Alphonso fruit, also called Hapus, Alfanso or Alphonse, is a mango variety from the Konkan coast of Maharashtra, best known from Ratnagiri and Devgad. It is harvested about February to June, and GI-certified Alphonso can be ordered online from AlphonsoMango.in each season.
What is Alphonso fruit?
Alphonso fruit is a mango. In Maharashtra it is called Hapus or Hafus, and elsewhere in India you will see Alfanso, Alphonse or Alphanso on shop boards and listings. These are all spellings of one variety. The name comes from Afonso de Albuquerque, and mango grafting was brought into Portuguese Goa by Jesuit missionaries. Because Indian-group mango cultivars are monoembryonic, a named variety such as Alphonso is propagated by grafting, not from seed.
A ripe Alphonso usually weighs 150 to 300 g. The pulp is rich, creamy and non-fibrous, which is why it is the first choice for aamras, shrikhand and ice cream. The skin turns golden yellow, often with a red or saffron blush near the shoulder. That is a description, not a test: no colour alone proves variety or origin.
India produces roughly 43% of the world's mangoes, about 26 million tonnes in 2023 by FAO figures that also include mangosteens and guavas. Alphonso is only a small part of that volume, but it is the variety most people mean when they say a premium Indian mango.
Where Alphonso fruit comes from
The Konkan is a stretch of the western coast of India between the Arabian Sea and the Deccan Plateau. Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg are among its districts. Ratnagiri is a district, and Devgad is a taluka in Sindhudurg district. Alphonso from the Ratnagiri and Devgad belt is GI-tagged in India under GI No. 139.
We source across 48 villages of that belt. We hold GI Authorised User certificate AU/5974/GI/139/260 (GI No. 139). You can read our credentials on the Brand Facts page. Our fruit is harvested before dawn, at Brahma Muhurta, and hand-harvested with a zela pole fitted with a catching net. Powle Home Foods, which runs AlphonsoMango.in, has sold mangoes offline since 2019 and online since 2020, and we have served 47,000+ customers, including offline and marketplace sales.
Alphonso fruit season
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, so ignore any fresh box offered in the off months and ask how it was stored and ripened. Alphonso pulp tins are available all year if you want the flavour out of season.
Harvest to ripening takes about 15 days for Alphonso, which is why a box that arrives firm needs a few days at home before it is ready. Alphonso can also develop spongy tissue, an internal flesh disorder. ICAR-IIHR research traced it to the seed shifting into germination mode at about 60% fruit maturity.
- February to March: first fruit of the year.
- April to May: broadest supply and choice of grade.
- June: the tail end of the season.
How to identify genuine Alphonso fruit
There is no single test. A rough clue is the aroma: a sweet, fruity smell near the stalk that builds as the fruit ripens. Another is a skin with uneven shades, with green, gold and a blush on one fruit. Both are clues, not proof, and a bucket-of-water test is only a rough clue too.
What you can check is paper and process. Ask the seller where the fruit was grown, how it was ripened and whether they hold a GI Authorised User certificate and an FSSAI licence. Selling fruit ripened with calcium carbide gas is prohibited under Regulation 2.3.5 of the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations, 2011. We do not use carbide. Our Alphonso mangoes are ripened naturally on hay beds. Our longer guides on identifying authentic Hapus mango and spotting carbide-ripened mangoes go through the questions in detail.
Ratnagiri or Devgad Alphonso?
Both are the same variety, Alphonso or Hapus, from the same Konkan belt, and we do not rank one above the other. Pick by the grade and dozen size that suits your family, and by whether you are buying for eating, gifting or aamras. A dozen weighs roughly 1.8 to 3.3 kg depending on grade, so a larger dozen is a lot of fruit for one household.
Our Ratnagiri Alphonso Mango and Devgad Alphonso Mango pages list the grades. Prices start from Rs 1,849 per dozen. Check the product page for the current price. If you are comparing the two places in more detail, our Devgad Hapus page covers Devgad.
Eating and storing Alphonso fruit at home
If the fruit arrives firm, leave it at room temperature in a single layer away from direct sun until it gives slightly near the stalk and smells sweet. Ripe fruit can go in the fridge for a day or two, taken out an hour before eating so the flavour opens up. Firm, unripe fruit does better outside the fridge.
Most families eat Alphonso fresh in slices, blend it into aamras or lassi, or fold it into shrikhand. For a drink, see our mango milkshake recipe and for the pulp itself, our guide on how to make mango pulp. Raw mango has about 36 mg of vitamin C per 100 g, roughly 40% of the Daily Value.
Do not wash the fruit until just before you cut it, because moisture on the skin shortens shelf life. Wash it under running water, dry it, and cut along the flat seed to get two cheeks. Scoop the flesh around the seed too, since it is good fruit. A fruit that smells sweet but still feels hard needs another day or two; a fruit that feels very soft and smells sharp should be eaten at once or blended into pulp.
Buy Alphonso fruit online
We ship Alphonso across India. 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 next-day delivery for a named city, so the PIN code check matters. We ask customers to report damage within 24 hours of delivery.
Our Alphonso mango order-online page lists the dozen options, and the mangoes collection shows everything in season. For a gift, the corporate gifting guide lists the questions to ask any supplier. Outside India, we ship directly to the UAE; for other countries, write to us first.
People also ask
Why is Alphonso called the king of mangoes?
Alphonso is called the king of mangoes because of its rich, creamy, non-fibrous pulp, sweet aroma and golden colour. The best-known fruit comes from the Konkan coast, around Ratnagiri and Devgad. It is a taste-based reputation, not an official title, and many Indian varieties have their own loyal fans.
Is Alphonso the same as Hapus?
Yes. Hapus, Hafus, Alfanso, Alphonse and Alphanso are all names or spellings for the Alphonso mango. Hapus is the Marathi name used on the Konkan coast. The names describe one variety, so a seller using a different spelling is not selling a different fruit by that fact alone.
When is Alphonso fruit available?
Alphonso 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 by us outside the season, while Alphonso pulp tins are available all year for aamras, shakes and desserts.
How much does a dozen Alphonso weigh?
A dozen of our Alphonso weighs roughly 1.8 to 3.3 kg depending on the grade. Individual fruit usually weighs 150 to 300 g. Larger grades are heavier per dozen and cost more, so check the grade on the product page, not only the count, when you compare dozens.
Related searches
- Buy Ratnagiri Alphonso mango online
- Buy Devgad Alphonso mango online
- Alphonso mango by the dozen
- Alphonso pulp tin
- Alphonso mango season in Mumbai
- What is Alphonso mango
- Mango season guide
- Mango fun facts
Sources and further reading
- Wikipedia, Alphonso mango.
- Geographical Indications Registry of India, public search record for application 379, Devgad Alphonso Mango (merged with application 139), accessed October 2026.
- 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).
Written by Prashant Powle, founder of AlphonsoMango.in. Last reviewed October 2026.