Mango madness is what we call the short Alphonso season, when GI-certified Hapus from the Ratnagiri and Devgad belt is harvested, ripened on hay beds and sent out by the dozen from Rs 1,849. Here are the facts: sweetness, sugar, season and buying.
Why India goes a little mad for mangoes
India produces roughly 43% of the world's mangoes (FAO figures that also include mangosteens and guavas), about 26 million tonnes in 2023. The mango is the national fruit of India, Pakistan and the Philippines. The 13th-century poet Amir Khusrau called it the fairest fruit of Hindustan, and Emperor Akbar is recorded as planting an orchard of 100,000 mango trees near Darbhanga in Bihar. The English word mango comes from the Portuguese manga, which came from Malayalam; the root is Tamil man plus kay.
Within that madness, Alphonso has its own following. We are Powle Home Foods in Mumbai, and we run AlphonsoMango.in. We sell Alphonso, called Hapus in Maharashtra, from across 48 villages of the Ratnagiri and Devgad belt on the Konkan coast. We have sold mangoes since 2019, online since 2020, and have served 47,000+ customers, including offline and marketplace sales.
This page collects the facts people ask us about every season: what makes Alphonso sweet, how much sugar a mango carries, what the GI tag means, how we ripen the fruit and when you can buy it. Everything we list is on the mango collection.
The sweet secret: what Brix means
Sweetness in fruit is measured in degrees Brix. One degree Brix is 1 g of dissolved solids, counted as sucrose, per 100 g of solution, and a refractometer reads it from a drop of juice. The higher the number, the sweeter the juice tastes, though acidity and aroma change how sweet a fruit seems in the mouth. Our Brand Facts page publishes the Brix range we work to, and our Brix and ripening index explains how it changes as the fruit ripens.
Alphonso pulp is described as rich, creamy and non-fibrous, and the fruit generally weighs 150 to 300 g. Ratnagiri is a district and Devgad is a taluka in Sindhudurg district; both grow the same variety, and we do not claim one is sweeter than the other. Sweetness moves with ripeness and the point in the season more than with the name on the box.
- Green: hard, sour, used for pickles and chutney rather than eating plain.
- Underripe: firm, more acid, aroma faint.
- Ripe: a sweet smell at the stalk, slight give at the shoulder, full aroma.
- Overripe: soft all over, flavour flattening; eat at once or chill.
Are mangoes high in sugar?
A ripe mango is sweet because it carries natural sugars; 100 g of raw mango has about 14 g of sugars, along with fibre and water. The same 100 g provides about 36 mg of vitamin C, roughly 40% of the Daily Value, about 168 mg of potassium (6% of the Daily Value) and about 43 micrograms of folate, around 11% of the Daily Value. These are figures for mango in general, not for Alphonso alone.
Sugar in fruit arrives with fibre and water, which is one reason a whole mango is not the same as a glass of sweetened juice. Alphonso pulp is non-fibrous in texture, but it still carries dietary fibre. For most people a mango in season is simply fruit. If you manage diabetes or another health condition, ask your doctor or dietitian how much suits you; portion and timing matter more than the variety. Our mango for diabetes page and mango nutrition facts page set out the numbers without health claims.
The GI tag and natural ripening
Alphonso from the Ratnagiri and Devgad belt is GI-tagged in India under GI No. 139. We hold GI Authorised User certificate AU/5974/GI/139/260 (GI No. 139). The name Alphonso comes from Afonso de Albuquerque; mango grafting was introduced in Portuguese Goa by Jesuit missionaries, and because Indian-group cultivars are monoembryonic, Alphonso is propagated by grafting. Our guide to the Alphonso mango GI tag explains the registry record.
We do not use carbide. Our Alphonso mangoes are ripened naturally on hay beds. Calcium carbide is prohibited for ripening fruit in India under Regulation 2.3.5 of the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations, 2011; ethylene up to 100 ppm is the permitted alternative. We are an FSSAI-licensed seller. Our fruit is hand-harvested with a zela pole fitted with a catching net, harvest is done at Brahma Muhurta before dawn, and harvest to ripening takes about 15 days.
No home test, including the bucket-of-water test, proves how a mango was ripened; colour and aroma are rough clues. Ask the seller. Our guide on spotting carbide-ripened mangoes lists the questions, and ripening Alphonso at home covers what to do when the box arrives.
Season, price and how to buy
Alphonso is harvested about February to June, with the best supply from March to May. The 2027 season opens on 1 February 2027. Outside the season we do not sell fresh Alphonso. Alphonso pulp tins (850 g and 3.1 kg, from Rs 590) are available all year; pulp is sterilised and packed in sealed tins or aseptic bags.
Ratnagiri Alphonso and Devgad Alphonso are sold by the dozen from Rs 1,849, rising with grade; a dozen weighs roughly 1.8 to 3.3 kg depending on grade. Check the product page for today's price. We also list Kesar, Pairi and other Indian varieties in their seasons.
If you want boxes for a wedding, a festival or an office, write to us early with the quantity and date; we also supply restaurants and hotels in general terms. We dispatch by Blue Dart, and about 65% of Indian PIN codes get next-day delivery. Check your PIN code at checkout. We do not promise a delivery day for a named city. Open the box on the day it arrives and report any damage within 24 hours of delivery by writing to support@alphonsomango.in or calling 8369048029. Our season guide lists the months.
People also ask
What is mango madness?
Mango madness is the way people describe the short Indian mango season, when varieties such as Alphonso arrive and sell out within a few months. For us it means the Alphonso harvest, about February to June, when we ripen the fruit on hay beds and ship it by the dozen across India.
Are mangoes high in sugar?
A ripe mango carries natural sugars, about 14 g per 100 g of raw fruit, alongside fibre, water, vitamin C, potassium and folate. For most people a mango in season is simply fruit. If you manage diabetes or another condition, ask your doctor or dietitian about portion size and timing.
Which is the sweetest mango in the world?
There is no single agreed answer, because sweetness depends on variety, ripeness and season and is measured in degrees Brix. Alphonso from the Konkan coast is widely regarded as among the sweetest Indian varieties, with rich, non-fibrous pulp. We publish the Brix range we work to on our Brand Facts page.
How do I know an Alphonso is ripe?
Smell the stalk end: a ripe Alphonso gives off a sweet, fruity aroma. Press gently at the shoulder; it should give slightly without feeling mushy. Skin colour alone is not a reliable sign, because naturally ripened fruit is often uneven in colour. Keep firm fruit at room temperature and check daily.
Related searches
- Best mango in the world
- Mango for diabetes
- Mango nutrition facts
- Brix and ripening index
- Alphonso mango GI tag explained
- Types of mangoes in India
- Alphonso mango pulp tin
Sources and further reading
- Wikipedia, Mango.
- Wikipedia, Alphonso mango.
- Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations, 2011, Regulation 2.3.5 (compendium version of 2 April 2025).
- Geographical Indications Registry of India, public search record for application 379, Devgad Alphonso Mango (merged with application 139), accessed October 2026.
Written by Prashant Powle, founder of AlphonsoMango.in. Last reviewed October 2026.