The cashew tree is native to northern Brazil. Four centuries ago, Portuguese settlers brought the nuts to Cochin, which was then the commercial capital of Kerala province in India. The production of shelled nuts would remain an Indian speciality for a long time.

The cashew tree can reach up to 15 metres in height. It can live for 50 to 60 years.
It blooms twice a year and the fruits ripen over two months. After flowering, the pink flowers turn into a double fruit:

• the cashew apple on the one hand, juicy and edible in the shape of an apple.
• the cashew nut, on the other hand, located under the cashew apple; it is formed by a shell and a kernel.

Once ripe, the fruits are harvested by hand and then dried in the sun on large cement slabs.
The shell is softened in a steam bath, a manual press and then baked in an oven. The cashew nuts are finally shelled.

Menguy’s has been building strong ties with the producers of Kerala for 30 years to select the best cashew nuts.
Nevertheless, new countries have embarked on this form of farming.
Since 2014, Menguy’s has been participating in community work in Madagascar, training Malagasy farmers in cashew tree cultivation. It then undertakes to acquire their entire cashew production.