Monk fruit in the mountains of Guangxi

Siraitia grosvenorii

Luo Han Guo.

The fruit behind Monkura. Known in Asia for centuries. Only just being discovered in Europe.

Discover more
700+
Years of tradition
Luo Han Guo has been used in traditional Chinese cooking and medicine since at least the 13th century.
250×
Sweeter than sugar
Mogroside V makes the fruit up to 250 times sweeter than household sugar. That is why a few drops are enough.
98 %
From a single region
Almost the entire global production comes from the province of Guangxi, a single highland region in southern China.
Dried monk fruit as tea

History

Named after Buddhist monks.

The name Luo Han Guo (literally the fruit of the arhat) refers to Buddhist monks (luohan) who cultivated the fruit in the mountains of southern China. The first written records date back to the 13th century.

In the province of Guangxi, Luo Han Guo was considered a symbol of a long life. It was dried, brewed as tea and used in the kitchen, not as a sweetener in the Western sense but as an everyday food.

The English name monk fruit is the direct translation of the Chinese name.

13th centuryGuangxi, southern ChinaBuddhist tradition
Botanical illustration of monk fruit

Traditional Chinese Medicine

Luo Han Guo in TCM.

In traditional Chinese medicine, Luo Han Guo has been used as a food for centuries. Classical texts describe the fruit as refreshing and clearing, especially valued in dry climates.

Traditionally it was prepared as a tea: the dried fruit cracked open, covered with hot water and left to steep for several minutes. This preparation is the direct predecessor of the modern monk fruit infusion.

In Guangxi, Luo Han Guo remains an everyday product to this day: in local markets, tea kitchens and households. Not a trend. Tradition.

Mountain landscape of Guangxi
Guangxi, southern China: home of Luo Han Guo

Cultivation

The mountains of Guangxi.

Monk fruit thrives only under very specific conditions: cool mountain nights, warm days, high humidity and no direct midday light. Exactly these conditions are found in the highlands of Guangxi province at altitudes between 1,000 and 1,400 metres.

The Guangxi highlands are considered the only region in the world where monk fruit is cultivated on a commercial scale. 98% of global production comes from this geographically small area, making the fruit one of the raw materials most closely tied to a single region anywhere in the world.

Climate & soil

Subtropical mountain climate, average annual temperature of 17 to 20 °C. Mineral-rich red loam soil. The plants are grown and trained by hand on bamboo trellises and need up to three years until the first harvest.

Harvest

Harvesting takes place from September to November. Each fruit is picked individually by hand, still slightly unripe and green, before the sugar content rises. The delicate skin does not tolerate mechanical harvesting.
Monk fruit being harvested by hand
Hand-picked. One by one. Every autumn.

The science

Why monk fruit sweetens differently.

The sweetness of monk fruit does not come from sugar but from a group of natural compounds called mogrosides (triterpene glycosides found in the skin and flesh of Luo Han Guo).

The best known of these is mogroside V, which sweetens up to 250 times more intensely than household sugar. Because mogrosides are neither sugars nor sugar alcohols, the taste profile differs fundamentally from stevia or erythritol.

~1
kcal per serving
A few drops are such a small amount that the energy value per use is around 1 kcal.
No
Sugar alcohol
Mogroside V is not a sugar alcohol like erythritol or xylitol. No cooling mouthfeel.
1
Source of sweetness
In Monkura, all sweetness comes from monk fruit. No stevia, no erythritol, no other ingredients.
Golden monk fruit infusion

Raw material

Pure raw material. Nothing else.

The fresh monk fruit contains natural vitamin C and a range of bioactive compounds. Since the fresh fruit is not eaten directly, it is traditionally processed.

Monkura uses a concentrated monk fruit infusion: golden, viscous, without fillers, without carriers, without water.

What counts: one single ingredient whose origin and processing are fully traceable.

No sugar alcoholsNo fillersLight-protective amber glass bottle

Production

From fruit to drop.

Between the harvested monk fruit in the mountains of Guangxi and the first drop in your coffee lie five precise steps.

1

Harvest

Hand-picked in autumn, slightly unripe, in the mountains of Guangxi at 1,000 to 1,400 m.
2

Drying

Gentle drying of the fruit. Traditional and controlled, to preserve the mogroside structure.
3

Water infusion

The dried fruit is infused with hot water. The classic infusion principle of TCM.
4

Filtration

The infusion is filtered several times. No carrier, no filler, no dilution added.
5

Concentration

Gently concentrated. The result: a clear, golden, highly concentrated infusion.

Why now

Known for centuries. New to us.

In Asia, monk fruit is not a trend. It is tradition. In Europe it is simply unknown, because the market here first became familiar with stevia, erythritol, xylitol and sweetener tablets.

None of the big supermarkets carry it so far. That is exactly the goal of Monkura: to make monk fruit known in Europe and to bring it into a form that fits our everyday lives. Clearly explained, pure, usable daily, without the compromises known here so far.

„In Guangxi, every child knows it. In Germany, almost no one does. That is going to change.“

Cani & Stefano, Monkura 2026

Monkura

Now you know what is inside.

100% pure monk fruit. Clearly explained. No fillers. For everyone who takes their ingredient list seriously.

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