How to Drink Yemen Mocha Coffee Beans? What is the Flavor Profile of Yemen Mocha Coffee Beans?

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The Origins of Coffee

Today, there are many different theories about the origin of coffee consumption. Arabs believe that in the fifteenth century, in the Ethiopia or Yemen region, a shepherd discovered that after his flock repeatedly ate a certain plant, they would become lively and energetic. People thus discovered that coffee could refresh the mind. Ethiopians initially consumed coffee raw. Due to frequent exchanges between Ethiopia and Yemen regions, coffee was later introduced by Arabs to Armenia, Persia, Turkey, North Africa, and other places, and then from the Islamic world to Europe and America. Yemen or Ethiopia should be the native place of coffee beans, and Yemenis were the first to roast coffee beans as food. The most famous Arabica refers to Yemeni Arab coffee, while Mocha coffee traces its origins to Yemen's Mocha Port.

Coffee's Introduction to the Arabian Peninsula

After the mid-fifteenth century, coffee was introduced to the northern part of the Arabian Peninsula, namely today's Saudi Hejaz region. It was a Yemeni Aden official who introduced coffee to the Arabian Peninsula. Because he had business dealings with Ethiopia in Africa, he brought coffee from Yemen into the Arabian Peninsula. When coffee reached Mecca, it was boycotted by a faction of religious figures who classified coffee as a drink like alcohol, believing it would weaken people's reasoning. Therefore, the development of coffee in Mecca fluctuated between good and bad, and it was once banned by religion, with violators even being imprisoned or publicly paraded and whipped. It wasn't until the last two to three hundred years that coffee became widely popular throughout Saudi Arabia without restrictions.

Yemen Coffee - The Ancient Origin

Yemen coffee can be said to be the oldest coffee producing region, facing Ethiopia across the Red Sea, but the coffee flavor is vastly different.

If Ethiopia is like a versatile woman - complex fruity and floral notes, then Yemen is like a brave man - chocolate flavor, tobacco taste, and heavy body yet with a gentle sweet aftertaste.

Mocha beans are produced in Ethiopia. Before the 6th century AD, Yemen was always called Arabia, so the coffee trees transported from there to other places were also called Arab coffee trees. Yemen was the first country in the world to produce coffee as a 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.

Traditional Yemeni Coffee Cultivation

In most Yemeni coffee plantations, farmers still resist using artificial chemical products such as chemical fertilizers. 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, Yemeni Mocha beans are still shipped in bags woven from straw, unlike other places that use chemical woven bags.

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

Mocha Bean Characteristics

Mocha (Mocca) because the bean shape is very small, some people 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, 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.

Authentic Yemeni Mocha

Authentic "Mocha coffee" is only produced in the Republic of Yemen on the southwest of the Arabian Peninsula. It was the first country to commercially cultivate coffee, and the coffee cultivation methods haven't changed much to this day.

The dry climate makes Yemen one of the most unique coffee producing countries in the world. The soil and traditional processing methods give Yemeni coffee a rich mellow taste and diverse flavors.

FrontStreet Coffee's Yemen Mocha Brewing Recommendations:

V60/90°C/1:15/Time two minutes

Flavor: Dark chocolate, grape acidity, spices, rich and mellow body

Important Notice :

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