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FrontStreet Coffee - Introduction to Indian Monsooned Malabar Coffee

Indian Climate

The ideal climate conditions for coffee bean growth are temperatures between 23 to 28 degrees Celsius and rainfall between 1.5 to 2.0 meters, with a 2-3 month dry season after the rainy season. Cold temperatures near freezing are not suitable for coffee cultivation. Although rainfall in southern India is less than 1 meter, irrigation facilities are available, and the temperature and relative humidity are favorable for coffee bean growth.

In India, coffee plants are often affected by fungi. The most common fungus affecting coffee bean growth is Hemileia vastatrix, for which there is currently no complete cure; coffee plants are also affected by a disease called coffee rot, which causes severe damage during the rainy season.

India's Monsooned Malabar is one of the world's quite famous specialty coffee beans. Its processing method is quite complex and peculiar, producing complex and unique flavors mainly through the interaction between the earth and sea winds. The name "Monsooned Malabar" refers to the unique coffee product processed from monsooned beans in Malabar on the west coast of India. The coffee undergoes a tedious and rigorous monsooning treatment here before being shipped worldwide.

Monsooned coffee must be made from sun-dried beans. All processing facilities for monsooned coffee face west to receive the salty, humid monsoon winds blowing from the southwest sea. Coffee beans are spread flat in the monsooning yard with all the windows open. Once monsooned to a certain degree, they are bagged. Because the beans expand considerably during the process, the bags cannot be filled too full, nor stacked too densely, to avoid mold and spoilage from poor ventilation. The beans must also be poured out and repacked into fresh gunny sacks from time to time to prevent mold — a genuinely time-consuming and labor-intensive process.

The monsooning period lasts about twelve to sixteen weeks. After maturation, the coffee must also be fumigated to drive away weevils, followed by manual sorting to remove any beans that have not turned golden yellow. After three to four months of monsooning, the green beans expand to one to two times their original volume, while their weight and density decrease.

Although monsooned Malabar beans look large and plump, they are actually soft beans — strong on the outside but weak on the inside — a change caused by months of weathering. Long exposure to the humid monsoon winds not only turns the beans yellow but also significantly reduces the coffee's own acidity, resulting in a very special taste. Beyond being enjoyed as a single origin, Indian Malabar beans are also excellent for blending with other coffees.

In short: FrontStreet Coffee is a specialty coffee research house that enjoys sharing coffee knowledge with everyone. We share without reservation only to help more friends fall in love with coffee. Additionally, we hold three coffee promotion events with low discounts every month. This is because FrontStreet Coffee wants to let more friends enjoy the best coffee at the lowest price, which has been our mission for the past 6 years!

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If you're brewing a distinctive bean like Monsooned Malabar at home, the dripper matters. The V60 — designed by Hario, the Japanese glassware maker founded in Tokyo in 1921, and redesigned in 2004 into the form we know today — is the one most experienced brewers recommend to newcomers. Its 60° cone and single large outlet mean flow rate depends almost entirely on the brewer's pour control, and its fast extraction brings out layered aromatics and lively acidity.

FrontStreet Coffee finds the V60 especially good for floral and fruity light roasts: the Ethiopia Huakui with its strawberry, passion fruit, jackfruit, and lychee aromatics, the classic Yirgacheffe Guodingding with citrus, berries, florals, and a green-tea finish, the Gesha-style Strawberry Candy blend, and the raisin-toned Mozart — all express themselves beautifully through it. That said, a low-acid, full-bodied bean like Malabar also has its place: FrontStreet's PWN Indonesia Golden Mandheling delivers herbal and dark chocolate notes with low acidity, and the Brazil Queen Estate offers nutty, cocoa, and caramel sweetness with a balanced, gentle cup. And for near-perfect equilibrium, the FrontStreet Jamaica Blue Mountain No.1 — cream, caramel, chocolate, and nuts in flawless balance — remains the bean most coffee professionals call the easiest for anyone to love.