I just bought 2 pounds of India Monsoon Malabar from Sweet Maria’s and wondered if anyone has roasted this bean before and has suggestions. I’d never heard of it before so eager to try but the beans don’t look like anything I’ve seen before.
They WILL roast differently than anything else you’ve ever experienced. Sometimes you can’t hear/perceive first crack at all. They’re a strange bean, but it’s because they’ve been fundamentally altered by the monsoon “process” (something that I can’t honestly describe, because I’m not 100% sure what happens to them).
Not a coffee I like on its own. A definite funky flavor.
It can be a good addition to an espresso blend though, and will add a decent amount of crema. It is one element of an old CoffeeGeek blend that was known as “liquid velvet”, one of my all-time favorites. By itself, it will be the blondest shot you’ve ever seen though, can’t recommend it that way.
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This is really helpful. Thanks for the advice, and yes just looking at the green beans, which are more pale brown, told me they’d probably be better in a blend than straight. Thanks again
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They’re a main ingredient in their Liquid Amber blend. They’re lighter weight too, so it was always a little more challenging to roast them in an air popper.
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You’re welcome to try this:
It took a few tries, but this one gave me a cup (brewed filter and drank black) that has less of the funk but you’ll definitely get a distinct cup of the Japanese-toasted-rice-green-tea kind of cup (genmaicha). I didn’t blend it.
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excellent. my god, you saved me from a bunch of failed test roasts. Thanks. I hope to roast next week using this profile.
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Come back and let us know how the roasting went and how did it cup for you. Do give it a couple days resting.
I have received great feedback on this roast:
hope it helps, cheers!
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thank you, I’ll give this a try and let you know how it went.
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Hi Jim,
Monsooned Malabar is a very interesting bean with a very smooth but intensive taste. One of my most favorite beans. It easily gets too dark and is quite oily then. Try to roast it a bit carefully. Preheat around 210°C.
Let me know, how you like it and what your experiences are with roasting it.
Regards, Aaron
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