Every year, without fail, someone messages us in late March asking whether the Alphonsos are in yet. We understand the impatience. If you have tasted a proper Ratnagiri Hapus, eaten over the kitchen sink because the juice runs straight down your arm, you already know that nothing else comes close. But timing is everything with this fruit. Get it wrong by even a few weeks and you end up with something pale, stringy, and disappointing. This guide will tell you exactly when to buy, what to look for, and why it matters.

First, a Quick Word on Where Alphonsos Actually Come From?

The Alphonso or Hapus as it is known at home, grows along a very specific stretch of the Konkan coast in Maharashtra, India. The districts of Ratnagiri and Devgad are the heartland. The combination of laterite soil, coastal humidity, and a dry flowering season produces a mango that cannot be replicated anywhere else. Farms in other states have tried. The results are never the same.

This geography matters for UK buyers because it sets a hard limit on availability. The trees flower once a year. The harvest runs from roughly late March to early June in India, and that is all you get. There is no second crop, no off-season substitute, at least not a genuine one. Anything calling itself a fresh Alphonso outside that window deserves a raised eyebrow.

So When Do They Actually Arrive in the UK?

Fresh Alphonso mangoes start landing in the UK from mid-to-late April. The very first shipments tend to arrive around the third week of April, airfreighted directly from Maharashtra. These early boxes are good, noticeably better than anything that spent weeks on a cargo ship, but they come at a price, and availability is limited.

May is the month. Full stop. Supply is at its highest, prices settle, and the fruit is coming off trees that have had the full benefit of the season. If you are planning to order in bulk, or if this is your one chance to share proper Alphonsos with family, May is your window. Indian grocery stores and Asian grocery online platforms with direct supply chains will have the best selection during this period.

By early June you will still find decent fruit, but you will start to notice variation. Some boxes are excellent; others show signs that the season is winding down. After mid-June, what is sold as fresh Alphonso in the UK increasingly relies on refrigerated storage from the tail end of the Indian harvest. It is not the same.

Month by Month, What You Are Actually Getting

Here is a plain breakdown of what to expect across the season:

 April (late): First arrivals. Smaller quantities, higher prices, genuinely good quality if you buy from a supplier who knows their growers. Worth it if you cannot wait, but most of May beats most of April.

May: Peak season. The Alphonsos coming through now are at their richest, deep saffron flesh, that unmistakable floral smell, and sweetness that is never cloying. If you are going to splurge, this is when.

Early June: Still worthwhile, especially from trusted stores sourcing directly. Towards the end of June, buy carefully. Inspect the box when it arrives and eat quickly, late-season fruit does not hold as long.

How to Tell a Real Alphonso from a Pretender?

• The UK market has a problem. Mangoes are sometimes mislabelled, or a cheaper variety gets sold under the Alphonso name because most customers cannot tell the difference on sight alone.

• Smell it first. A ripe Alphonso smells like a mango should, strongly floral and sweet, especially near the stem. If it smells of nothing, it will taste of nothing.

• The skin should be a warm golden yellow, not a uniform deep orange or artificially red. Some natural green near the tip is fine and normal.

• Look for the GI tag on the packaging. Genuine Ratnagiri Hapus and Devgad Hapus carry a Geographical Indication certification. Reputable suppliers selling Indian Alphonso Mangoes online will mention this clearly.

• The flesh should be almost entirely fibre-free. If you bite in and get strings, it is not a proper Alphonso.

• Buy from stores that can name the farm or the district. Vague sourcing usually means the fruit came through too many hands.

Why Buying Online from an Indian Grocery Store Can Be the Better Option?

This might sound self-serving coming from us, but the reasoning is solid. Large supermarkets buy mangoes at scale and prioritise shelf life over flavour. That means fruit is often harvested underripe, stored cold for extended periods, and then artificially ripened in ethylene chambers. It arrives looking fine and tasting like cardboard.

A specialist Indian groceries shop online like Lakshmi stores UK, particularly one with a direct relationship with Konkan growers,can afford to wait for the right ripeness and airfreight in smaller, faster batches. The fruit spends less time in transit and more time actually developing on the tree. The difference on the palate is not subtle.

When you buy Alphonso Mangoes online through a trusted Asian grocery online platform, you are also getting the benefit of seasonal knowledge. We know which weeks are the best. We know which farms are producing well in a given year. That context is something a general supermarket buyer does not have and does not particularly care about.

Once They Arrive at Your Door - Storage That Works

• Premium Alphonso Mangoes travel well when handled correctly, but they are delicate once they reach room temperature. A few straightforward rules:

•  If the mangoes arrive firm, leave them in a cool room,not the fridge, for two to four days. They ripen best at room temperature.

• Once they give slightly to gentle pressure and the smell intensifies, they are ready. Eat them within a day or two at this stage, or move them to the fridge to slow things down by another three to four days.

• Never refrigerate unripe Alphonsos. Cold interrupts the ripening process and the texture suffers permanently.

• If you have ordered a larger quantity, stagger them. Keep some at room temperature and refrigerate the rest, then rotate as needed.

• The flesh freezes well, cube it and store it flat in a bag for smoothies and lassis later in the year. The texture changes, but the flavour holds up surprisingly well.