a distinctive yellow Bourbon variety with a quiet, sweet character; medium roasted, it shows creamy peanut, chocolate, baked bread, and sugarcane aromas and sweetness, and works in a pour-over, a moka pot, or an espresso machine.

If you want a sweeter medium roast, FrontStreet Strawberry Candy is the first choice, built around fruit flavors. Blending honey-processed Costa Rican coffee with washed Panamanian Geisha, it is medium roasted to bring out both orange-blossom honey and a rounded sweetness, and it suits cold brew, pour-over, and espresso alike.

For a balanced, gentle cup, FrontStreet Yunnan 2013 Sun-Dried Typica is a representative Chinese specialty coffee, medium roasted to highlight soft nut, brown sugar, black tea, and dried apricot notes across pour-over, cold brew, and drip machines at a very fair price. And FrontStreet Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1, a Typica grown in Jamaica, is medium roasted so its acidity, bitterness, sweetness, and body blend into an elegant whole, with immediate chocolate, roasted nut, cream, and caramel flavors.