King of Mangoes Comes to See the Queen

Courtesy of Rahul Joglekar Mango lassi being poured into glasses at the mango festival in London.

LONDON-Inside a white canvas tent in Trafalgar Square, a light orange liquid was poured into several small cups. These shots of Alphonso mango lassi vanished almost as soon as they were set down. Many had to be politely told, “Just one sample per person, please.”

Outside the tent, with the music from the nearby Vaisakhi festival, celebrating the Sikh new year, serving as a backdrop, the sweet smell of Alphonso mangoes enveloped the square.

A total of 24,000 mangoes made the journey from Ratnagiri in Maharashtra state in India for the first mango festival in Britain, which was held in London and Leiceister last weekend. For many attendees, it was their first taste of the famous Alphonso mango.

Prashanth Vishwanathan for The New York Times Sellers stacking boxes of Alphonso mangoes at a wholesale market in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

“We know in India that the Alphonso is the king of all mangoes,” said Madhav Mahajan, a farmer from Ratnagiri, who grew some of the mangoes on sale at the square. “We wanted to get the king to meet the queen.

“I don’t travel out of my village a lot,” he said. “I like it there. I don’t even go to Mumbai. But for the Alphonso, I can go anywhere.”

Luis Pavâo/Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga A portrait of Afonso de Albuquerque, a 16th century Portuguese explorer.

Alphonso mangoes, also known as hapoos in India, aren’t well known in Britain. They are known to be sweeter than other varieties. The texture of the flesh is smooth, with no fibers, and the fruit is very aromatic.

The Alphonso mango hails from India, but Europeans were the one to first cultivate it. The fruit derives its name from Afonso de Albuquerque, the Portuguese explorer. He led Portuguese invasions into India in the 1600s, and the Portuguese introduced the mango variety through grafts on mango trees. Starting its journey in Goa, the Alphonso mango traveled across many parts of western India, and now the fruit is exported to several countries, including Britain and the United States.

“It is the real deal, the purest mango. We want to popularize these mangoes in the U.K.,” said Sanjay Yadavrao, executive president of Kokan Bhoomi Pratishtnan in Mumbai, one of the organizers of the festival. “We want it to be available in every corner shop in Britain. Why should people in England be denied this gift from India? This is the best mango in the world,” he said.

Some of the first-time tasters agreed with that assessment. “I had not heard of the Alphonso before this,” said Andrew Smith, a banker. “But I am excited to know about this variety. It is the best mango in the world.”

Also in the crowd of mango lovers was Sanjeev Kapoor, an Indian celebrity chef who hosts the popular cooking show “Khaana Khazana” on Zee TV, a private Indian television station that is also available to viewers overseas. “In this country, food from India is right at the top,” he said. “With chicken tikka masala being the No. 1 dish, mangoes from Konkan cannot be far behind.”

Courtesy of Rahul Joglekar A volunteer from Global Konkan bringing crates filled with mangoes for sale at the mango festival in London.

Mr. Kapoor declared that the Indian Alphonso beats all varieties of mangoes in the world. “And I am not saying this only because I am Indian,” he said. “I work with chefs across the world, and if they happen to taste Alphonso mango, they go like ‘Wow, something like this exists?’ And they want to have more.”

Festival attendees had the same reaction. Within three hours, festival organizers in London had sold more than 12,000 mangoes, which were being sold at 5 pounds ($7.80) for six mangoes and 8 pounds for a dozen. A total of 16,800 mangoes were sold at the London festival and 7,200 in Leiceister, the organizers said.

“This is just the beginning,” said Mr. Yadavrao. “We want to start with the Alphonso and then showcase all of Konkan to the United Kingdom â€" our beaches, tourist spots and our people.”