The sea route from India to Europe around the Cape of Good Hope in southern Africa was dangerous and took up to six months. During this period, the old ships exposed the green coffee beans to the harsh sea climate. There was a change in taste and the beans had a strange yellow tinge at the end of the journey. Coffee connoisseurs from Holland appreciated this special aroma. However, after the opening of the Suez Canal and the motorization of shipping shortened the transport times, the beans arrived fresh in Holland. People, however, had become used to the “washed-out” coffee! Therefore, today the plantation owners of India produce the Monsoon Coffee again artificially. Our GANDHI PUR is an example of this type of coffee.

The traditional method of “monsooning” takes place in Malabar, on the west coast of India, with a humid, monsoon climate. At the beginning of the monsoon period in May, the husked and sorted coffee beans, spread on well-ventilated floors, dry in small dry houses in a 10-centimeter layer to expose them to high humidity and continuous south-west monsoon winds. In this hot, damp climate, the moisture content of the beans increases, so they swell. The green coffee loses its fresh appearance while the color of the coffee bean changes from blue-green to gold-yellow. In this phase it is important to regularly move and ventilate the beans to avoid mold fungus. This weathering process lasts about 8 to 10 weeks. The finished monsoon coffee is then inspected again to sort out faulty beans and then sorted by size, ready for export.

GANDHI PUR has an unmistakable taste of sweetness and milk chocolate and is a very mild coffee, with no acidity but full flavor. Mahatma Gandhi says hello!