Coffee culture

What is Indian Monsooned Malabar Coffee? How Should Malabar Coffee from India Be Roasted?

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee
Last Updated: 2026/01/27, Professional coffee knowledge exchange. For more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style). Due to slow shipping speeds in the early days, raw coffee beans exported from India to Europe would absorb moisture in humid environments during the long journey, thus transforming and developing an unprecedented characteristic.

Indian Monsooned Malabar AA

In the early days, due to slow shipping speeds, raw coffee beans exported from India to Europe underwent a transformation during the long journey. In the humid environment, the beans absorbed moisture, developing unprecedented characteristics—the raw beans expanded in volume, their color changed from yellow-green to pale yellow, and they presented a smooth, mellow, and uniquely complex flavor profile.

The Malabar Coast is located in southwestern India. From June to September each year, monsoon winds from the southwest bring abundant moisture to the Malabar coastal region, creating ideal conditions for producing Monsooned Malabar coffee. When this rainy season arrives, the post-processing of Monsooned Malabar begins. Sun-dried raw beans are spread out in well-ventilated warehouses to absorb the natural humidity brought by the monsoons. They must be regularly turned to prevent mold formation and help ensure each bean absorbs moisture evenly and accelerates its transformation. The beans are then packed into jute bags and stacked to allow further development. The process of spreading, turning, and bagging-stacking continues uninterruptedly until early September. As the monsoon season ends, these monsooned coffee beans are sent to machines for polishing, grading, and removal of color-inconsistent defects, followed by final manual sorting.

After three to four months of post-processing, Monsooned Malabar develops the characteristics of large bean size and golden color, with a charming flavor profile that is sweet, mellow, rich, and aromatic.

How should Indian Monsooned Malabar coffee be roasted?

Because this coffee has generally moderate bean density, FrontStreet Coffee suggests roasting with medium heat, steadily increasing the temperature. The yellowing point should be around 4 minutes and 50 seconds, then reduce heat and open the air vent to enter the Maillard reaction. At first crack, open the air vent wide, maintain heat, at approximately 184.4°C, and drop the beans 2 minutes and 30 seconds after first crack.

Coffee Information

Country: India

Region: Malabar

Altitude: 1000 - 1500 meters

Processing Method: Monsooned

Grade: AA

Variety: Arabica

Flavor Notes: Cream, wheat, nuts, brown sugar, rich oily mouthfeel

Brewing Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee recommends using pour-over method to brew Indian Monsooned Malabar coffee.

Grind Size: 4 (Japan Fuji R440)

Water Temperature: 83°C

Kono filter cup, 17g coffee, water temperature 83°C, grind size 4, water-to-coffee ratio close to 1:13

Technique: 30g water for bloom, bloom time 30s

Pouring: Pour water to 120g, then pause, then pour with slightly larger flow to 221g

That is 30-120-221, total extraction time 1:50-2 minutes

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

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473

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