KOCHI: These days, the beans lie waiting a little longer for the rains. The once-reliable monsoon that gave the famed Monsooned Malabar Coffee its mellow soul now arrives in fits and starts, forcing exporters to let the beans “weather” more patiently before they reach perfection.
Centuries ago, coffee shipped from the Malabar coast to Europe in wooden ships mellowed naturally in the damp sea air during long voyages. When faster ships ended that accidental alchemy, exporters recreated it through “monsooning”.
Monsooning is a traditional process that induces specific quantitative and qualitative changes in coffee beans, resulting in the characteristic cup quality of Monsooned coffee. This controlled fermentation process involves adjusting the moisture content, which causes the beans to swell to twice their original size, changes the colour from golden brown to pale yellow or straw, reduces the density by 40 to 60%, and enhances the soluble solids when roasted, ultimately yielding a mellow cup quality.
The name Monsooned Malabar is globally synonymous with coffee prepared and processed under the unique natural conditions of the Malabar coast. Recognising its distinctiveness, Monsooned Malabar Coffee has been awarded the Geographical Indications (GI) tag.
At Aspinwall & Co, one of India’s oldest coffee exporters, the annual ritual of monsooning begins with the southwest monsoon.
Raw coffee beans—sourced mainly from Coorg and Chikmagalur—are spread out in ventilated coastal warehouses. For weeks, the moist sea air seeps through jute sacks, and the beans begin their slow metamorphosis: absorbing humidity, swelling, and losing acidity until they acquire that soft, earthy, low-acid flavour prized by European buyers.
“The monsoon used to mean steady drizzle and overcast skies for weeks,” recalls Saurabh Chaturvedi, a senior official with Aspinwall.
“High humidity in the atmosphere was essential. Now, we get short, intense bursts of rain followed by long dry spells. We have to extend the weathering process, sometimes by several weeks, to get the same mellow notes.”
The transformation is visible and tactile. Over 12 to 16 weeks, the beans fade from green to pale gold, almost doubling in size. Their density falls, their aroma deepens, and the sharp acidity smooths out into a rounded, velvety texture. Every few days, workers rake and repack the beans to ensure even exposure to the moist air—a delicate dance between humidity and time.
“There’s a bit of unpredictability now,” adds M P Devaiah, business head – coffee, Allana Group.
“Earlier, the rains were continuous in June, July, and August. Now, it might pour in June and stay dry through July. After weathering, we still need the beans to dry properly before polishing them.”
Studies by the Advanced Centre for Atmospheric Radar Research (ACARR) explain why this patience is now essential. Monsoon has shifted—fewer rainy days, longer dry gaps, and delayed onset due to cyclonic activity in the Arabian Sea. The total rainfall has not changed much, but its erratic rhythm disrupts the natural moisture cycles that once defined the coast.
Despite shifting skies, Monsooned Malabar endures—a living relic of a maritime past, still shaped by the changing moods of the monsoon.
