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Yemen Mocha Mattari

01 | Region Introduction

* The History of Yemen *

Yemen, famous for its frankincense or spice trade, is the world's earliest origin of coffee Mocha cultivation.

If tracing back in history, this is also the place where Noah built the ark in the Bible.

According to legend, 3000 years ago, the legendary Queen Sheba brought gold, spices, and a large-scale delegation to Jerusalem to find King Solomon and gave birth to a son. (It is rumored that this son was the first king of Ethiopia)

Regardless, perhaps due to historical reasons since ancient times, it is said that the people of this land still possess a strong sense of pride and are extremely independent.

Yemen, which continues the lifestyle preserved thousands of years ago, has many places where the central government's ruling power cannot reach. Ethiopia, across the sea from Yemen, also uses the port of Mocha to export coffee, so Ethiopian sun-dried processed coffee is often called Mocha (such as Ethiopia Harra Mokka). Yemen Mocha is the originator of the world coffee trade. Yemen has made indelible contributions to spreading delicious coffee worldwide and is known as "Arabian Coffee," which is also the origin of the later name "Arabica Original Species."

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

Compared to its former reputation, the current "Port of Mocha" has failed to continue its prosperity and has become a historical port with only white sandy beaches.

Even so, it still "travels far and wide" in the name of coffee.

Although Ethiopia is the first country in the world to discover coffee, Yemen was the first country to produce coffee as a crop on a large scale. In the early 17th century, the first batch of Yemeni coffee was exported to Europe via the ancient small port - Mocha Port, which amazed Europeans. Because all exported coffee bags had to be stamped with the MOCHA mark to prove they were transported from Mocha Port, Europeans called the delicious coffee from Mocha Port "Mocha Coffee." This is why Mocha became synonymous with coffee in its early days.

Yemen coffee grows on steep terrains with little rainfall, poor soil, and insufficient sunlight. These unique and difficult conditions unfavorable to coffee growth have nurtured the irreplaceable Yemen Mocha in the coffee world. The main coffee-producing regions are Sanani, Mattari, and Ismaili.

The Mattari region is located on the highlands west of the capital, with an altitude of 2000-2400 meters. It is the highest-altitude coffee-producing region in Yemen but also the most remote with inconvenient transportation. Farmers often have to wait for some time after harvesting before they can transport it out.

02 | Processing Method

Ancient Natural Sun-Drying Method

Yemen is the classic of ancient sun-dried flavors and the world's only country that produces entirely sun-dried coffee. The traditional processing method without a drop of water has remained unchanged since the 17th century when Europeans became fascinated with wild-flavored Mocha. This is related to Yemen's extremely dry climate. Coffee is mainly planted in the central highlands, with an average annual rainfall of only 400-750 millimeters, far below the optimal 1,500-2,000 millimeters for Arabica.

Due to the water-scarce environment, farmers have been unable to introduce more advanced washing methods. The wild flavor surpasses Harar coffee, making Yemen the best choice for experiencing ancient flavors.

The central highlands of Yemen feature rolling mountains and rugged terrain. Small farmers mostly adopt a fragmented planting method, with a few plants on steep slopes and dozens on terraces or cliffs, each with different soil and microclimates, resulting in different aromatic components.

Yemen farmers' sun-drying method is rougher than Ethiopia's. Coffee cherries are not picked when they turn red but are left to dry naturally on the branches until they become purplish-black and fall to the ground before being collected. This differs from the refined sun-drying method of Yirgacheffe or Sidamo, where red cherries are picked and spread on "raised African beds." This is the main reason for Yemen's particularly strong wild flavor.

Yemen's natural sun-drying method involves manually harvesting fully ripe coffee beans and then placing the freshly harvested beans directly in a dedicated coffee drying field or on their own compacted earthen courtyard to receive sun exposure. During the sun-drying period, similar to drying rice in Taiwan, wooden rakes are used to turn the beans to ensure even drying of each bean. After about twenty days, when the coffee drying is complete, the outer pulp and skin are removed to extract the coffee beans. Yemeni coffee features rich, complex, wild, and mellow flavors with strong fermentation notes and lower acidity. Additionally, Yemeni coffee often contains an uncertain factor (the timing of seasonal rainfall) that makes it unpredictable, making it no exaggeration to call it the world's most special coffee.

03 | Green Bean Analysis

Mocha's grades are divided into: Sanani

Due to Yemen's low annual coffee production, only about 35% is Mocha Sanani and Mocha Mattari, which can be considered the better quality among Yemeni coffees.

Coffee from the Mattari region has the characteristic of "unattractive" appearance, with inconsistent sizes and considerable color differences, looking like a mixture of small pea-sized beans and empty defective beans.

Green Bean Information:

Yemen Mocha Mattari

Country: Yemen

Region: Mattari

Altitude: 1,300~1,900m

Varietal: Typica, Bourbon

Process: Natural / Sundried

Because the bean shape is very small, some people call it "Little Mocha." Mocha is a flat bean, not a round bean. The beans are small but fragrant and rich.

04 | Roasting Analysis

Yemen Mocha belongs to green beans with relatively low moisture content. Considering the inconsistent size of the beans, the charging temperature for low-moisture green beans should not be too high. Preheat for 30 seconds, open the damper to 3, until the green beans turn light green or white, then open the damper to 4, and after the first crack, open it to 5 (maximum).

FrontStreet Coffee suggests keeping good data records before roasting: coffee bean moisture content, density, origin, processing method, ambient temperature and humidity in the roasting room, etc., and planning your roasting curve. Record relevant chemical and physical changes during the roasting process, as this will help you better understand the final roasting results and improve your roasting curve.

Roaster: Yangjia 800N, 550g green beans loaded

Roasting Profile:

Preheat the roaster to 170°C, open the damper to 3, after 1 minute adjust the heat to 140°C, damper unchanged, roast until 5'00", temperature reaches 147.2°C, bean surface turns yellow, grassy smell completely disappears, dehydration completed, adjust heat to 110°C, damper to 4;

At the 8'00 minute, ugly wrinkles and black spots appear on the bean surface, toast smell clearly changes to coffee aroma, which can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this time, listen carefully for the sound of first crack. At 8'23", first crack begins, adjust heat to 60°C, fully open the damper (adjust heat very carefully, not so low that there's no cracking sound), and drop at 197.9°C.

Cupping Report:

Medium Roast City (Caramel Aroma): The coffee beans have a peanut aroma before grinding. After grinding, there's a caramel fragrance. During slurping, the layers are complex, with a slight grape acidity appearing at the changing end in the mouth. The spicy aftertaste is long, with a sweet and smooth mouthfeel that has a Middle Eastern milk tea feeling lasting for a long time. The cup bottom has malt sweetness. Medium-roasted Yemen Mocha will continue to change, so it's recommended to brew 7-14 days after roasting when the complex wild fermentation flavor is at its best.

04 | Brewing Analysis

The condition of the coffee bed in pour-over brewing cannot be ignored, and this must be emphasized! The coffee bed plays a subtle role, one of which is to provide resistance, allowing hot water to stay in the filter cup long enough to ensure sufficient flavor components are extracted. For medium roast, the coffee bed must also have certain supporting strength to perform its "blocking" function. To prevent weakening the bed's support strength, one must master the "water column intensity," "water pouring position," plus "stable circular motion technique" - this constitutes a complete "water pouring technique."

Brewing Parameters:

1. Filter: V60

2. Water Temperature: 88°C

3. Grind Size: Fuji Mini R 4

4. Roast Level: Medium Roast

5. Bloom Time: 25 seconds

Flavor: Balanced, chocolate, persistent caramel sweetness in the aftertaste

FrontStreet Coffee's suggested method: 15g coffee, Fuji Mini R grind 4, V60 filter, 88-89°C water temperature, first pour 30g water for 25s bloom, pour to 104g then pause, wait until the bed water level drops to half before continuing to pour, slowly pour until reaching 220g, don't use the last 5g. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time about 2:00 (counting from the end of bloom pour)

Related recommendations: Description of Yemeni coffee flavor and taste characteristics, Is Yemen Mocha coffee good to drink?

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