Come
June - and the seasonal rain bearing winds from the tropical
oceans - known as monsoon - sweep across the south western countryside
of India bringing new life and joy to the impoverished parched
land.
At the first signal of the approach of this
annual regatta, the house of Aspinwall gets prepared for their
finest hour - an elaborate and painstaking ritual called monsooning
gets underway.
Monsooning - A process of preparation
of a specialty coffee in curing works situated on the western
coastal belt of India during the monsoon months of June - September
that gives shape to a special breed of coffee called Monsooned
Coffee; mild and mellow to the core.
Legend has it that in olden times,
when wooden vessels carried raw coffee from India to Europe,
during the monsoon months taking almost 6 months to sail around
the Cape of Good Hope, the coffee beans, exposed to constant
humid conditions, underwent characteristic changes. The beans
changed in size, texture, looks and in cup - experienced a never
before feel. A mellowness so unique, softness personified, smoothness
to the core that became an instant hit with the Europeans paving
way to the birth of a new coffee.
It was
observed that a typical ambience could be simulated along the
coastal belt of southwest India during the monsoon months bringing
about the same characteristic transformation to the ordinary
cherry coffee beans. Thus was born the ritual called monsooning.
Whole crop cherry coffee are selected
and sun-dried in expansive barbecues.
The dried beans are cured and sorted
into 'AA' and 'A' grades, after which, they are stored
in warehouses till the onset of monsoon.
From June through September, the selected
beans are exposed to moisture-laden monsoon winds in well-ventilated
warehouses (12 - 16 weeks time).
The monsooning process involves careful
handling, repeated spreading, raking and turning around
in regular intervals.
The beans absorb moisture and get significantly
large, turning into pale golden in colour.
Further micro-sorting is done to separate
fully monsooned beans, which are then quality tasted and
approved by the internationally acclaimed Coffee Lab,
Bangalore.
The world gets to taste the finest monsooned
coffees. Absolutely pure and mellow to the core.
