How to Brew Yemen Mocha Coffee Beans? Yemen Coffee Flavor Profiles and Specialty Characteristics

Yemen: The Birthplace of Coffee

Yemen, famous for its frankincense and spice trade, is the world's oldest origin of cultivated coffee, Mocha.

Trace it back far enough, and this is also where Noah is said to have built the ark in the Bible.

Legend has it that 3,000 years ago the legendary Queen of Sheba led a large delegation carrying gold and spices to Jerusalem to find King Solomon, and gave birth to a son. (It is rumoured that this son became Ethiopia's first king.)

Either way, perhaps because of its ancient history, the people of this land are said to retain a strong sense of pride and to be fiercely independent.

Yemen, which preserves a way of life thousands of years old, has many areas beyond the reach of central government authority. Ethiopia, separated from Yemen by the sea, also exported coffee through the port of Mocha, so Ethiopian sun-dried coffee is often called Mocha (such as Ethiopia Harra Mokka). Yemen Mocha is the originator of the world coffee trade, and Yemen's contribution to bringing delicious coffee to the world is undeniable. It was called "Arabia Coffee," which later gave rise to the name "Arabica original species."

For coffee enthusiasts with some knowledge, mentioning Yemen coffee easily brings "Mocha" to mind.

Yemen's coffee cultivation history is quite ancient. By the early 17th century, Yemen's coffee beans were being exported to Europe from the southwestern port of Mocha, so Europeans called the beans shipped from that port "Mocha coffee." Ethiopia, facing Yemen across the Red Sea, later exported its beans through the same port, so Ethiopian sun-dried beans also came to be regarded as Mocha.

Yemen's coffee cultivation methods remain similar to those of 500 years ago, mostly on mountain slopes from 3,000 to 7,000 feet. Because rainfall is scarce, the trees must rely on strong water retention to survive drought periods. The harsh growing conditions produce smaller beans, but ones of considerable hardness. Yemen's varieties are also quite complex, including the small-seeded Ismaili and ancient heirloom, as well as the Adeni and Mattari varieties.

Yemen lies in Asia, facing Ethiopia in East Africa 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, and the early sun-dried beans of nearby East Africa were all shipped from the port of Mocha around the world, so the sun-dried beans of this region, including Yemen and Ethiopia, are collectively known as Mocha beans.

Yemen's natural sun-drying process means manually harvesting fully ripe cherries and then laying the freshly picked fruit on a dedicated drying field, or in front of a family's compacted mud yard, to dry in the sun. During drying, much as rice is dried in Taiwan, wooden rakes are used to turn the beans so each one dries evenly. After about twenty days, when drying is complete, the outer pulp and skin are removed to release the beans. Yemen coffee has rich, complex, wild, and mellow flavours with strong fermentation notes and lower acidity. It also carries an uncertain factor, the timing of the seasonal rains, that makes it unpredictable. Calling it the world's most unusual coffee is no exaggeration.

Yemen Mocha is a coffee full of wonderful change. When brewed, at high temperatures you first smell the fermented wine aroma. As the temperature falls, you begin to taste its variable, complex flavours. At low temperatures, you experience the complete release of acidity and sweetness.

FrontStreet Coffee carries one such unique coffee: Yemen Mocha Mattari. Brewed with 89°C water, it offers a rich dark-chocolate flavour on entry, followed by the gradual emergence of round grape acidity, with rich layers that are genuinely surprising.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If Yemen Mocha's layered fruit-and-spice character appeals to you, FrontStreet's Ethiopian lineup offers the closest relatives. Start with FrontStreet's washed Yirgacheffe, the entry point to Ethiopian specialty coffee, where clear jasmine florals and bright citrus acidity come with a light, elegant, tea-like body that drinks like a clean lemon tea.

FrontStreet's Guodingding Cooperative coffee deepens that impression. In 2012 the Guodingding group, with around 300 farmer members, became an independent cooperative of its own, and because the pulp is stripped before drying, its inherent aromatics read more clearly, showing citrus and lemon with an elegant white floral note and a bright, delicate overall profile.

For a natural-process contrast, FrontStreet's natural Red Cherry sorts out damaged and mouldy fruit, then dries the cherries in the sun for two weeks until the sugars and essence infuse the beans and moisture falls to 12%, before the hardened pulp, mucilage, and husk are removed. The result is clean, with a rich and captivating fruit aroma described as peach, cocoa, honey, and lemon.