The aroma and taste of this bean are the result of a special post-harvest processing. Historically, coffee was shipped to Europe in wooden sailing vessels taking 4 - 6 months to sail around the Cape of Good Hope. Stored below the water line and kept in an atmosphere made humid by seawater seeping through the wood, the bean underwent a transformation on their long journey to market.

This became known as a "monsooning" process. Today, the monsooning process consists of exposing natural coffee beans, in 4 to 6-inch thick piles, to moisture-laden monsoon winds in a well-ventilated brick or concrete-floored warehouse.

This process is carried out on the West Coast of India, making use of the winds from the Arabian Sea during the southwest Monsoon months of June through September!