Some of the best foods in life were created by accident. Think…Potato chips, Corn Flakes, popsicles and even chocolate chip cookies, were all created without a plan in mind. The same holds true for India Monsooned Voyage coffee, a unique coffee created completely by accident.
In the 1600's sacks of coffee beans traveled, sometimes up to six months, from India to Europe via slow sailing ships. The beans were packed away in the cargo holds of the bottom of the ship and they would sit in a wet, damp climate with no access to fresh air or sunlight. By the time these beans arrived in Europe, they were swollen and yellowed and the Europeans, not knowing any different, brewed them and enjoyed them. They came to love their coffee as a brew with a sweetly fermented fruit that had an intriguing musty tone, but one that is not at all
... read more >>Some of the best foods in life were created by accident. Think…Potato chips, Corn Flakes, popsicles and even chocolate chip cookies, were all created without a plan in mind. The same holds true for India Monsooned Voyage coffee, a unique coffee created completely by accident.
In the 1600's sacks of coffee beans traveled, sometimes up to six months, from India to Europe via slow sailing ships. The beans were packed away in the cargo holds of the bottom of the ship and they would sit in a wet, damp climate with no access to fresh air or sunlight. By the time these beans arrived in Europe, they were swollen and yellowed and the Europeans, not knowing any different, brewed them and enjoyed them. They came to love their coffee as a brew with a sweetly fermented fruit that had an intriguing musty tone, but one that is not at all sharply bitter.
Today, there is still a high demand for India Monsooned coffee. Since the beans are no longer subject to these dark, long voyages across the sea, the situation has to be recreated. To give the beans exposure to the weather, the Indians use a process called Monsooning. This specific 16-week process takes longer than any other wet processed coffee. The beans are picked and washed, during the months of June to August, which is Monsoon season. The beans are then spread out in trays on an open warehouse floor, and raked regularly to give even exposure to the weather. Although they are not directly rained on, they absorb the moisture from the air and swell to bring you same flavor that was created by accident over 400 years ago. After several weeks of exposure, the beans are then left to dry for up to two months.
This coffee is a top grade in the line of Monsooned Arabicas, and it is certainly pleasing to those looking for an unorthodox coffee with its mildly fermented, mildly fruity taste. The fact that India Monsoon Voyage Coffee with its full, suave body taste is still so popular today is no accident. India's coffee farmers have gone through painstaking measures to make sure the Monsoon flavor remains true to its original taste. Much like the accidentally invented chocolate chip cookie, why change a good thing?
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