t level since November 1994 when they averaged 153.33 US cents/lb.
Monsooned Malabar
Monsooned Malabar is a process applied to coffee beans. The harvested beans are exposed to the monsoon rain and winds for a period of about three to four months, causing the beans to swell and lose the original acidity, resulting in a smooth brew with a practically neutral pH balance. The coffee is unique to the Malabar Coast of Karnataka and Kerala and has protected status under India’s Geographical Indications of Goods Act. The name Monsooned Malabar is derived from exposure to the monsoon winds of the Malabar Coast.
The blend is heavy bodied, pungent, and considered to be dry with a musty, chocolaty aroma and notes of spice and nuts.
It was determined that in the past the coffee beans had been transformed by exposure to the sea air and monsoon winds and rain. An alternative process was implemented to replicate these conditions, so that these coffee beans could be enjoyed once again. It was observed that a typical ambiance could be simulated along the coastal belt of southwest India during the monsoon months bringing about the same characteristic transformation to the ordinary cherry coffee beans. Thus was born the ritual called “monsooning.”
Monsoon Malabar coffee is prepared from Arabica cherries (“cherry” refers to dry-processed coffees in India). After grading, the coffee is transported to the coastal cities where the “monsooning” is carried out in large open walled warehouses. During the rainy months of June to August, the coffee is spread inside the warehouses with excellent aeration and ventilation that allows coffee to slowly absorb moisture. After it absorbs enough moisture and bloats in size, it has to be periodically bulked and bagged and stacked so as to ensure proper and uniform “monsooning.” This process is carried out many times during the months of the monsoon. When rains subside at end of September, and temperatures are high, the white swollen beans are sent for final grading which involve gravity tables and hand sorting to come up to the “Malabar” export quality.
