What are the growing conditions of Yemeni Mocha Ismaili? What is the Mocha coffee tree species? How to use V60

Introduction to Yemen Mocha Ismaili

What are the growing conditions of Yemen Mocha Ismaili? What is the Mocha coffee variety? And how do you brew freshly ground Mocha with a V60 dripper?

Processing and Origin

Yemen Mocha's special natural processing involves hand-harvesting coffee cherries that have ripened and dried on the tree. The whole cherries are laid out in dedicated drying fields or in the farmers' own compacted earthen courtyards. During sun-drying they are raked with wooden tools, much like grain-drying fields, to keep the drying even. After about twenty days, when drying is complete, the outer pulp and skin are removed to extract the beans.

Common Yemen Mocha varieties include Sanani and Matari, both named after their production regions. Ismaili is named after its coffee variety and comes from the Hirazi region, making it the least produced and most expensive Yemen Mocha. Strictly speaking, the correct spelling of Mocha should be Al-Mahka, the Arabic form, but the spelling that ultimately appeared on the gunny sacks - Mocca or Mocha - is now considered correct. Whatever the naming nuances, Yemen coffee is one of the most unique and expensive coffees in the world. In overall style it shows "wild" or "natural" coffee flavors with earthy undertones and extremely high complexity. For some, the spicy aroma can even be pungent - but either way, it deserves a place on your tasting list.

Coffee Growing Regions

The main growing regions are Mattari, Hirazi, Haimi, Saihi, Ismaili, Sharasi, Dhamari and Rimy.

Ismaili Region and Growing Conditions

The Yemen Mocha Ismaili region is also home to the most traditional coffee varieties. Hirazi, where Ismaili is grown, sits at high altitudes of 6,500-8,000 feet. Harvesting remains unchanged from ancient times: the coffee grows wild and matures on the tree without any fertilizer or pesticides. After drying on the trees, the cherries fall naturally and dry further on the ground in the sun. Farmers simply collect the coffee from the ground and take it home, using stone mills to remove the dried pulp and skin. This most primitive of natural processing methods is still used for Yemen Ismaili today.

Ismaili beans vary considerably in size, a result of their wild growth on steep terraces with little rainfall, poor soil and insufficient sunlight. It is precisely these unique, harsh natural growing conditions that have secured its irreplaceable position in the coffee world.

Coffee Varieties and History

Varieties: more than 10 special native Mocha varieties, introduced from Ethiopia. They arrived from Harar - the origin of Arabica - in the 6th century or earlier, and Yemen was the first country after Ethiopia to begin cultivating coffee.

Agricultural Challenges

Growing and harvesting coffee in Yemen is not easy. Most farmland is planted with qat (khat), a plant whose leaves are said to have mild stimulating effects. Qat absorbs moisture from underground, damaging the water table, and unlike coffee cultivation there are hopes to persuade farmers to stop planting it.

Roasting Profiles

Light Roast (City Roast - End of First Crack)

Opening the gunny sack reveals a mysterious Ceylon black tea aroma. After grinding there is a subtle osmanthus fragrance, and after brewing a dense jasmine tea note with an exceptionally clean, silky-smooth mouthfeel like fine silk. The sweetness of dried longan and honey lingers for a long time, while a chrysanthemum or chamomile sweetness keeps rotating on the aftertaste, releasing florals in the nose. It is best brewed 7-14 days after roasting, or used for cold drip, when the complex fermented floral, herbal and wine aromas are at their peak.

Dark Roast (Full City Roast - Beginning of Second Crack)

45 seconds after the end of first crack is the darkest roast level for Yemen Ismaili. The dry aroma of black tea and fermented tea becomes strong and exuberant. After brewing it reveals special aromas of ginseng, fennel and Houttuynia cordata. The entry is gentle, smooth and sweet, with discernible peach sweetness and fermented fruit-wine notes. The aftertaste is sweet like honey plum wine. It is best brewed 72 hours after roasting, allowing the volatile elements to dissipate and fully revealing Ismaili's strong maple syrup flavor and oily cocoa sweetness, for a mouthfeel that is rich and distinct.

The History of Mocha Port

Mocha was Yemen's coffee export port. In the history of the coffee trade, naming every tiny sub-region presented difficulties, even though the coffee from those small regions was outstanding. So the export location was used as the name, and nearby natural-processed beans from East Africa were likewise shipped around the world from Mocha port. Today the port has long since silted up and disappeared. Many Ethiopian natural-processed beans also call themselves Mocha - the well-known Harar Mocha, for example - presumably because their flavor shares common ground with Yemen coffee.

Yemen's Coffee Culture and Trade

Yemen is very likely the first country in the world to use coffee as a cash crop. Legend has it that coffee was introduced from Ethiopia by Islamic Sufi pilgrims in the 6th century. Yemen's coffee culture differs from other regions in that exporters do not buy directly from farms but from large intermediate dealers. The local dealers receive coffee still in its pods - whole sun-dried cherries - usually stored in cellars. The special flavor of Yemen coffee that the world loves may well come from these ancient trading methods.

Yemen's farmers have not been hurt by trading through the large dealers, mainly because the country's coffee-growing land is limited, and with high altitude and scarce water, production is very small. Meanwhile demand for Yemen coffee is extremely high, keeping prices stubbornly elevated.

Cultivation Methods

Shade cultivation: wild cultivation with shading but no written records. Coffee is planted on terraces.

FrontStreet Coffee's Recommended Brewing Method

Dripper: Hario V60
Water temperature: 88°C
Grind size: Fuji Roku grinder at setting 4
Brewing technique: water-to-coffee ratio 1:15 with 15g of coffee. First pour 25g of water and bloom for 25 seconds. Second pour up to 120g, then pause. Wait until the water level in the coffee bed drops to halfway, then continue pouring slowly until you reach 225g in total. Extraction time is approximately 2:00.

Analysis

The three-stage pouring method clearly separates the front, middle and back-end flavors of the coffee. Because the V60 has many ribs and drains quickly, pausing the water flow extends the extraction time.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If you are pairing a V60 with exotic coffees, FrontStreet Coffee has several floral-and-fruity beans that shine in this dripper. The V60's 60-degree cone and fast flow rate - a design Hario of Tokyo has refined since the company's founding in 1921, with the modern shape launched after its 2004 redesign - bring out layered aromatics and lively acidity, which is exactly what you want from beans like the FrontStreet Yirgacheffe Guodingding, with its bright citrus, berry and floral notes and green-tea-like finish, or the FrontStreet Hua Kui, whose tropical fruit aromas of strawberry, passion fruit, jackfruit and lychee, marked sweetness and almost nonexistent bitterness have earned it the nickname "the coffee that doesn't taste like coffee."

For a Gesha experience, the FrontStreet Strawberry Candy brings Gesha-style florals with raisin-sweet fruit, and FrontStreet's Panama Esmeralda Red Label Gesha - elegant jasmine with citrus, bergamot and black tea - is the ultimate expression for a slow V60 session. And if you prefer lower acidity closer to the wild character of this Yemen Ismaili, the FrontStreet PWN Indonesia Golden Mandheling is deep-roasted with a mellow, lasting body of herbs and dark chocolate over a faint earthiness - a rich, low-acid choice for the same 1:15, three-stage V60 method described above.