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Yemen Mocha Mattari

Yemen Mocha Mattari is a distinguished coffee variety from the ancient coffee-growing region of Yemen. This exceptional coffee represents the rich heritage and historical significance of Yemeni coffee culture.

Coffee Details

Country: Yemen

Region: Mattari

Altitude: 1,300~1,900m

Varietal: Typica, Bourbon

Process: Natural / Sundried

01 | Region Introduction

The History of Yemen Coffee

Yemen, famous for its frankincense and spice trade, is the world's first region to cultivate coffee Mocha. According to historical records, this is also the place where Noah built his ark in biblical times. Legend tells of the Queen of Sheba who led a massive delegation with gold and spices to Jerusalem to meet King Solomon, giving birth to a son who would become Ethiopia's first king.

Perhaps due to this ancient history, the people of this land maintain a strong sense of pride and extreme independence. Yemen, preserving a lifestyle from thousands of years ago, has many areas where central government authority cannot reach. Across the sea from Yemen, Ethiopia also exported coffee through the port of Mocha, which is why Ethiopian sun-dried coffee is often called Mocha (such as Ethiopia Harra Mokka). Yemen Mocha is the pioneer of world coffee trade, contributing immensely to spreading delicious coffee worldwide. Known as "Arabia Coffee," this gave rise to the term "Arabica" that we use today.

It is said that in the 17th century, Europeans first imported coffee and spread it to the world from the largest coffee port at the time - the Port of Mocha. Although today's Port of Mocha hasn't maintained its former prosperity and has become a historic port with only white sandy beaches, it still "travels far and wide" in the name of coffee.

Although Ethiopia was the first country to discover coffee, Yemen was the first country in the world 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 of Mocha, astonishing Europeans. Because all exported coffee sacks had to be marked with "MOCHA" to prove they were transported from the Port of Mocha, Europeans called the delicious coffee from Mocha Port "Mocha Coffee." This is why "Mocha" became synonymous with coffee in early days.

Mokhtar Alkhanshali

Thanks to the discovery of an Islamic scholar, Yemeni coffee began to fragrance the world from the 16th century, and for the following 150 years, Yemen became the sole supplier of world coffee. However, as coffee cultivation expanded worldwide, Yemeni coffee couldn't escape the so-called "development trend." Today, as Yemeni coffee returns to the pinnacle of specialty coffee, we must mention Mokhtar Alkhanshali.

A Yemeni-American, his "change in perspective" on coffee originated from a single-origin pour-over. From that moment, he entered the coffee industry, learning professional coffee knowledge, traveling to major Yemeni production areas, creating the "Mokhtar Model" suitable for Yemeni coffee cultivation and management, and constantly pursuing near-perfect flavor standards.

Just when he thought he could finally share this rare flavor with the world, Yemen's civil war broke out, and the entire country was shrouded in the flames of war, with all transportation blocked. Facing sudden war and "accidents," and determined not to let the flavor be destroyed, Mokhtar went through numerous hardships and eventually brought the beans to the United States across the ocean, ranking first in COFFEE REVIEW's annual top 30 list with a 97-point coffee!

02 | Processing Method

Ancient Natural Processing

Yemen is a classic of ancient natural processing and the world's only fully natural coffee-producing country. The traditional processing method without water washing has remained unchanged since the 17th century when Europeans became fascinated with the wild flavors of Mocha. This is related to Yemen's extremely dry climate. Coffee is mainly grown in the central highlands with an annual rainfall of only 400-750mm, far below the optimal 1,500-2,000mm for Arabica coffee.

Yemeni coffee grows on steep terrain with little rainfall, poor soil, and insufficient sunlight - unique and difficult conditions unfavorable for coffee growth. However, these conditions 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 in the highlands west of the capital, at an altitude of 2,000-2,400 meters, making it the highest altitude coffee-producing area in Yemen. However, its remote location and inconvenient transportation mean that farmers often have to wait for days after harvesting before they can transport the beans out.

Due to the water-scarce environment, farmers have been unable to introduce more advanced washed processing. The wild aromatic flavors surpass 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 fragmented planting methods - a few plants on steep slopes, dozens on terraces or cliffs, each with different soil conditions and microclimates, resulting in different aromatic components.

Yemeni farmers' natural processing method is rougher than Ethiopia's - they dry the beans directly on rooftops! This differs from the refined natural processing of Yirgacheffe or Sidamo, where red cherries are spread on "raised African beds." This is a major reason for Yemen's particularly wild flavors.

Yemen's ancient natural processing method involves manually harvesting fully mature coffee beans and placing the freshly harvested beans directly in dedicated coffee drying fields or their own compacted earthen courtyards to receive sun exposure. During the drying period, wooden rakes are generally used to turn the beans to ensure even drying. After about twenty days, when the coffee is completely dry, the outer pulp and skin are removed to extract the coffee beans.

Yemeni coffee offers rich, complex, bold, and mellow flavors with strong fermentation notes and lower acidity. Additionally, Yemeni coffee often contains an unpredictable factor (the timing of seasonal rainfall) that makes it elusive. Calling it the world's most special coffee is no exaggeration.

Refined Natural Processing

Mokhtar Alkhanshali has also enhanced the beans from the Port of Mocha in Yemen with more refined natural processing, and the beans from Yemen's Port of Mocha speak through their flavor.

03 | Green Bean Analysis

Mocha grades are divided into: Sanani - better quality in Yemeni coffee.

Coffee from the Mattari region is characterized by "unattractive" appearance, uneven sizes, and considerable color variation, looking like a composition of small pea-sized beans and hollow defective beans.

Because the bean shape is very small, some call it "small Mocha." Mocha is a flat bean, not a round bean. Small but fragrant and rich.

04 | Roasting Analysis

Yemen Mocha belongs to green beans with relatively low moisture content. Considering the uneven bean sizes and low moisture content, the drop temperature for these beans shouldn't be too high. Pre-heat for 30 seconds, open the air damper to 3 until the green beans turn light green or white, then open the air damper to 4, and after first crack, open to 5 (maximum).

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

Roasting Machine: Yangjia 800N, 550g green beans input

Roasting Curve:

Preheat the drum to 170°C, set air damper to 3. After 1 minute, adjust heat to 140°C, air damper unchanged. At 5'00", temperature reaches 147.2°C, bean surface turns yellow, grassy smell completely disappears, dehydration complete. Adjust heat to 110°C, air damper to 4.

At 8'00 minutes, ugly wrinkles and black spots appear on the bean surface, toast smell obviously 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, air damper fully open (adjust heat very carefully, not so low that there's no cracking sound). Drop at 197.9°C.

Cupping Report:

Medium Roast City (Caramel Aroma): Before grinding, the coffee beans have a peanut aroma. After grinding, there's a caramel fragrance. During cupping, the layers are complex, with a slight grape acidity appearing at the end of palate changes. The spice aftertaste is long, with a sweet, round mouthfeel and a Middle Eastern milk tea feeling that lasts 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 flavors are at their best.

04 | Brewing Analysis

The condition of the coffee bed in pour-over brewing cannot be ignored - this must be emphasized! The coffee bed plays a subtle role, one of which is providing resistance, allowing hot water to stay in the filter cup long enough to ensure sufficient flavor components are extracted.

Medium roast coffee beds must also have certain supporting strength to perform the "blocking" function. To prevent weakening of the coffee bed's support, you must master the [water column intensity], [pouring position], plus [stable circular pouring technique] - only then do you have a complete [pouring technique].

Brewing Parameters:

1. Filter: V60

2. Water temperature: 88°C

3. Grind size: Fuji Royal grinder setting 4

4. Roast level: Medium roast

5. Bloom time: 25 seconds

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

FrontStreet Coffee suggests the following technique: 15g coffee, Fuji Royal "ghost tooth" grinder setting 4, V60 filter, 88-89°C water temperature. First pour 30g water for 25s bloom, then pour to 104g and stop pouring. Wait until the water level in the coffee bed drops to halfway, then continue pouring slowly until reaching 220g. Avoid the last 5g. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time about 2:00 (counting from completion of bloom pour).

Related recommendations: Description of Yemeni coffee flavor characteristics and texture. Is Yemen Mocha coffee delicious?

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