What Coffee Does India Have? How to Brew and Drink Indian Malabar Coffee?

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Coffee only became the world's number one beverage after 1600, so coffee has a recorded history of only 400 years, similar to Taiwan's history. Most people recognize Africa as the homeland of coffee, originating from Ethiopia and spreading to the world through the port of Mocha in Yemen. However, to prevent coffee from being cultivated in other countries, Arabs required all coffee beans to be dehulled before export. But even the most careful plans have flaws. Around 1600 (17th century), Baba Budan, who went to Mecca for pilgrimage, hid seven germinable coffee beans in his belly and secretly brought them back to his home in southwestern India, thus opening the history of coffee's spread throughout the world. This southwestern region of India is now known as the Indian Malabar region.

Indian Malabar coffee, also known as monsooned coffee, has always been favored by Europeans. This monsooned coffee was accidentally created as a new flavor. From the 17th to 18th centuries, India transported coffee beans to Europe by sailing ships, a journey that took six months. The raw beans were placed in the bottom of the ship's hold, absorbing moisture from the sea surface and saltiness. By the time the raw beans arrived in Europe, they had deteriorated, changing color from deep green to the yellow-brown of rice grains. The fruit acidity of the coffee had almost disappeared, but it unexpectedly developed strong nutty and grainy flavors, with a full-bodied taste reminiscent of genmaicha (brown rice tea). Northern Europeans particularly liked this golden alternative coffee. In 1869, the Suez Canal opened, and steamships emerged, shortening the sailing time between India and Europe. However, customers began to complain that Indian coffee had "lost its flavor," missing its former charming earthy yellow color and nutty taste. Orders decreased sharply, and Indian exporters began researching solutions. It turned out that the coffee shipped to Europe had its travel time reduced by more than half, not allowing enough time for "transformation" and losing its original flavor. Exporters then thought of the salty and humid environment created by the Indian monsoon winds along the Malabar coast of southwestern India from late May to September each year. After several experiments, they successfully produced a similar golden, low-acidity coffee to the former style, thus naming it "Monsoon Coffee," commonly known as monsooned coffee.

Malabar coffee must be made from sun-dried beans. The monsooning facility faces west to receive the salty and humid monsoon winds blowing from the southwest. Coffee beans are spread evenly in the monsooning yard with all windows open. After a certain degree of monsooning, the beans are bagged, but the coffee bags cannot be filled too full, and they cannot be stacked too densely to avoid mold growth due to poor ventilation. The beans must also be periodically emptied and jute bags replaced to prevent mold growth, making it quite time-consuming and labor-intensive. The monsooning period is about twelve to sixteen weeks. After maturation, the beans must also undergo smoke treatment to drive away weevils. Finally, manual sorting is required to remove the failed beans that haven't turned golden. After three to four months of monsooning, the volume of green coffee beans expands to one to two times their original size, while weight and density decrease, with a moisture content of about 13%. Both quality and quantity undergo significant changes.

PS. Actually, Malabar coffee needs to be rested for 2-3 days after roasting for the genmaichi-like flavor to develop well - wait a couple of days before slowly savoring it.

How should Indian Malabar coffee be roasted?

Because this coffee has medium bean density, FrontStreet Coffee suggests roasting with medium heat, steadily increasing the temperature. The yellowing point occurs around 4 minutes and 50 seconds, then reduce the heat and open the airflow damper to enter the Maillard reaction. At the first crack, open the damper wide, maintain the heat, with a temperature of about 184.4°C. Drop the beans 2 minutes and 30 seconds after the first crack.

Indian Monsooned Malabar AA

■ Country: India

■ Region: Malabar

■ Altitude: 1000 - 1500 meters

■ Processing method: Monsooned

■ Grade: AA

■ Variety: Arabica

■ Flavor notes: Cream, wheat, nuts, brown sugar, with rich mouthfeel and oily body

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

Grind size: 4 (Japan Fuji R440)

Water temperature: 83°C

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

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

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

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

FrontStreet Coffee: A roastery in Guangzhou with a small shop but diverse bean varieties, where you can find both famous and lesser-known beans. Online shop service is also available: 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