About the Coffee

The monsooning process consists of exposing natural coffee beans, in 4- to 6-inch-thick piles, to moisture-laden monsoon winds in a well-ventilated brick or concrete-floored warehouse. This process is carried out on the West Coast of India, making use of the winds from the Arabian Sea during the southwest Monsoon months of June through September.

"Monsooning"

The color, shape, and size of these beans from India, as well as their aroma and taste, are the result of special post-harvest processing. Historically, coffee was shipped to Europe in wooden sailing vessels that took four to six months to sail around the Cape of Good Hope and up to their destinations. Stored below the water line and kept in an atmosphere made humid by seawater seeping through the wood, the beans underwent a transformation on their long journey to market. The bright-green beans would arrive pale gold, doubled in size and with an entirely new cup profile.