What is Mocha Coffee, Yemeni Qishwa? Recommended Brewing Methods for Yemeni Mocha Coffee

Professional Coffee Knowledge Exchange

For more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style)

Yemen has the longest history in commercial coffee production of any country. The local coffee is extremely unique with a rather unusual flavor profile, which may not be easily accepted by the general public. Despite the enormous market demand for Yemeni coffee, the local coffee trade has never changed with the commercial coffee market. Yemeni coffee is absolutely unique, showing distinctive characteristics from its varieties, terrace-style coffee cultivation, processing methods to its industry.

Coffee was introduced to Yemen from Ethiopia, perhaps brought by caravans or by pilgrims traveling from Ethiopia to Mecca, and had reached considerable scale between the 15th and 16th centuries. Because coffee was exported from this place, the port of Mocha also became famous.

Yemen's agricultural structure is quite unique, with only 3% of its land suitable for farming; agricultural development is limited by water sources. Coffee grows on terraces at high altitudes and requires additional artificial irrigation to thrive. Many farmers rely on non-renewable resources such as groundwater, raising concerns about resource depletion. Fertilizer application is uncommon, making soil nutrient loss another problem. All these factors, combined with the remote locations of coffee-producing areas, explain why numerous different varieties derived from Arabica exist throughout the country; most are unique to specific regions.

Yemeni coffee is harvested by hand, with workers visiting the same coffee tree multiple times during a season. Despite this, selective picking is not common practice, so both unripe and overripe fruits are harvested simultaneously. The harvested complete fruits are usually sun-dried, often on farmers' roofs where space is limited. The fruits are frequently piled up, preventing proper drying and leading to defects such as uneven drying, fermentation, or mold.

Each producer often grows only a small amount of coffee. According to the 2000 census report, approximately 99,000 households in the country produce coffee. It is estimated that each household's green bean production that year was only 113 kilograms.

The global demand for Yemeni coffee is extremely high, with half of the total exports shipped to Saudi Arabia. High demand, limited production, and extremely high production costs keep Yemeni coffee prices high. However, this demand has not made the traceability of Yemeni coffee transparent. Coffee sales in the country go through a series of channels from farmers to exporters, with considerable storage time (usually several years), as many exporters will first sell the oldest stock while storing the most recent harvest in underground caves.

What is "Mocha"?

Originally, the term "Mocha" was the name of Yemen's coffee export port. The spelling of this word quickly changed to "moka" to describe the strong, rich style of Yemeni coffee. Today, some sun-processed coffees from other countries also use the same name, such as Ethiopia's Moka Harar.

Yemeni coffee is often blended with Java island coffee, giving rise to the term "Mocha-Java." However, because this name is not protected, it has now become a term used by many roasters to describe their specially created coffee blend style rather than origin. Additionally, the term "Mocha" is now also used to describe a drink mixed with hot chocolate and espresso, which further confuses consumers.

Qeshir

Qeshir is a rather popular coffee by-product. These are the dried coffee husks removed from coffee fruits during processing, dried but unroasted. These dried husks are usually brewed like tea and are a popular way of drinking coffee among Yemenis. In recent years, coffee producers in Central America have also begun trying to produce such products, locally called cascara. Typically, this is only dried coffee fruit, unlike Yemeni Qeshir which includes both fruit and dried husks.

Traceability

Tracing the origin of Yemeni coffee is not easy. In most cases, the term "Mocha" appears in the coffee name, which is the name of the local export port. Usually, coffee can only be traced to specific regions rather than specific origins. Additionally, it is quite common to describe coffee using local coffee variety names, such as Mattari.

Having detailed traceability is not a guarantee of quality. Usually, coffee beans from different regions are mixed before export, then exported using the most valuable coffee names on the market. Yemeni coffee is sought after for its unusual flavor and wild, rich aroma—one reason for this style is the defects created during processing. If you want to try coffee from Yemen, it is recommended to purchase from trusted suppliers. Roasters must cup quite a few bad coffee samples before finding a quality coffee bean, which is quite disadvantageous for consumers buying blindly, as you are likely to get coffee with impure flavor, or even with rotten and unpleasant aromas.

Coffee Flavor Profile

Wild, complex, and rich, offering a unique tasting experience different from many coffees around the world. For some people, this wild, slightly fermented fruit flavor is off-putting, but for others, it is a highly appreciated coffee.

Regions

Population: 25,235,000

2013 Production (60kg bags): 200,000 bags

Please note that Western place name spellings may differ greatly from those used locally in Yemen. Each Yemeni region name is an official province name, not a geographically divided area. Yemen has 21 administrative regions, of which only 12 grow coffee, with even fewer important producers.

FrontStreet Coffee's Recommended Yemen Mocha Brewing Method

Recommended Brewing Equipment: Flannel Drip

Flannel filter cloth can carefully and slowly extract the delicious components of coffee beans. The coffee filtered through it has a rounded, deep flavor - this is the greatest charm of flannel filter cloth. Because flannel has larger capillary pores than filter paper, it can retain some of the coffee's oils, unlike filter paper which usually filters out all oils. Therefore, coffee brewed with flannel is richer and smoother than coffee brewed with filter paper.

Additionally, during the brewing process, because flannel's capillary pores are coarser, and all positions below the water level can filter, unlike filter paper which can only filter through the gap with the filter cup, flannel's water filtration speed is slightly faster than typical filter cup and filter paper combinations (the flow rate is different on the front and back of flannel!)

Brewing Parameters

Grind size: 5M (60% pass-through rate on China standard #20 sieve), Water temperature: 88°C, Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15, Extraction time: 2 minutes 30 seconds.

30g of water for 30-second bloom, segment when water reaches 100g, continue pouring to 225g when water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed to finish brewing.

Flavor Profile

Rich and smooth texture, intense dark chocolate flavor, persistent caramel aftertaste. As the temperature slightly decreases, notes of spices and berries emerge.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473