Yemen has a coffee culture like no other place, and perhaps some of what we enjoy in this cup is due to their old style of trade…: Technically, Yemen is on the Asian continent (on the Arabian Peninsula) although it is really just a stone’s throw from Africa, across the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. For coffee reasons, and since there is no other “Arabian” coffee, we put it in the family of tastes that are North African.
You’ll notice that the Yemen’s we sell all have “MokhaThe Yemeni type of coffee, both in terms of the family of cultivars planted there, and the general trade name.: Mokha Yemeni type of coffee, both in terms... ...more in their names.” Now, what is Mokha? Al Mokha (Al-Mahka) is the port city that Yemeni coffee ships from! It has nothing to do with chocolateA general flavor or aroma term reminiscent of chocolate. But what type? Usually described with more specifics.: Chocolate is a broad, general flavor or aroma term reminiscent of... ...more. Why is the coffee called Mokha? Because in the coffee trade it was too complicated to name all the little sub-regions where the coffee is actually grown, even though they do produce notably different coffees in terms of the cup. Many of the dry-process Ethiopian coffees will also call themselves Moka: Moka Harar etc. …I believe to associate themselves with the taste profile they share with Yemens. How the heck do you spell Mokha? Well, it is spelled usually Mocca or Mocha or Moka …but in fact the most correct spelling is the one you will never see: Al-Mahka, which is the truest to the Arabic spelling. I am trying to use it, but you will see I lapse, or in fact want to indicate also the way I am seeing it spelled on the burlap bag. Lastly, let me say that Yemeni are one of the most distinct and prized coffees in the world, but this is what we call a “wild” or natural cup …EarthyEarthy is a flavor term with some ambivalence, used positively in some cases, negatively in others.: Sumatra coffees can have a positive earthy flavor, sometimes described as "wet... ...more, complexThe co-presence of many aroma and flavor attributes, with multiple layers. A general impression of a coffee, similar to judgments such as "balanced" or "structured" ...more, pungentRefers to an aggressive, intense aroma or flavor, often related to spices (pepper) or roast tastes. Pungent foods are often called "spicy", meaning a sharp or biting character,... ...more —to some it may be strange and bitterBitterness is one of 5 basic tastes: Sour, Sweet, Salty, Bitter and Umami (savory flavors). There are many types of bitterness, hence not one avenue to tracking down... ...more. Either way, do yourself a favor and try it sometime.( You can see by our selection I am a fan of this unusual coffee) … And don’t blame me if you become addicted!
Exporters do not buy from farms, but through an extensive network of middlemen. Local buyers receive coffee in the pod, the entire dried cherryEither a flavor in the coffee, or referring to the fruit of the coffee tree, which somewhat resembles a red cherry.: Either a flavor in the coffee, or... ...more, and that is stored, usually in underground caverns! The coffee actually exported is usually the oldest of their stocks, not new cropRefers to fresh shipments of green coffee within the first month or two of the earliest arrivals ... not quite the same as Current Crop, which means the... ...more coffee! But this is the way it has been, and is one reason that new Yemen arrivals often have moisture content readings in the 10.5% range, in my experience. Yemeni growers are not hurt by this system with so many middlemen, largely because the coffee land under cultivation is limited, production is fairly low due to high altitude and limited inputs, and the crop is in such high demand. Competition from the Saudis also keeps Yemeni coffee prices very high.
