Yemen Coffee Growing Region Mattari: Cultivation History, Stories, and Flavor Characteristics

Mattari

Yemen lies in Western Asia, only a stone's throw from the African continent. Were it not for Islamic missionaries promoting coffee across the Arabian Peninsula, coffee might still be a wild plant in Ethiopia today. According to legend, coffee arrived in the 6th century, when the region was under Ethiopian rule, and was named Qahwa, meaning "red wine" in Arabic. Later, the Ottoman Empire invaded in 1536 and took control of the coffee trade. To protect export profits, the authorities strictly prohibited the export of green beans, requiring the seeds to be boiled in hot water before leaving the country.

Yemen

Yemen was the first country to treat coffee as a cash crop. Legend says that in the 6th century, Islamic Sufi pilgrims introduced it from Ethiopia. The most correct spelling of the name should be Al-Mahka, its Arabic form. The coffee grows on steep terrain with little rainfall, poor soil and insufficient sunlight. These unique, difficult and unfavorable conditions gave birth to the irreplaceable Yemen Mocha. Wild Yemen beans are mostly unmanaged, growing naturally until ripe, then falling and drying, with farmers only gathering them. The overall style is wild and natural, with an earthy complexity. To some people the spiciness is pungent, but regardless, you should find the time to try it. If you fall deeply in love with it, that will be the beginning of a new coffee journey.

In the Yemen Mattari highlands, coffee grows not far from farmers' backyards. Most of the terrain is rugged, with poor volcanic rock. Unverified wild varieties are the most common Yemen Mocha. In 2012, because of people's struggle for peace, Yemen bean exports stopped completely, leaving us waiting in anticipation.

Since people began drinking coffee, Mocha has always been recognized as good coffee, with a distinctive acidity. Some believe Mocha's special acidity is aggressive. That is because, after a day of hard work, the palate becomes dull to delicate flavors, while the coffee itself is very aromatic and rich. Yemen Mocha is represented by Mattari from the Bani Mattar region. It has a sweet, smooth taste with a unique fragrance, slight acidity and a strong aftertaste. Mocha is well suited to blending with Mild group coffees, especially with Ethiopian Mocha, Indonesia's Java coffee and Sumatran coffee for a well-rounded cup. Locals like to blend Mocha with Ethiopian Mocha to make Turkish coffee. It is the most suitable coffee to drink after a meal, and the finest among Mochas.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

The traditional pairing for a Yemen Mocha is Ethiopian coffee, and FrontStreet Coffee offers a range of Ethiopian lots to blend or brew on their own. FrontStreet Coffee's washed Yirgacheffe staple is the classic introduction to the region, with jasmine, bright citrus and lemon acidity and a clean tea body, and its friendly price makes it the first specialty coffee for many drinkers. For a more precise lot, FrontStreet Coffee's Gutingding Cooperative coffee comes from the Woka area at the southeastern end of Yirgacheffe, following the most traditional washed process for a clean, bright, jasmine-scented cup.

If you want the fruitier side that pairs well with Mocha's wild, spicy character, FrontStreet Coffee's natural Red Cherry is dried whole on raised beds for three to five weeks, giving citrus acidity, berry-juice body, honey sweetness and a creamy smoothness. FrontStreet Coffee's Ethiopia Huakui, grown above 2200 meters in Guji Hambela and naturally processed, adds creamy strawberry, mango, jackfruit, citrus and blueberry notes with almost no bitterness - a bright, juicy counterpoint when blended with a Yemen Mocha or used on its own.