Spices · Nutty · Chocolate

India Monsoon Malabar

Inka Paahtimo

Roasted: 20/08/2019
Roaster: Liz Pamela Aranciaga Mauricio

Our India Monsoon Malabar comes from several farmers in the Chikmagalur district, located in Karnataka state in South-West India. Monsooning is a process unique to India and it results in a low acidity cup that many coffee drinkers prefer.

Legend has it that in the olden times, wooden vessels would carry raw coffee from India to Europe during the monsoon months, taking almost 6 months to sail around the Cape of Good Hope. During this, the coffee beans, exposed to constant humid conditions, underwent characteristic changes. The beans changed in size, texture, look and flavour. As transport improved and the beans suffered less from the elements en route, European coffee-drinkers noticed that the coffee was losing the character and distinctive, bold flavour they were used to. Thus, the new process to replicate these conditions was created.

It was observed that a typical ambience could be simulated along the coastal belt of southwest India during the monsoon months creating the same characteristic transformation to the ordinary coffee cherries. That was how the monsoon process was born. There are some differences in monsooning techniques between producers.

We think that India Monsoon Malabar is a really good fit for coffee drinkers who prefer dark roasted coffees. Our goal is to roast a really soft cup that still has some hints of spices, nuts and chocolate. Since the bean is extremely soft and low density, we are really gentle with the beans and roast with low heat. The first crack happens much later than in our other coffees.

We like to prepare our India Monsoon Malabar with a french press and grind it quite coarse. We use 7g of coffee per 1dl of water. Using a coarser grind emphasizes characteristics of the Monsoon Malabar. We want the coffee to have a lot of flavour so we use a little more coffee than normal.

Country: India
Region: Karnataka
Farm: Karadykan Estate
Farmer: Local Farmers
Varieties: Kents, Catimor, Selection 9, S795
Growing Altitude: 1100-1200m
Processing: Natural