Introduction to Yemen Mocha Coffee: Origin and Flavor Characteristics

Introduction to Yemen Mocha Coffee Bean Origin

Yemen produces peaberry beans: These coffee beans are smaller and rounder than most coffee beans, resembling peas, and are sometimes referred to as Mocha coffee beans. The appearance of Mocha coffee beans is similar to Ethiopia's Harrar coffee beans—they are small in size, highly acidic, and mixed with a peculiar, indescribable spicy flavor. When tasted carefully, one can also detect a hint of chocolate, making the natural development process of adding chocolate to coffee quite logical.

In Yemen, coffee growers plant poplar trees to provide necessary shade for coffee trees. As in the past, these trees are planted on steep terraces to maximize the use of limited rainfall and scarce land resources. In addition to Typica and Bourbon coffee trees, more than ten different coffee tree species originating from Ethiopia are cultivated in Yemen. Authentic "Mocha coffee beans" are produced exclusively in the Republic of Yemen on the southwestern Arabian Peninsula, growing on steep mountain slopes at altitudes ranging from 3,000 to 8,000 feet, making them the world's oldest cultivated coffee.

Mokha Mattari

Mokha Mattari: The most prestigious coffee market name from Mattari in the Bani Mattar (also spelled Bany Mattar) province, west of Yemen's capital Sana'a. This high-altitude coffee typically possesses excellent red wine aroma, dried fruit flavors, full-bodied texture, and often reveals bittersweet chocolate notes when dark roasted. High-quality Mattari beans are small in size, with green beans offering a fragrant sweet wine aroma and moderate fermented fruit flavors. They always emerge as winners due to their more distinct Yemeni style.

Mokha San'ani

Mokha San'ani: A broad market name for coffee from various growing areas west of Yemen's capital Sana'a. It's a blend from tens of thousands of small farms on the slopes near the capital San'a. Grown at slightly lower altitudes than Mattari, it generally has a thinner body and lower acidity than Mattari, but with good fruit flavors, often exhibiting better ripe fruit and wild characteristics than Mattari. Based on my experience, San'ani quality has varied greatly in recent years, sometimes producing inferior coffee with flat flavors, earthy tastes, or excessive fermentation. Careful cupping selection is essential work for coffee merchants—absolutely no cutting corners.

Mokha Ismaili

Mokha Ismaili: One of the traditional ancient varieties, a market name for famous coffee from central Yemen, also described as a botanical classification of traditional Yemeni coffee with high beverage quality. Grown at very high altitudes above 6,500 feet, its characteristics include more rounded bean shape, smaller than Mattari beans, full-bodied texture, and high complexity. Generally, it often outperforms Mattari. This is the rarest and most expensive Yemen Mocha (Yemen Mocha is already quite expensive). High-quality Mokha Ismaili is produced in the Hirazi region (though not as famous as Bani Matar, it's locally regarded as Yemen's best growing area) on high mountain slopes, with Hirazi reaching maximum altitudes of 8,000 feet!

Mokha Rimi

Mokha Rimi: Produced in the Djebel Remi (also known as Raimi, Rayma) region, with quality similar to San'ani. Mokha Rimi typically has slightly heavier fermentation notes, occasionally revealing surprisingly rich raisin sweetness. When properly roasted, the coffee beans smell like opening a bottle of rich jam.

Mokha Yafeh

Mokha Yafeh: Produced in Yemen's southern Yafeh (also known as Yaffe) province, it's an uncommon Yemen Mocha and Yemen's only "southern flavor" style. Production is limited, with almost all of it exported to neighboring United Arab Emirates, rarely appearing in the international specialty coffee market.

Arabian Mocha

Arabian Mocha: A single-origin coffee from the mountains of Yemen on the southwestern Arabian Peninsula bordering the Red Sea. Among the world's finest cultivated coffees, it's renowned for its high viscosity and distinctive rich, wine-like acidity.

Yemen Mocha develops different schools based on growing regions, much like the chocolate and acidity of MATTARI Mocha, and the wildness and fragrance of SANANI Mocha.

Characteristics of Yemen Coffee

Although Yemen coffee is high-quality, smooth, and aromatic, it has shortcomings—inconsistent quality assurance and uncertain bean grade classification. Traditionally, Yemen's best coffee beans come from Mattari, followed by Sharki, and then Sanani. These coffee beans have low caffeine content. Dark-roasted Yemen coffee often reveals chocolate-like bittersweet notes, influencing today's chocolate-flavored specialty coffees to be labeled with "Mocha." Yemen coffee possesses the world's most unique, rich, and fascinating complex aromas: red wine fragrance, wildness, dried fruit, blueberry, grape, cinnamon, tobacco, sweet spices, woody notes, and even chocolate—you can see various adjectives applied to Yemen Mocha. Just as Mocha has multiple meanings, its English spelling also varies: Moka, Moca, and Mocca are common spellings, with local spellings on Yemen coffee bags and documents reaching four variations: "Mokha," "Makha," "Morkha," and "Mukha"—all representing the same meaning.

Yemen Mocha offers complex and changing flavors. For coffee roasters, extracting the best flavors from Yemen Mocha presents a significant challenge! Light to medium roasting reveals fruity sweetness, gentle, warm sun-dried fermentation notes; dark roasting presents rich red wine fragrance and bittersweet chocolate aftertaste.

Flavor: Exotic flavor, slightly wine-like, spicy and stimulating, distinctive, must-try

Recommended Roasting Method: Medium roast

Rating: ★★★ Excellent

Yemen Coffee Market

Yemen's coffee is exported from December to April of the following year. A long-standing problem has been that coffee from the north is adulterated with inferior quality before shipment from the southern port of Aden. Only coffee shipped from the port of Hodeida can be confirmed as genuinely from the north. Most of Yemen's coffee grows under natural conditions, mainly due to growers' lack of financial resources.

Yemen Mocha Coffee Bean Brand Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee's roasted Yemen Mocha coffee beans offer excellent guarantees in both brand and quality. More importantly, they provide exceptional value—at around 85 yuan per 227-gram package. Calculating at 15 grams of coffee beans per cup, one package can make 15 cups, costing only about 6 yuan per cup. Compared to coffee shops selling drinks at dozens of yuan per cup, this is truly a conscientious recommendation.

FrontStreet Coffee: A Guangzhou-based roastery with a small storefront but diverse bean varieties, offering both famous and lesser-known beans, plus online store services.

https://shop104210103.taobao.com

Related recommendations: What is Mocha coffee? Yemen Mocha-Mattari sun-dried beans are Yemen's true Mocha coffee beans

Important Notice :

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