What is Mattari Coffee? FrontStreet Coffee's Introduction to Yemen Mocha Mattari Coffee

The Essence of Yemeni Coffee: A Journey Through Time

Yemen represents the classic tradition of natural, dry-processed coffee and is the only country in the world that produces natural-processed coffee exclusively. The traditional method has barely changed since Europeans first fell for wild Mocha coffee in the 17th century, and that is largely down to Yemen's extremely dry climate. Coffee is grown mainly in the central highlands, where annual rainfall reaches only 400-750 millimeters, far below the 1,500-2,000 millimeters that Arabica thrives on. Yemen's good fortune is that its coffee genetics descend from the drought-resistant Harrar variety of Ethiopia. The water-scarce environment, though, leaves farmers no realistic path to more advanced washed processing, and the result is wild aromas that surpass even Harrar's. Yemen is therefore the best place to experience the flavours of an older world. It was also the first stop for Arabica coffee after it was carried out of Ethiopia; genetic diversity has thinned somewhat since, but it still holds considerable variation, making Yemen the second coffee-producing country in the world that can claim ancient, superior varieties.

Unique Characteristics and Production

Since the 17th century, the dry Arabian soil and parched air have produced coffee beans that are especially hard and small. Mocha output has always been constrained by local political turmoil and by small-scale cultivation that never reaches commercial scale. Within that, the Yemeni Mocha of the Bani Matar region, of which Mattari is the representative, delivers sweet, smooth and uniquely aromatic flavours with its characteristic slight acidity and long finish. It is the finest of the Mocha varieties and, in our view, the most suitable coffee to drink after a meal.

Cultivation and Processing Methods

Yemen's rough, primitive methods of cultivation have improved only slightly over the centuries. Coffee trees are planted in small plots on steep, hard-to-reach mountain slopes. The dry Arabian soil and lack of moisture in the air produce beans that are especially hard and small. Delicate irrigation systems carry spring water to terraced coffee gardens ringed by soil and low walls, and all of the work is done by hand. Beans are mostly dried on rooftops or flat ground. Curiously, the beverage itself is not especially popular in the region where coffee was first consumed, and the local brewing is rudimentary: the liquid is generally boiled together with the bean pods. Smallholders pay more attention to a medicinal plant called qat, since chewing it is popular locally, than to tending their coffee trees. Mocha remains limited by local political turmoil and by small-scale cultivation that falls short of economic standards. The coffee takes its name from Yemen's Mocha port, the earliest coffee export harbor, which supplied the global coffee trade until the end of the 17th century.

Flavor Profile and Blending

Since people first began drinking coffee, Mocha has been recognized as an excellent coffee with a distinctive acidity, one that some drinkers find assertive. Part of the reason is that after a day's work the palate dulls to delicate flavours, and this coffee is very aromatic and rich enough to register anyway. Mocha blends beautifully with Milds-type coffees, and it is especially well suited to blends built on Mexican, Indonesian Java or Sumatran coffee. Locals like to mix Mocha with Mexican coffee to make Turkish coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee's Yemeni Mocha and Brewing Guide

FrontStreet Coffee's Yemeni Mocha comes from the Mattari region. Here are suggested brewing parameters:

1. Dripper: V60

2. Water Temperature: 88°C

3. Grind Size: Fuji Royal R4

4. Roast Level: Medium roast

5. Bloom Time: 25 seconds

Flavor Profile: Balanced, chocolate notes, persistent caramel sweetness in the finish

FrontStreet Coffee's Recommended Brewing Method: 15g coffee, Fuji Royal R4 grind, V60 dripper, 88-89°C water temperature. First pour 30g of water for a 25s bloom, then pour to 104g and pause. Wait until the water level in the coffee bed drops to half before continuing to pour. Slowly pour until reaching 220g, avoiding the last 5g. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time approximately 2:00 (counting from the end of bloom pour after completing water injection).

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Yemen is where Arabica first spread beyond Ethiopia, and if the wild, dry-processed character of Mocha appeals to you, FrontStreet Coffee's Ethiopian offerings are the closest living relatives of that tradition. The natural-process lots are the most direct match: FrontStreet Coffee's Red Cherry Plan Yirgacheffe is dried in the sun for two weeks, then screened for density and colour and hand-picked for defects, giving a clean, fruit-forward cup with peach, cocoa, honey and lemon.

For something more layered, FrontStreet Coffee's Ethiopia Huakui comes from the Hambella area of Guji in Sidamo, where ripe cherries dry on raised beds for 21 days and are turned regularly so they dry evenly. Whole cherries spend the entire drying period intact, and after a light-medium roast the cup shows a light ferment-like wine note alongside floral, citrus and mango, with honey sweetness, a cocoa edge and a hint of spice, a thick body and a long finish.

If you would rather keep the bright, tea-like clarity that Yemen's dry climate also allows, FrontStreet Coffee's washed Yirgacheffe Gudingding shows citrus and lemon with an elegant white-floral lift, clean and bright at a light roast.