Flavor Profile of Yemen Mokha Mattari Coffee Beans - How Should Yemen Mokha Be Brewed?

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The Legacy of Yemen Mocha

Yemen was the first country to use coffee as a cash crop. According to legend, it was introduced in the 6th century by Islamic Sufi pilgrims from Ethiopia. The most accurate spelling should be "Al-Mahka," which is the Arabic spelling. It grows on steep terrain with little rainfall, poor soil, and insufficient sunlight - conditions that are uniquely challenging and unfavorable for coffee cultivation. Yet these very conditions have nurtured the irreplaceable Yemen Mocha. Most wild Yemen beans are left unmanaged, naturally growing to maturity before falling and drying in the sun. Farmers only perform the work of gathering them. The overall character is "wild" or "natural" with earthy notes and extremely high complexity. For some people, the spiciness can be pungent, but regardless, you must take time to try it. If you deeply fall in love with it, it will mark the beginning of a completely new coffee journey.

Yemen is located in Asia, facing Ethiopia across the Red Sea. It is the highest-quality producer of natural sun-dried coffee. Coffee produced in Yemen is called Mocha beans. In fact, Mocha is a coffee export port. Early natural sun-dried beans from nearby East Africa were also exported worldwide through Mocha Port, so sun-dried beans from this region, including both Yemen and Ethiopia, were collectively referred to as Mocha beans.

Yemen's natural sun-dried processing method involves manually harvesting fully ripe coffee beans and then placing freshly harvested beans directly on specialized coffee drying grounds or on their own compacted earthen front yards to sun-dry. During the drying period, similar to drying rice in Taiwan, wooden rakes are used to turn the beans to ensure even drying. After about twenty days, when the coffee drying is complete, the outer pulp and skin are removed to extract the coffee beans. Yemen coffee is characterized by rich, complex, wild, mellow, and strong fermentation flavors with lower acidity. Additionally, Yemen coffee often contains an uncertain factor (the timing of seasonal rainfall) that makes it unpredictable, making it fair to call it the most special coffee in the world.

Yemen coffee grows on steep ridges with little rainfall, poor soil, and insufficient sunlight. These uniquely challenging conditions unfavorable to coffee cultivation have nurtured the irreplaceable Yemen Mocha in the coffee world. The main coffee-growing regions are Sanani, Matari, and Ismaili.

Yemen Mattari Highlands

In the Yemen Mattari highlands, coffee grows not far from farmers' backyards. Most of the terrain consists of rugged, poor volcanic trace rock. Wild varieties with no verifiable documentation are the most common Yemen Mocha. In 2012, due to people's struggle for peace, Yemen bean exports completely stopped, leaving us waiting in anticipation.

Rarely can a coffee simultaneously possess wildness, gaminess, wine notes, and fig flavors while also containing gentleness, versatility, and rich chocolate flavors. Once praised as the "wine of Arabia," Yemen Mocha is undoubtedly Allah's blessing. precisely because the initial coffee trade was exported from Yemen's Mocha Port, many people mistakenly believe Yemen is the birthplace of coffee. Even now, some Europeans still习惯 to call coffee "Mocha." Since the 17th century, the dry Arabian soil with lack of moisture in the air has produced coffee beans that are particularly hard and small. Mocha production has always been limited by local political turmoil and cultivation that doesn't meet economic scale. Among these, Yemen Mocha with Mattari as representative features sweet, smooth, and unique fragrant口感. With its slight acidity and strong aftertaste, it can be said to be the most suitable coffee for post-meal pairing, and is also the finest among Mochas.

FrontStreet Coffee's Yemen Mocha Mattari

FrontStreet Coffee's Yemen Mocha Mattari, perhaps due to Yemen's cultivation methods and ancient sun-dried processing, gives this bean a somewhat nostalgic feeling when tasted. Wild, full of untamed character and freedom, the rich chocolate flavor upon entry is intoxicating. As the coffee cools slightly, the sweet and sour grape sensation fills the entire mouth.

FrontStreet Coffee's Brewing Recommendations

V60/89°C/1:15 ratio/2 minutes

Flavor notes: Dark chocolate, grape, spices

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