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Yemen Mocha Coffee Beans: The Only Living Relic in the Coffee World

They carry some of the world's most unique, rich, and fascinating aromas: red wine fragrance, wild notes, dried fruit, blueberry, grape, cinnamon, tobacco, sweet spice, woody tones, and even chocolate. You will see all of these adjectives used to describe Yemen Mocha coffee beans.

The Homeland of "Mocha Coffee Beans"—Yemen

When it comes to Yemeni coffee, "Mocha" has to come up. Everyone has heard of "Mocha coffee," but what exactly is Mocha? The answers vary. Some say Mocha is a specific origin; to others, Mocha means a sweet, chocolate-flavored coffee. In fact, authentic "Mocha coffee" is produced only in the Republic of Yemen on the southwestern Arabian Peninsula, grown on steep mountain slopes at elevations of 3,000 to 8,000 feet, making it the world's most ancient cultivated coffee.

As early as 500 years ago, Yemen was already producing coffee using ancient methods. In the early 17th century, the first batch of Yemeni coffee sold to Europe was shipped through the ancient small port of Mocha, astonishing Europeans with its flavor. They began calling the fine coffee shipped from Mocha port "Mocha coffee"—and that is the origin of the name.

Ethiopia, Yemen's neighbor across the Red Sea, also exported coffee through Mocha port, so Ethiopian natural-processed coffees are often called Mocha as well (Ethiopia Harrar, for instance). Today the old port of Mocha has long been abandoned because of sediment accumulation (it is now known as Al Makha), and exports have moved to the northwestern port of Hodeida. People have grown so used to the name, though, and the reputation of Mocha still resonates widely.

Dark-roasted Yemeni coffee often shows a chocolate-like bittersweet note, which is why today's chocolate-flavored specialty coffees are also labeled "Mocha." So when you see the term "Mocha coffee," it might mean pure Yemeni coffee, neighboring Ethiopian coffee, or simply a flavored drink made with chocolate syrup. For a discerning drinker, though, only genuine Yemeni coffee deserves the name.

It is worth noting that just as Mocha has several meanings, its English spelling varies too: Moka, Moca, and Mocca are all common. On Yemeni coffee sacks and documents I have seen as many as four local spellings—"Mokha," "Makha," "Morkha," and "Mukha"—all meaning the same thing.

The Pioneer of Global Coffee Trade

Yemen Mocha was the pioneer of the world coffee trade, and it contributed enormously to spreading good coffee around the globe. In the 17th century, Yemen Mocha, then known as "Arabia" (the very source of the later species name "Arabica"!), crossed the oceans to reach European Catholic countries such as Italy. For more than 150 years afterward, Yemeni coffee remained the only coffee origin exported to Europe.

In ancient times, conservative Catholic countries often treated extraordinarily wonderful things as evil, and coffee was once burdened with an inexplicable sin. It was not until the coffee-loving Vatican Pope declared coffee a Catholic beverage and blessed those who drank it that coffee began to spread widely across Europe.

Ancient Cultivation Methods

Today, Yemeni farmers still produce coffee the same way they did 500 years ago. Coffee cherries grow on the trees without any artificial fertilizers or pesticides. They take moisture from mountain mist and the sparse summer rainfall, flowering and fruiting, and through the dry winter the mature cherries are left hanging on the trees to air-dry naturally. This practice is rare and highly unusual, possible only because of Arabia's extremely dry climate and intense sun. In other coffee-producing regions, the same approach would rot the cherries on the tree.

Ripe or dried cherries fall naturally, are shaken down, or are picked by hand. Yemeni coffee farmers, who make up nearly a quarter of the country's total population, spread the cherries—pulp still attached—on the rooftops of their homes, in small shelters in front of their houses, or even directly on mud-covered ground, exposing them to the intense dry winter sun. Once the skin and pulp have dried, old-fashioned stone mills (two stones stacked together) grind away the dried hard shell and pulp, and the beans are finally processed.

To this day, a few farms still use animals such as camels and donkeys to power their stone mills. Compared with Central and South American countries that process large volumes with advanced machinery—or even neighboring Kenya, with its brief coffee history—Yemen Mocha is truly the only living relic in the coffee world.

Did you know? The Yemeni coffee you drink today is fundamentally not so different from the "Arabian coffee" that European noble merchants enjoyed centuries ago in Europe's oldest cafés on Venice's St. Mark's Square.

Quick! Give Me a Cup of Yemen Mocha!!

Yemen Mocha Coffee Bean Brand Recommendations

Yemen Mocha coffee beans roasted by FrontStreet Coffee are dependable in both brand and quality, and they bring a legendary origin within reach of everyday brewing.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Yemen Mocha's signature is its dried-fruit, wine-like depth, and Ethiopian natural lots offer a similar complexity in a more accessible form. The FrontStreet Natural Huakui comes from the Hambella area of Guji in Sidamo, grown at high altitude and processed as a natural; roasted light-medium, it shows light fermented wine, florals, citrus, and mango, with honey sweetness, a cocoa note, and a hint of spice over a full body. For a sweeter, more fruit-forward cup, the FrontStreet Natural Red Cherry is another natural Yirgacheffe, bringing peach, cocoa, honey, and lemon. Both echo the Mocha character—dried fruit, sweetness, and a lingering finish.