Introduction to Yemeni Coffee Estates: Ismaili Haraazi Coffee Beans with Red Wine Aroma

Professional coffee knowledge exchange, more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account cafe_style)

Ismaeli is said by some to be the oldest coffee variety, while others say it's a growing region. In the local Haraazi market in Yemen, vendors of spices, tea, Qat, and coffee say their coffee beans are special because they are always mixed together, creating very distinctive flavors. Ismaeli grows in incredibly steep, rocky areas, with coffee planted on etched terraces alongside Qat. It has always had a strong (bold) character with surprising red wine aromas.

Property Characteristics

Farmer: Small Holders (Various small farmers)

Region: Haraazi

Country: Yemen

Farm Size: 2.8 Hectares

Altitude: 1,840 - 2,125 meters

Certification: None

Coffee Characteristics

Variety: Mainly Jaa'di, also Tuffahi, Dawairi, and Ismaili

Processing System: Traditional Natural (Yemeni traditional roof sun-drying)

Appearance: 15-16 screen

Top Jury Descriptions: Cupping roast level: 60 seconds after first crack (Cinnamon roast)

Aroma/Flavor: Strawberry, pineapple, cinnamon, clove, red wine aroma, maple syrup, caramel

Acidity: Tannic acid, tartaric acid

Complexity & Other: Exuberant fruit wine aroma, velvety mouthfeel, chocolate aftertaste, prominent spice notes, recommended as a pour-over single-origin coffee bean

FrontStreet Coffee Review: Yemeni coffee is my favorite. Ismaeli is not easy to obtain, and its red wine aroma becomes even better with time.

Yemen is located on the Arabian Peninsula of the Asian continent, but very close to Africa - just across the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. However, other Arab countries do not produce coffee, so the world categorizes Yemeni coffee as part of the North African coffee family. What is Yemeni Mocha then? Mocha is the export port for Yemeni coffee. In coffee trade history, it was difficult to name all the tiny sub-regions, even though the coffee produced by these seemingly insignificant small regions was truly excellent. Therefore, they used the export location as a name, including nearby sun-dried beans from East Africa that were originally shipped to various parts of the world from Mocha port. Today, Mocha port has long been silted up and disappeared, and many Ethiopian sun-dried beans also name themselves Mocha, such as the well-known Harar Mocha. I think this is because their flavors share some common characteristics with Yemeni coffee.

The most correct spelling of Mocha coffee should be Al-Mahka, which is the Arabic spelling, but ultimately it was spelled as Mocca or Mocha as seen on the burlap sacks. Regardless of these naming and spelling trivialities, Yemeni coffee is the world's most unique and expensive coffee. In terms of overall style, it's [wild] or [natural] coffee flavor with earthy notes and extremely high complexity. For some people, the spice notes are pungent, but in any case, you must find time to try it. Among the several top-quality Yemeni coffees purchased from Direct Coffee, you will surely discover that you particularly like this unique coffee. If you also fall deeply in love with it, that will be the beginning of a brand new coffee journey.

Yemen was very likely the first country in the world to use coffee as a cash crop. Legend has it that coffee was introduced by Islamic Sufi pilgrims from Ethiopia in the 6th century. Yemen's coffee culture differs from other regions - exporters don't buy directly from farms but from large intermediary distributors. The coffee received by local distributors contains pods - whole sun-dried coffee cherries, usually stored in cellars. The special flavor of Yemeni coffee that the world loves perhaps comes from their ancient trade methods. Yemeni coffee farmers have not been harmed by dealing through large distributors, mainly because local coffee-growing land is limited, combined with high altitude and limited water resources, making production very scarce. Meanwhile, the demand for Yemeni coffee is extremely high, keeping Yemeni coffee prices elevated.

Yemeni coffee cultivation and harvesting are not easy. Most farmland grows Qat, a plant whose leaves are said to have mild stimulating effects. This plant absorbs water from underground, thereby damaging the underground water table. Coffee cultivation is different - we hope to make some changes so farmers stop growing Qat. However, the profit from Qat is dozens of times that of coffee. Coffee beans can only rely on government persuasion to maintain small-scale cultivation under Qat. Perhaps this adds more imaginative space to Yemeni beans.

Yemen Coffee Industry Statistics

Total coffee farms: Approximately 330,000

Harvest time: Main crop October-December, secondary harvest April

People engaged in coffee-related work: 1,530,000

Processing method: Natural drying of Arabica beans

Grading: No management institution, no grading system

Cultivation shading method: Wild cultivation, with shading but no written records, coffee planted on terraces

Organic certification: No certification: All coffee is grown organically following ancient methods, without using chemical pesticides or other agents

Main coffee growing regions: Mattari, Hirazi, Haimi, Saihi, Ismaili, Sharasi, Dhamari, Rimy

Production ranking: 10th in Asia, 46th in the world

Coffee varieties: More than 10 special local native Mocha varieties, introduced from Ethiopia

Coffee introduction: Introduced in the 6th century or earlier from Harar, the native home of Arabica in Ethiopia. Yemen was the first coffee-growing country after Ethiopia.

Related recommendations: What is Mocha coffee? Yemeni Mocha - Mattari sun-dried beans are the true Mocha coffee beans of Yemen

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473