Planet Java Monsooned Malabar AA 100% Arabica Coffee Beans (1kg)

About the region:

Indian Monsooned Malabar can easily be described as the country's most interesting coffee by both name and taste. It is a variety of dry processing coffee beans; the harvested and processed beans are exposed to the monsoon winds for a period of about three to four months, causing the beans to swell and lose their original acidity, resulting in a sweet and syrupy brew.

The coffee is grown at an altitude of between 1000 and 1400 metres, in a lush region with very heavy rainfall of up to 2500mm per year.

Whole crops of cherry coffee are selected and sun-dried in expansive barbecues. The dried beans are cured and sorted into 'AA' and 'A' grades, after which they are stored in warehouses until the onset of the monsoon season. From June through to September, the selected beans are exposed to moisture-laden monsoon winds in well-ventilated warehouses (12 to 16 weeks time). The monsooning process involves careful handling, repeated spreading, raking and turning around in regular intervals. The beans absorb moisture and get significantly larger, turning a pale golden colour. Further micro-sorting is done to separate fully monsooned beans.

The origins of Monsoon Malabar date back to the times of the British Raj, when, during the months that the beans were transported by sea from India to Europe, the humidity and the sea winds combined to cause the coffee to ripen slightly.

This coffee is unique to the Malabar coast of Karnataka and Kerala and has protected status under the Geographical Indications of Goods Act.