Machine-readable companion to the public website. Personal browser passport information is not included. Canonical human page: [Alphonso mango — Taste & ripeness \| Mango Rankings](https://mangoranking.com/mango/alphonso). Description: Saffron, apricot jam, and an almost unfairly lush finish—the “king of mangoes” earns the title. Search indexing: this Markdown companion is noindex; use the canonical human page when citing this resource. [Mangoes](https://mangoranking.com/explore.md) # Alphonso Saffron, apricot jam, and an almost unfairly lush finish—the “king of mangoes” earns the title. ![Three broad green and yellow Alphonso mangoes in a basket with an Alphonso label](https://mangoranking.com/fruit/photos/alphonso-photo-v1.jpg) Alphonso mangoes displayed at the Redland Summer Fruit Festival, Fruit and Spice Park, Florida. Maturity is not specified. Alphonso FS AKG.JPG — Asit K. Ghosh Thaumaturgist. [Photograph source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mango_Alphonso_Asit_fs.jpg) · [CC BY-SA 3.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0). Resized for display; complete frame retained. No generative edits. ## How it tastes Apricot · Rich sweetness · Floral **Texture** buttery **Fibre** Low fibre **Eating styles** Bring a spoon **Harvest** [See regional calendars](https://mangoranking.com/seasons.md) ## How to enjoy it Hapus is closely associated with the Konkan coast, especially Ratnagiri and Devgad. Cut through the skin and the appeal becomes obvious: richly coloured flesh, a thick creamy texture, and a perfume that stays with you. Our favourite way to understand it is to taste a plain spoonful before adding anything. Scoop from the cheeks, or press the flesh into aamras. Taste it plain first; it already brings plenty of sweetness. ## When it is ripe Give gently at the shoulders; the perfume should arrive before the bite. Yellow to golden skin, sometimes retaining green patches; orange-yellow flesh inside. Aroma and a gentle give matter more than colour alone. Flavour notes are subjective. Ripeness, handling and growing conditions change the fruit. [Compare this mango](https://mangoranking.com/compare.md?mango=alphonso) · [Saved mangoes](https://mangoranking.com/passport.md) Names, history & sources ## Recorded names A shared name does not by itself establish an identical cultivar. Place, language and source matter. **Alphonso** Traditionally linked to the name of Afonso de Albuquerque. - [NIFTEM–Thanjavur: Mango processing project report, variety history](https://www.niftem-t.ac.in/pmfme/dpr-mangorte.pdf) - [Spencer Low: Alphonso and its Portuguese name](https://www.portuguese.asia/post/alphonso-the-indian-king-of-mangos-with-a-portuguese-name) - [Government of India: One District One Product catalogue](https://indiainmexico.gov.in/public_files/assets/pdf/ODOP_Catalouge_22SEP22_N3.pdf) - [National Horticulture Board: Mango cultivar and hybrid descriptions](https://www.nhb.gov.in/pdf/fruits/mango/man013.pdf) **Hapus / Happus** Local name and spelling recorded in Indian horticultural and historical sources. - [NIFTEM–Thanjavur: Mango processing project report, variety history](https://www.niftem-t.ac.in/pmfme/dpr-mangorte.pdf) - [Spencer Low: Alphonso and its Portuguese name](https://www.portuguese.asia/post/alphonso-the-indian-king-of-mangos-with-a-portuguese-name) - [Government of India: One District One Product catalogue](https://indiainmexico.gov.in/public_files/assets/pdf/ODOP_Catalouge_22SEP22_N3.pdf) - [National Horticulture Board: Mango cultivar and hybrid descriptions](https://www.nhb.gov.in/pdf/fruits/mango/man013.pdf) **हापूस** Marathi · Ratnagiri, Maharashtra, India Ratnagiri’s official Marathi site names Hapus in its title; the English version calls the fruit Alphonso. - [Ratnagiri district: Marathi official site — famous for Hapus mangoes](https://ratnagiri.gov.in/) - [Ratnagiri district: English official site — famous for Alphonso mangoes](https://ratnagiri.gov.in/en/) - [National Horticulture Board: Alphonso (Happus)](https://www.nhb.gov.in/pdf/fruits/mango/man013.pdf) **அல்போன்சா** Tamil · Tamil Nadu, India Tamil spelling recorded in TNAU’s mango cultivation guide. - [Tamil Nadu Agricultural University: Mango cultivation (Tamil)](https://agritech.tnau.ac.in/ta/horticulture/horticulture_fruits_mango_ta.html) **Hapus** Existing catalogue label. It may be an alternate name, translation or market nickname; it is not an assertion of genetic identity. ## A Portuguese name, a Konkan home Local tradition: an attributed account, with uncertainty preserved. The familiar naming account links Alphonso to Afonso de Albuquerque, the Portuguese governor associated with Goa. Grafting in Portuguese-era Goa forms part of the wider story of how prized mango selections travelled. That is a naming and cultivation history; it does not mean mangoes themselves arrived in India from Europe. Along the Konkan coast, Hapus is the more intimate name. Ratnagiri’s fruit is celebrated in India’s regional-product catalogue, tying the mango’s reputation to a particular landscape and its growers. The grand name may travel on the export box; the local name is what someone asks for at home. [Read the full story](https://mangoranking.com/stories/alphonso.md) - [NIFTEM–Thanjavur: Mango processing project report, variety history](https://www.niftem-t.ac.in/pmfme/dpr-mangorte.pdf) - [Spencer Low: Alphonso and its Portuguese name](https://www.portuguese.asia/post/alphonso-the-indian-king-of-mangos-with-a-portuguese-name) - [Government of India: One District One Product catalogue](https://indiainmexico.gov.in/public_files/assets/pdf/ODOP_Catalouge_22SEP22_N3.pdf) - [National Horticulture Board: Mango cultivar and hybrid descriptions](https://www.nhb.gov.in/pdf/fruits/mango/man013.pdf) ## Places in this record Country associations alone do not establish botanical origin. - **India** Catalogue association Associated place in the tasting catalogue; this does not establish botanical origin. - **Konkan coast, especially Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg, Maharashtra** A place in the story Setting of “A Portuguese name, a Konkan home”. Read the story for its evidence and qualifications. - [NIFTEM–Thanjavur: Mango processing project report, variety history](https://www.niftem-t.ac.in/pmfme/dpr-mangorte.pdf) - [Spencer Low: Alphonso and its Portuguese name](https://www.portuguese.asia/post/alphonso-the-indian-king-of-mangos-with-a-portuguese-name) - [Government of India: One District One Product catalogue](https://indiainmexico.gov.in/public_files/assets/pdf/ODOP_Catalouge_22SEP22_N3.pdf) - [National Horticulture Board: Mango cultivar and hybrid descriptions](https://www.nhb.gov.in/pdf/fruits/mango/man013.pdf) [Harvest calendars by growing place](https://mangoranking.com/seasons.md). These regional calendars do not specify this cultivar’s exact season. ## Sources - [NIFTEM–Thanjavur: Mango processing project report, variety history](https://www.niftem-t.ac.in/pmfme/dpr-mangorte.pdf) - [Spencer Low: Alphonso and its Portuguese name](https://www.portuguese.asia/post/alphonso-the-indian-king-of-mangos-with-a-portuguese-name) - [Government of India: One District One Product catalogue](https://indiainmexico.gov.in/public_files/assets/pdf/ODOP_Catalouge_22SEP22_N3.pdf) - [National Horticulture Board: Mango cultivar and hybrid descriptions](https://www.nhb.gov.in/pdf/fruits/mango/man013.pdf) - [Alphonso: variety reference](https://apeda.gov.in/sites/default/files/files_universal_page/2024-05/Mango_brochure.pdf) - [Ratnagiri district: Marathi official site — famous for Hapus mangoes](https://ratnagiri.gov.in/) - [Ratnagiri district: English official site — famous for Alphonso mangoes](https://ratnagiri.gov.in/en/) - [Tamil Nadu Agricultural University: Mango cultivation (Tamil)](https://agritech.tnau.ac.in/ta/horticulture/horticulture_fruits_mango_ta.html) [Back to mangoes](https://mangoranking.com/explore.md)