Indian Coffee Brands | The History of Indian Monsoon Coffee [Monsoon Malabar] and How to Brew It Perfectly

Indian Coffee Brands | The History of Indian Monsoon Coffee [Monsoon Malabar] and How to Brew It

Monsoon Malabar, as the name suggests, is coffee created by the wind. It is said that this peculiar bean, now popular throughout Europe, came about entirely by chance. In the early 17th and 18th centuries, Indian coffee was transported to Europe by sailing ships, and each journey took about six months. During that time the raw beans absorbed the salty moisture of the sea air. By the time they reached their destination, their flavour had completely transformed: the colour changed from deep green to yellow-brown, the fruit acidity almost disappeared, and a rich nutty, grainy flavour developed instead. Brewed, it had a full-bodied, tea-like quality with hints of genmaicha. Europeans responded unexpectedly well. Today India exports 3,000 metric tons a year, with Norway, Switzerland, France, and Italy the largest importers.

Monsooned coffee was unintentionally created as a new flavour profile. From the 17th to the 18th centuries, India transported coffee to Europe by sailing ship, each voyage taking six months. The raw beans sat in the lower decks, absorbing moisture and salt from the sea. By the time they arrived in Europe they had deteriorated: the colour had shifted from deep green to the yellow-brown of rice grains, the fruit acidity had almost vanished, and rich nutty and grainy flavours had developed in its place. Brewed, the coffee had a full body with genmaicha-like qualities. Scandinavians in particular loved this golden alternative coffee. In 1869, with the opening of the Suez Canal and the arrival of steamships, travel time between India and Europe was shortened. Customers began complaining that Indian coffee had "lost its flavour," missing its distinctive golden colour and nutty taste. Orders dropped sharply, and Indian exporters set out to find a solution. It turned out that the shortened transport time, reduced by more than half, meant the beans no longer had enough time to mature and "transform," and so they lost their original flavour profile. The exporters then remembered that the southwestern Malabar coast experiences a humid, salty environment from the Indian Ocean monsoon from late May to September each year. After several experiments they succeeded in creating a coffee similar to the former golden, low-acidity one, and so it was named "Monsoon Coffee," commonly known as monsooned coffee. Today monsooned beans are produced by first selecting high-quality raw beans and transporting them to coastal monsooning facilities, where they are spread out and exposed to the humid southwest monsoon winds. Experienced workers turn them frequently to ensure even exposure. The process takes twelve to sixteen weeks, during which the beans swell to nearly twice their original size and their colour changes.

Monsoon Malabar is a very distinctive and famous bean produced in the Malabar region of Kerala in southern India. During the monsoon season the beans are placed in specially well-ventilated warehouses. Large doors and windows are opened so the humid monsoon winds flow freely through the space, surrounding the beans and exposing them to humid air. The beans take on a pale yellow colour and are slightly larger than typical Arabica beans, with a moisture content between 13 and 14%. As a rule, Monsoon Malabar made by the monsoon winds gives an impression of rich flavour and smooth texture, with a particularly strong aroma and a rounded taste.

Interestingly, the creation of monsooned beans was an accident that formed by chance. In the age of sail, beans had to spend several months at sea travelling from India to Europe. During the voyage, high humidity and sea winds caused the originally fresh green beans to mature faster, turning an aged pale yellow. On arrival in Europe, these pale yellow beans' unique mature flavour and low acidity caused a sensation in the market. After shipping developed and travel time shortened, beans were deliberately exposed to the air at origin during the monsoon season (June to August) to recreate the effect once achieved by sea transport.

Aspinwall's premium Malabar is a well-known family brand. During processing the beans are carefully turned by hand. After the monsoon exposure they also undergo hand selection to remove defective beans before being bagged for export. The flavour is quite soft, mature, and rich in texture, with a distinctive combination of caramel aftertaste and intense aroma. In use it is quite versatile, suitable for single-origin brewing and excellent for blending. Because of its low acidity it is often used in Europe to blend with Central American and African beans, creating a rich base with a lingering aftertaste.

India's Monsooned Malabar is a very famous specialty bean: monsooned beans are created through cooperation between the earth and the sea winds, producing complex and unique flavours. Monsooned Malabar is a unique product of the Malabar coast, where coffee is processed and shipped worldwide. In early years, beans transported from the Malabar coast to Europe took six months. Under the influence of the sea winds they underwent significant changes in flavour and colour, giving birth to the Monsooned Malabar specialty bean. Monsooned coffee must be made from sun-dried beans. All monsooning facilities face west to receive the salty, humid southwest monsoon winds, and beans are spread out in monsooning yards with all windows open. Once they have been monsooned to a certain degree, the beans are bagged, but the bags cannot be filled too full or stacked too densely, to prevent mould from poor ventilation. The beans must also be periodically removed from the bags and transferred to fresh jute sacks to prevent mould, which is time-consuming and labour-intensive. The monsooning period lasts about twelve to sixteen weeks. After maturation the beans undergo smoke treatment to drive away weevils, followed by hand sorting to remove the beans that have not turned golden yellow, the failures. Months of weathering expose the coffee to humid monsoon winds for long periods, which not only turns the beans yellow and reduces acidity but also diminishes the less desirable acidity in the beans, creating a very special texture.

FrontStreet Coffee's Recommended Brewing

Filter: Hario V60

Water temperature: 88 degrees C

Grind size: Fuji grinder setting 4

Brewing method: water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, 15g of grounds. First pour 25g of water and bloom for 25 seconds. Second pour to 120g, then stop. Wait until the water level in the coffee bed drops to halfway, then continue pouring slowly up to 225g. Extraction time approximately 2:00.

Analysis: a three-stage brewing method clearly distinguishes the front, middle, and back-end flavours of the coffee. Because the V60 has many ribs and drains quickly, stopping the pour during brewing extends the extraction time.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Monsoon Malabar sits at the opposite end of the spectrum from the bright, fruit-forward coffees that dominate modern specialty menus, and if you would like to explore that lighter, more aromatic side, FrontStreet Coffee has several excellent options. FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe Gudingding, a washed Ethiopian coffee, is many people's first step into specialty coffee, with clear citrus, berry, and floral notes and a green-tea sweetness that is gentle and easy to accept rather than sharply sour.

For more vivid fruit, FrontStreet Coffee's Ethiopia Huakui is one of the most successful releases of recent years, led by intense tropical aromas of strawberry, passion fruit, and jackfruit, with pronounced sweetness and almost no bitterness, while FrontStreet Coffee's Kenya Small Tomato, from the Thika region at 1,550-1,750 meters, is washed, light roasted, and full of cherry tomato and dark plum acidity with a juicy, layered body.

Finally, FrontStreet Coffee's Ethiopia Kafa Forest comes from a UNESCO-recognised biosphere reserve in southwestern Ethiopia, where wild Arabica grows between 1,400 and 2,100 meters under shade. Medium-light roasted, it shows white florals, bright lemon acidity, sweet orange, and bergamot, with a green-tea-like finish.