The Alphonso mango origin is the Konkan coast of western India. The variety is named after Afonso de Albuquerque, and mango grafting was introduced in Portuguese Goa by Jesuit missionaries in the 16th century. Konkan growers then selected it, and Hapus is its Marathi name.
For what is available now, see GI-tagged Ratnagiri Hapus.
Where the Alphonso mango got its name
We are Powle Home Foods in Mumbai, and we run AlphonsoMango.in. We sell this fruit every season, and the same question comes back each year: why does a Konkan mango carry a Portuguese name? The short answer is that the Alphonso variety is named after Afonso de Albuquerque, the Portuguese commander who led Portugal's forces in India from 1509 to 1515 and took Goa in 1510.
Video: How Alphonso Mango Got Its Name | Hapus History · Watch on YouTube
Mango grafting was introduced in Portuguese Goa by Jesuit missionaries. Grafting matters because mango cultivars of the Indian group are monoembryonic, so a named variety such as Alphonso can only be propagated by grafting; a seed will not give you the same tree. Once a good grafted tree existed, it could be copied exactly, and that is how a single variety spread along the coast.
The Portuguese name Afonso became Alphonso in English. In Marathi, the language of the Konkan, the same name became Hapus, and Hapus amba simply means Alphonso mango. The word mango itself has a similar story: the English word comes from the Portuguese manga, which came from Malayalam, with a Tamil root. Both names arrived in English through the same trade.
From Goa to the Konkan orchards
The Konkan is the stretch of India's western coast between the Arabian Sea and the Deccan Plateau, and Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg are among its districts. Goa sits at its southern end, so the grafted mango did not have to travel far to reach the villages that now grow it. Over the following centuries growers in Ratnagiri district and in Devgad taluka of Sindhudurg district selected and multiplied the trees that fruited best on their laterite hillsides.
| Period | Event | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 1509 to 1515 | Afonso de Albuquerque leads Portuguese forces in India; Goa is taken in 1510 | Documented |
| 16th century | Jesuit missionaries introduce mango grafting in Portuguese Goa; the variety later named Alphonso emerges | Documented |
| 17th to 19th century | Konkan growers select and graft the best trees; the fruit becomes known as Hapus | Local tradition, consistent with how grafted varieties spread |
| 2018 | Alphonso from the Konkan belt registered as a Geographical Indication, GI No. 139 | GI Registry record |
We keep the two columns apart on purpose. The Portuguese chapter is well recorded; the centuries in between are mostly family memory in Konkan villages, and we do not dress that up as history.
What the Konkan made of it
Alphonso, as grown now, is a small to medium mango, generally 150 to 300 g, with thin skin, a small stone and pulp that is rich, creamy and non-fibrous. The scent is strong enough to fill a room from a closed box. Harvest to ripening takes about 15 days, which is long enough for the fruit to travel and finish ripening at the buyer's home.
We source across 55 villages of the Ratnagiri and Devgad belt, and harvest is done pre-dawn, at Brahma Muhurta, by hand with a zela pole fitted with a catching net. 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, and we are an FSSAI-licensed seller.
Alphonso trees have been planted elsewhere in India, and fruit from other regions is sometimes sold under the Hapus name. We do not claim those mangoes are bad; we say only that Alphonso from the Ratnagiri and Devgad belt is the one covered by the GI, and that both of our listings, Ratnagiri Alphonso and authentic Devgad Alphonso, come from it. They are the same variety, and we do not rank one above the other.
The GI tag: what it protects and who may use it
Alphonso from the Ratnagiri and Devgad belt is GI-tagged in India under GI No. 139. A Geographical Indication ties a product name to a place, in the way that Darjeeling tea is tied to Darjeeling. Producers and sellers who source from the notified area can apply to be listed as authorised users. We hold GI Authorised User certificate AU/5974/GI/139/260 (GI No. 139); the details are on our our published brand facts.
For a buyer, the GI is useful as a question to ask: which district is the fruit from, and can the seller show an authorised-user certificate? It is not a promise of taste, and no home test proves where a mango came from or how it was ripened. Our guide on identifying authentic Hapus lists the other signs.
Alphonso now: season, scale and where to buy
India produces roughly 43% of the world's mangoes, about 26 million tonnes in 2023, and Alphonso is a small, prized share of that. It is harvested about February to June, with the best supply from March to May. The 2027 season opens on 1 February 2027. Fresh Alphonso is not sold outside the season; the ready-to-use Alphonso pulp is available all year.
We list Ratnagiri and Devgad Alphonso from Rs 1,849 per dozen, graded by fruit weight; check the product page for the current price. Orders received before 1 PM are dispatched the same day. We dispatch by Blue Dart, and about 65% of Indian PIN codes get next-day delivery. Check your PIN code at checkout. For more on the fruit in Marathi, read our Hapus amba page in Marathi; for the buying side, see our Hapus aam guide and the mango collection.
People also ask
Which part of India is Alphonso mango from?
Alphonso comes from the Konkan coast of western India. The variety emerged in Portuguese Goa in the 16th century and was selected and multiplied by growers in Ratnagiri district and Devgad taluka of Sindhudurg district, Maharashtra. Alphonso from that Ratnagiri and Devgad belt carries Indian Geographical Indication No. 139.
How did Alphonso mango get its name?
The variety is named after Afonso de Albuquerque, the Portuguese commander who led Portugal's forces in India from 1509 to 1515. Mango grafting was introduced in Portuguese Goa by Jesuit missionaries, and the grafted variety took his name. Afonso became Alphonso in English and Hapus in Marathi.
Are Hapus and Alphonso the same?
Yes. Hapus is the Marathi name for the Alphonso mango, and Hapus amba means Alphonso mango. The two words describe one variety. Sellers in Maharashtra usually say Hapus; sellers elsewhere in India and abroad usually say Alphonso. The Ratnagiri and Devgad fruit is the same under either name.
Why is Hapus called Alphonso?
Because the variety was named after Afonso de Albuquerque, the Portuguese commander in India from 1509 to 1515, after mango grafting was introduced in Portuguese Goa by Jesuit missionaries. English kept the name as Alphonso; Marathi speakers on the Konkan coast turned it into Hapus over the centuries.
Is Alphonso mango grown outside Maharashtra?
Alphonso trees have been planted in other parts of India, and fruit from those regions is sometimes sold under the Hapus name. The Geographical Indication, GI No. 139, covers Alphonso from the Konkan belt including Ratnagiri and Devgad. Ask any seller which district the fruit is from.
Related searches
- Alphonso mango origin country
- Hapus amba in Marathi
- Hapus aam guide
- Hapus mango in English
- Ratnagiri Hapus mango online
- Devgad Hapus mango
- How to identify original Alphonso mango
- Types of mangoes in India
Sources and further reading
- Wikipedia, Alphonso mango.
- Wikipedia, Afonso de Albuquerque.
- Wikipedia, Mango.
- Geographical Indications Registry of India, public search record for application 379, Devgad Alphonso Mango (merged with application 139), accessed October 2026.
- Wikipedia, Konkan.
Written by Prashant Powle, founder of AlphonsoMango.in. Last reviewed October 2026.
