india

 "Monsooning"

______

MASTER ORIGIN India contains Monsooned Robusta.

Monsooning is a challenging post-harvest technique done best by Indian coffee masters.

It produces an unusual, complex and aromatic cup with heavy body, woody, spicy notes and powerful character.

MIX OF ARABICA AND ROBUSTA FROM INDIA

Unique procedding method

In the early days of European coffee consumption, sailing clippers took up to six months

to reach Europe with their cargos of green coffee beans.

When it got humid, the beans would swell; when the sun shone, the beans would dry and shrink. This repeated alteration

changed the physical structure of the beans, creating a very syrupy, aromatic cup.

Today the process is replicated on-shore in India, where it is called “monsooning”.

It is carried out from June to September on the tropical coast, when the Southwest Monsoon wind is at its most intense.

It is an exigent post-harvest technique that requires a lot of care, is time consuming and risky,  because you can easily have

mouldy beans if not done skilfully. At first, coffee cherries are selectively picked. They are sorted, dried, 

then hulled to their green bean state.  In this shape - naked green beans - they arrive at coastal warehouses,

with wide open sides that allow for free cross- ventilation, where the Monsooning process begins.

There the coffee beans are spread in heaps on the ground, allowing them to absorb moisture from the atmosphere.

During the process, the size of the beans doubles and from the second week onwards,  the colour gradually changes,

ending as pale straw yellow.  Moisture goes from 10.5%-11% up to 14% over the period of 3 months.

Throughout this period, the beans are repeatedly raked and shifted to prevent mould.

This practice is usually applied to Arabica beans, but in order to add a new flavour,

we asked our supply partners to monsoon Robusta. An uncommon procedure, it delivers an unusual profile.

Learn more about the use of monsooning as part of the coffee production process >