Pampering box - Coffee & Cocos

India Monsooned Malabar

The color, shape and size of the India Monsooned Malabar beans, as well as their aroma and taste are the result of special post-harvest treatments. In the past, coffee from India was shipped to Europe in wooden sailing ships. The journey around the Cape of Good Hope took four to six months before reaching the final destination. The coffee, stored in a humid and often hot hold, underwent a change during the long voyage. The beans absorbed moisture from the environment. The color of the coffee changed from bright green to pale gold and the acidity almost disappeared. This "Monsooning" process was and still is systematically copied by Indian producers in order to match the familiar taste of the historical voyages to European ports. Today, the "Monsooning" process consists of exposing unroasted coffee beans to humid monsoon winds in well-ventilated warehouses located on the west coast of India. During the 12-16 week process, the beans absorb moisture in stages, swelling to almost double their original size and develop colours ranging from pale gold to light brown. The end result is a special, unique flavour.

Colombia Excelso

Our Colombia Excelso comes from the Santander region in the north-east of Colombia. The coffee is grown at an altitude from 1200 meters above sea level. The coffee is 'shade-grown' produced under trees and shrubs. Shadow-growing helps to create an environment with more stable and cooler temperatures. At lower temperatures, the coffee berry ripens more slowly. This stimulates the development of more complex sugars in the fruit as well as a more uniform ripening of the bean. In total, the Santander region has about 50 thousand hectares which are used for coffee cultivation. The more than 30,000 coffee producers represent around 5% of the coffee producers at national level. The vast majority of coffee producers (55%) in Santander have less than one hectare available for coffee cultivation. These are often small family farms. Most producers do not have their own processing facilities. After one day of harvesting, the berries are transported to a central depot where they are stripped of their flesh using the 'fully washed' method and then dried. Like everywhere else in the world, this type of small family business is under increasing threat. The parents are getting older and the children have no interest in taking over their parents' coffee activities. This trend will put increasing pressure on coffee production in Colombia.