Indian Coffee and Monsoon Malabar
Indian Monsoon Coffee has an interesting story to tell going back many years. The monsooning of the coffee beans is something that first happened by accident.
Before Steam engines, the coffee was transported by sail ship. While the beans where in transit they started to soak up the moisture in the air. After many months at sea the beans would swell and dull in colour and by the time these coffee beans reached their destination they had acquired a mellow taste and unique aroma and so this was the start of Indias famous monsooned coffee.
I'm glad to say transport has moved on since those days but India still produces the famous monsoon coffee. The production of the beans has changed a bit, but they still offer a unique coffee with a wonderfully mellow taste and aroma. Nature also lends a hand in the form of the monsoon season.
These beans can take between 12 and 16 months before they are ready, once the beans or cherries have been picked they are stored in warehouses until the monsoon season, once the winds begin to blow and rain starts to fall the sides of these huge warehouses are opened to allow the full force of the monsoon rain and winds to circulate through the coffee for the whole of the monsoon season.
While the beans are in these warehouses they are constantly raked and moved, by doing this they absorb even more moisture. Also during this process the coffee beans themselves begin to lose the characteristic colouring and now take on a much paler colour. These monsooned beans also lose a lot of the acidity that you find in most other coffee.
Coffee is produced throughout India. But a true monsoon coffee is produced nowhere else in the world. Undoubtedly the best of all monsooned coffee is that produced in Malabar. With a humid climate this region is the ideal location and produces the best of all these coffees the monsooned malabar coffee.
A history of monsoon malabar coffee
Back in the days of the sailing ships Coffee was sent to Europe often taking up to 6 months to get there, this meant that the beans sat in the damp and humid holds of the ships for quite a long time. These conditions forced the beans to lose the original characteristics and instead take on some completely new ones, the most noticeable was the increase in size and the pale colour these beans had now turned.
As transport improved it tool less time to get the coffee to Europe so the beans did now have the time to absorb the required amount of moisture.
Europe didn't like this new taste and insisted on having the original back. This left the coffee producers in India with a dilemma, how could the replicate the environment that gave the beans their unique characteristics. They found the answer in Malabar where the conditions were perfect to replicate the conditions found on the long sea voyages. Monsoon Malabar coffee is now more popular than ever with 3000 tons being produced each year. It has become hugely popular throughout the world and this is reflected in the price it fetches in the open markets.
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De'Longhi EC155 15 BAR Pump Espresso and Cappuccino Maker List Price: $140.00 Sale Price: $79.99 Used From: $59.00  |
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Capresso 303.01 4-Cup Espresso and Cappuccino Machine List Price: $59.99 Sale Price: Too low to display Used From: $38.91 |
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Experience the full taste of espressos, cappuccinos and lattes. The Capresso 4-Cup Espresso and Cappuccino Machine features an exclusive Coffee/Steam Selector that makes it easy to control both brewing and steaming, allowing the user to adjust coffee strength to their personal taste... |
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DeLonghi EC702 15-Bar-Pump Espresso Maker, Stainless List Price: $350.00 Sale Price: $149.95 Used From: $139.99 |
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Enjoy delicious espresso made your way with De'Longhi's pump espresso and cappuccino maker. You can choose to brew ground espresso or E.S.E pods with the unique patented dual filter holder. The Sempre Crema Filter, used with two measures of ground coffee, enhances the brewing process to produce a perfect crema... |
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Urnex Dezcal Home Activated Descaler, For Home Coffee & Espresso Equipt., 4 - 1 oz Packets List Price: $11.36 Sale Price: $2.87 |
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Tags: Beverages, coffee, food, Indian Coffee, monsoon malabar
June 11 2009 04:59 am | coffee