Cultivation History and Flavor Characteristics of Yemen Mocha Coffee? How to Pour-Over Yemen Mocha? How to Use Three-Stage Brewing?

Coffee Knowledge Exchange

FrontStreet Coffee shares coffee knowledge from around the world. This article looks at the cultivation history and flavor of Yemen Mocha, and at how to brew it as a pour-over with the three-stage method.

What is the cultivation history and flavor characteristics of Yemen Mocha coffee? How to pour-over Yemen Mocha? How to brew with three-stage method?

Yemen is a traditional Islamic country. Located on the Arabian Peninsula, Yemen has long been known as the "Queen of Coffee" and the "Coffee Countess." Compared with Ethiopia's many producing regions, Mattari's production is small yet refined.

Mattari Mocha, produced in the Bani Mattar region, has a clear red wine quality and a deep, captivating dark chocolate flavor. The 2012 batch of premium Mattari Mocha, compared with previous years, developed more tropical dried fruit flavors, which not only adds depth to the layers but also marks it as a rare premium level of natural sun-dried coffee. The front stage has a wet aroma similar to dried pineapple and red wine, accompanied by sweet red wine in the middle stage and a very rich dark chocolate flavor in the final stage.

The gentle acidity carries strength, creating an endlessly rich aftertaste that leaves you wanting more.

The distinctive acidity and aroma are full of wild feeling, with a fantastic wild aroma stacking in layers in the aftertaste.

Although Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee, Yemen was the first Arab country to begin cultivating it.

Today, Yemen still uses traditional methods to grow coffee, not much different from the methods used around 1600 AD.

Coffee is grown at altitudes of 3000-7000 feet, and irrigation systems built 400 years ago are still in use.

This irrigation system collects rainwater and distributes the limited water supply evenly.

Because water is limited, all coffee is processed using the natural sun-drying method.

The name Mocha originated because early coffee was mainly exported from the port of Mocha in Yemen.

Although this port closed around 1800 AD, the name Mocha for coffee continued to be used.

There are two main famous coffee varieties: Mattari and Sanani.

Mattari coffee is richer and carries cocoa flavors.

Sanani coffee has more wild characteristics and a fruity acidity.

Coming from one of coffee's oldest origins, Yemen Mattari Mocha gives people a mysterious, enigmatic feeling.

The spicy, slightly wine-fragrant characteristics bring an extremely exotic taste experience.

Smooth and bittersweet on entry, with a rich chocolate flavor to be found as well. This is a distinctive and flavorful coffee worth trying.

Although Yemen coffee is grown on dry sandy soil, it comes from a place where the rainy season brings rainfall. The roots of the coffee trees, sustained by abundant underground water, nurture the irreplaceable Yemen Mocha in the coffee world.

Mattari coffee beans are small and elongated, with a uniform color that represents the best quality grade. They have unique and rich flavors: red wine, dried fruits, grapes, cinnamon, tobacco, and the most well-known chocolate flavor. After grinding, the beans have a jasmine aroma. When brewed at high temperature, you first smell the fermented wine aroma. Sip and taste a slight grape acidity that changes and appears subtly in the mouth, making it water and return to sweetness with a rounded cocoa chocolate sweetness. As the temperature drops, you begin to taste the varied, complex texture. The bottom of the cup retains a very charming malt sweetness. The overall style is gentle and restrained, with the aroma and aftertaste carrying Mocha's mellow richness, truly worthy of the name Queen of Coffee.

Origin Information

Origin: Yemen

Region: Bani Matar

Altitude: Approximately 1700 meters

Processing: Natural sun-drying

Variety: Yemen native Heirloom Yemen Mocha Seedstock

Roasting method: Cinnamon Roast (light-medium roast)

Characteristics

1. Flavor: Red wine, dried fruits, grapes, cinnamon, tobacco, chocolate

2. Aroma: Jasmine, malt sweetness

3. Appearance: Small, elongated bean shape

Brewing Parameters

1. Filter: V60

2. Water temperature: 88°C

3. Grind size: Fuji Royal grinder setting 4

4. Roast level: Medium roast

5. Bloom time: 25 seconds

Flavor: Balanced, chocolate, with a persistent caramel sweetness in the aftertaste

FrontStreet Coffee's Recommended Brewing Method

15g coffee grounds, Fuji Royal grinder setting 4, V60 filter, 88-89°C water temperature. First pour 30g of water for a 25s bloom. Then pour to 104g and stop pouring. Wait until the water level in the coffee bed drops to halfway before continuing. Slowly pour until reaching 220g total water, avoiding the final 5g. Water-to-coffee ratio is 1:15, extraction time around 2:00 (calculated from the end of bloom after all water has been poured).

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Yemen Mocha is prized for its wild, wine-like richness, and if that is what you enjoy, FrontStreet Coffee's Ethiopian naturals offer the same lineage. FrontStreet Coffee's Natural Red Cherry Yirgacheffe selects only fully ripe, sound cherries and dries them in the sun for about two weeks, until the sugar and essence of the fruit have seeped into the bean and moisture drops to 12%; the fruit, pectin, and pod are then scraped off, the beans are tested for density and color, and any defects are removed by hand. The cup is clean and free of off-notes, with rich, captivating fruit aroma and notes of peach, cocoa, honey, and lemon.

For a more intense, florally perfumed cup, FrontStreet Coffee's Natural Flower Queen comes from the Hambella region of Guji in Sidamo. The farm covers 200 hectares and uses a traditional natural method, drying ripe cherries on raised beds for 21 days, turning them constantly, and removing any moldy or defective beans by hand every three to five days. Light-medium roasted, it shows a light fermented wine aroma, florals, citrus, and mango, with a dense, complex body, honeyed sweetness, a cocoa note, and a touch of spice.

From a single-processing-station lot, FrontStreet Coffee's Sidamo Natural Hamashoz uses JARC's 74 series disease-resistant varieties, with the 74158 type in particular producing small beans and pronounced floral and fruit notes: a tempting perfume-lemon, strawberry, and star fruit sweetness on the nose, then strawberry, star fruit, and green grape sweetness on entry, with delicate florals emerging afterward. For a brighter, wilder option, FrontStreet Coffee's Kafa Forest coffee grows wild under shade at 1,400-2,100 meters; medium-light roasted, it shows white floral notes, bright lemon acidity, sweet orange and bergamot, a faint melon and nut sweetness in the finish, and a green-tea-like body.