The Flavor Profile of Yemen Mocha Coffee Beans What Are the Characteristics of Single-Origin Yemen Mocha Coffee Beans?

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The Origins and Etymology of Coffee

The word "coffee" originates from ancient tribal societies. Before Islam, this term was one of the names for "wine." In the ancient dictionary "Lisān al-'Arab" (The Language of the Arabs), this word meant "wine," and its root qahā means "loss of appetite."

Ethiopian Origins

Coffee originated in Ethiopia, located on the East African plateau. For nearly 2000 years, this region has produced high-grade Arabica variety hand-dried coffee beans. The coffee beans are named after the ancient capital Harar.

The Spread Through Mocha Port

It is said that in the 17th century, Europeans first imported coffee and spread it to the world through the world's largest coffee port—Mocha Port.

More than 1500 years ago, coffee trees were introduced to Yemen across the Red Sea, thus beginning the world journey of coffee beans. Yemeni coffee was exported to various parts of the world through Mocha Port (now silted and abandoned) (mainly to Europe through Turkey). Therefore, Yemeni coffee was named after its export port, which is what we now commonly refer to as "Mocha beans."

Yemen Mocha Coffee Characteristics

Mocha beans are produced in Ethiopia. Before the 6th century AD, Yemen was always called Arabia, thus coffee trees transported from there to other places were also called Arabian coffee trees. Yemen was the first country in the world to produce coffee as an agricultural crop on a large scale. Today's Yemen Mocha coffee cultivation and processing methods are basically the same as those used hundreds of years ago.

In most Yemeni coffee plantations, coffee farmers still resist using chemical fertilizers and other artificial chemical products. As in the past, these trees are planted on steep terraces to maximize the use of limited rainfall and limited land resources. Even more distinctive is that Yemen Mocha beans are still shipped in bags woven from straw, unlike other places that use chemical woven bags.

Flavor Profile and Characteristics

The beans are small yet aromatic, with strong acidity and mellow taste, slightly wine-like, spicy and stimulating, with moderate sweetness and special flavor. It is a renowned high-quality coffee, usually consumed as a single origin.

Currently, coffee produced in Yemen is considered the best, followed by Ethiopian Mocha. Mocha coffee has smooth medium to strong acidity, excellent sweetness, unique flavor, and contains chocolate notes. It possesses the temperament of a noble lady and is an extremely distinctive pure coffee.

Physical Characteristics

Mocha (Mocca) because the bean shape is very small, some people also call it small Mocha. Small Mocha from Central and South America not only has short trees and small beans, but also low yields. Generally, small Mocha beans are about 10 to 11 mesh wide, meaning the bean width is between 0.39 cm and 0.43 cm, which is much smaller than general 18-mesh Central American beans with a width of 0.7 cm. Note that small Mocha has a flat side, meaning one fruit contains two raw beans. Of course, small Mocha also has small round beans, but the proportion is only 2%, far lower than the 5% to 10% of general Arabica.

Brewing Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee's Yemen Mocha brewing parameter recommendations:

V60/90°C/1:15/two minutes

Flavor: Dark chocolate, grape acidity, spices

Important Notice :

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