Mighty Monsoon Malabar

Looking for an exceptional cup of coffee - something extraordinarily different and unique?

We recommend giving the Monsoon Malabar Arabica a shot.

The fact is, there is nothing else like it in the coffee universe.

It is a coffee that can divide enthusiasts - some love it and, once accustomed, will refuse to drink anything else.

Others might loathe it.

Polarizing is an understatement.

But wait. You need to know that it has a rather pungent smell (aroma) and requires a super-fine grind.

The grind for espresso is so fine that it might almost break many low-end domestic grinders. Monsoon Malabar requires a delicate grind setting due to the monsoon process's lack of moisture and density in coffee.

However, there is an upside. Be prepared for a robust, spicy flavour different from any coffee you might have tasted.

Without a doubt, Monsoon Malabar is the most demanding coffee to roast. Ever.

Monsoon Malabar has no moisture or density in the raw state. Roasting it requires incredible skills to navigate the profile accurately.

But you can rest assured that we have been roasting the mighty Monsoon Malabar since 2009.

It's so popular that we roast it daily; that's many thousands of batches, so we can do it with our eyes closed.

Despite being a "medium roast", the finished product presents visually as a lighter shade of brown. The finish will show a "mottled" appearance with a broad range of pale brown shades.

Again, this is due to the monsoon process dehydrating the bean.

With more experience roasting Monsoon coffees than any other coffee roaster in Australia (15 years and 10,000+ batches), we know how to treat this bean with the utmost respect.

September 2024 Update

Coffee prices are at historic record highs.

Monsoon Malabar is one of the most difficult coffees to source in the world and only a small amount is made each year.

The labour effort required to make the Monsoon Malabar is 400% greater than normal coffee.

New crop Monsoon Malabar recently arrived into our warehouse and it's expensive.

Prices have risen 30% in the last 6 months. This reflects significant labour and time effort required to make this special and unique coffee.

A low-acid coffee ideally suited to black or espresso brews.

Without a doubt, Monsoon Malabar is the lowest-acid coffee in our portfolio.

Monsoon Malabar makes an ideal choice for that classic Italian-style espresso experience due to its thick, dense body and deficient acid.

A coffee so different to everything else.

Not only does it look and smell different, it also tastes different.

You can expect strong, intense, low acid with plenty of syrupy chocolate, spice and dark cocoa tones.

It's a complex coffee with plenty of mixed spices and various flavours going on simultaneously - some of them we can't even describe.

A cult following

Monsoon Malabar is one of the world's most full-bodied arabica coffee beans - in this regard, it's unique and stands alone; there is nothing else like it anywhere.

Over the last 20 years, Monsoon coffees have built up a considerable cult following. 

Excellent if you need a low-acid coffee and enjoy straight black espresso (please use a perfect grind).

Beware of the differences.

Monsoon Malabar has a rather pungent odour, even when just freshly roasted.

The aroma could cause customers new to Monsoon Malabar to think it needs to be fresh or defective.

No, that's the typical aroma. 

It's not a pleasant, sweet coffee aroma like regular beans or ground.

We sell truckloads of this coffee every week; it's roasted daily and flies out the door. 

Our roasted Monsoon Malabar coffee will usually be too fresh when you receive it. 

Monsoon Malabar works best with a bit of age on the roast, e.g. up to 2 weeks post-roast.

Monsoon Malabar requires a super-fine grind setting, almost Turkish; it's that fine.

You will need to keep going finer and finer until the pour slows; otherwise, you will under-extract the coffee, which will not be pleasant at all.

Be aware of the fine grind required for Monsoon Malabar. If the espresso pours gushes too fast, the flavours and entire attributes will not be present in the cup.

Monsoon Malabar does not provide sweet coffee aromatics in African or Central American coffees.

Instead, you are faced with a distinctive funky, musty, earthy aroma, even tending towards savoury or briny.

Please do not be put off by the aroma of the whole-bean coffee, as the extracted espresso is entirely different.

About the rest periods

Monsoon Malabar coffee works best with around 14 days of rest post-roast.

It continues to develop for weeks and weeks after roasting; unlike regular coffees that tend to lose vibrancy after a couple of weeks, Monsoon keeps on powering on.

Whilst our suggested rest period is a guide only, it's possible to start using the coffee before the 14-day rest period.

Like all coffees that haven't fully developed post-roast, it may be very gassy and tend to produce non-persistent crema for espresso extraction when it's too fresh.

Understanding the Monsoon process

Monsoon Malabar is grown and processed in the green (raw) state using 100% Arabica beans sourced from the best plantations in India.

The Malabar coast provides ideal conditions for the monsoon winds to season the beans stored in open warehouses for up to 3-4 months.

The seasoning or monsoon process is a carefully controlled task that reduces the risk of excessive taints.

Monsoon is a practice that emulates the process coffee beans were subjected to during the early days of ship transport over many months when transporting beans from India to Europe. Humidity and sea winds combined to force a ripening of the coffee beans and transformation from the fresh green appearance we traditionally expect to see in the raw coffee to a pale yellow colour that gives the impression of aged beans.

Careful procedures control the modern processing of the Monsoon to ensure quality and consistency.

A Note About Freshness and Aging the Roasted Monsoon Malabar

We freshly roast Monsoon Malabar at least four times a week—sometimes more often, as it's a trendy choice among customers.

Predicting order volumes is extremely difficult as customers can each buy 10kg or more of this Monsoon Malabar on their order.

Another important fact about the Monsoon Malabar is its mythically long shelf life in the roasted state.

It can be 200% or 300% longer than other roasted coffees.

In other words, Monsoon Malabar may continue pulling massive crema, body and flavour for long after different roasted coffees have oxidized and become lifeless.

Trying Monsoon Malabar AA coffee should be on every coffee lover's Bucket List!

Using freshly roasted Monsoon coffee is no problem, although you need to be more careful with the grind. However, you will appreciate the development of the bean as it ages—just like a fine wine.

Important Notes about grinding

As noted above - REQUIRES VERY FINE GRIND - WE RECOMMEND YOU TRY AND CHOKE THE MACHINE FOR MAXIMUM EXTRACTION EFFICIENCY.

We cannot stress the importance of ensuring the grind is very fine. It's no joke; the finer, the better. It's a very different coffee from everything else, and hence, it requires a different approach to grinding and dosing for espresso extraction.

Some domestic grinders cannot grind Monsoon Malabar fine enough for the correct espresso extraction.