What Brands of Specialty Coffee Beans Does Yemen Mocha Coffee Have? Is Yemen Coffee Considered Specialty Coffee?

For coffee enthusiasts with some knowledge, "Mocha" easily comes to mind when Yemeni coffee is mentioned.

If Ethiopia is a versatile woman, complex with fruity and floral notes, then Yemen is a brave man: chocolate, tobacco, and a heavy body, yet with a gentle sweet aftertaste.

Historical Background

Yemen has a very long history of coffee cultivation. By the early 17th century, Yemeni coffee beans were already being exported to Europe from the southwestern port of Mocha, and Europeans therefore called the beans shipped from Mocha port "Mocha coffee." Ethiopia, facing Yemen across the Red Sea, later exported its beans through Mocha port as well, which is why Ethiopian sun-dried coffee beans are also often considered Mocha.

Cultivation Methods

Yemen's coffee cultivation methods remain similar to those of 500 years ago, with coffee grown almost entirely on mountain slopes ranging from 3,000 to 7,000 feet in altitude. Because rainfall is scarce, the trees must rely on a strong water-retention capacity to survive dry periods. Those harsh growing conditions produce smaller beans, but with quite high hardness. Yemen's coffee varieties are also quite complex; recognized small bean varieties include Ismaili and ancient heirloom, as well as Adeni and Mattari.

Natural Processing

Yemeni coffee belongs to the natural sun-dried processing method. After harvesting, the fruits are usually spread on courtyards or rooftops to dry in the sun, and some are even left to dry directly on the tree before being picked; this method is called "floating."

Yemen's natural sun-dried processing involves harvesting fully ripe coffee cherries by hand and then placing the freshly picked fruit directly on specialized coffee drying fields or on the family's own compacted earthen front yards to sun-dry. During the drying period, wooden rakes are used to turn the beans so that each one dries evenly, much as rice is dried elsewhere. After about twenty days, when drying is complete, the outer pulp and skin are removed to extract the coffee beans. Yemeni coffee is characterized by rich, complex, wild, mellow, and strong fermentation flavors with lower acidity. Yemeni coffee also contains an uncertain factor, the timing of seasonal rainfall, that makes it unpredictable, which is why it is fair to call it one of the world's most special coffees.

Traditional Processing

The dried fruits must be ground and hulled. Yemen still preserves the ancient method of stone grinding for hulling, with the stone grinders powered by camels or donkeys.

Coffee Growing Regions

Yemen has many coffee-producing regions, and Mattari from the Bani Matar province is the most famous, as well as the highest quality among Yemen's exported coffees.

Early on, the port of Mocha, which carried the important responsibility of export, had many different names and spellings, such as Mocha, Mokka, Moca, Moka, Al-Mocha, and Al-Makha. The port of Mocha was later abandoned due to sedimentation, and exports are now handled by the eastern port of Aden and the northern port of Hodeida.

FrontStreet Coffee's Yemen Mocha Mattari

FrontStreet Coffee's Yemen Mocha Mattari, perhaps because of Yemen's cultivation methods and ancient natural processing, has a somewhat nostalgic taste when consumed. Wild, full of untamed spirit and unrestrained, the rich chocolate flavor that enters the mouth is intoxicating. As the coffee cools slightly, the sweet and sour sensation of grapes fills the entire mouth.

Brewing Parameters

FrontStreet Coffee's brewing parameters suggestion:

V60 / 89 degrees C / 1:15 / time two minutes.

Flavor Profile

Flavor: dark chocolate, grapes, spices.

Legacy and Usage

Since people first began drinking coffee, Mocha has always been recognized as good coffee with a distinctive acidity. Some consider Mocha's special acidity aggressive, but that is because after a day of hard work people's taste buds become less sensitive to delicate flavors, while the coffee itself is very aromatic and rich. Yemen Mocha is represented by Mattari from the Bani Matar region. It has a sweet, smooth, and uniquely fragrant taste, characterized by slight acidity with a strong aftertaste.

Mocha is suitable for blending with Milds category coffees, especially combining with coffee from the Masos region, Indonesian Java coffee, and Sumatran coffee to create blends. Locals like to mix Mocha with Masos to make Turkish coffee. It is the most suitable coffee for after-meal drinking, and it is also the finest among Mocha coffees.

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

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Yemen sits across the Red Sea from Ethiopia, and the two origins share deep roots, so the way to explore this flavor family through FrontStreet is with its Ethiopian coffees. FrontStreet Washed Yirgacheffe, a daily drinker, is known for white jasmine, bright citrus and lemon acidity, and a tea-like body, and its approachable price has made it the first specialty coffee bean for a great many drinkers. The town of Yirgacheffe sits in southern Ethiopia, inside the Sidamo zone, at roughly 1,700-2,100 meters, with the coffee trees planted above 1,800 meters; it is one of the highest coffee-growing areas in the world.

FrontStreet Gedeb Cooperative comes from a village-level washing station in the Worka area at the southeastern edge of Yirgacheffe, once part of the Worka cooperative under the YCFCU (Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers' Cooperative Union). It follows the most traditional washed processing, and the result has no trace of the bitterness associated with ordinary coffee: fresh, bright citrus and lemon acidity and jasmine fragrance, easy to fall in love with at first sip.

For a natural counterpart to Yemen's sun-dried style, FrontStreet Sun-Dried Red Cherry uses only fully ripe, sound cherries, sorted on arrival and dried directly on raised beds, turned every two to three hours during the first days to prevent uneven heating and over-fermentation. After three to five weeks of drying, the outer pulp is machine-scraped off and the beans are moved to storage. Because the fruit dries with the pulp attached, the cup keeps the classic Yirgacheffe character while gaining tropical fruit: citrus-like acidity, a berry-juice body, honey-like sweetness, and a creamy smoothness.

A good starting point for brewing these coffees is a V60 at 90-91 degrees C, 15g of coffee, a 1:15 ratio, and a grind around EK43s setting 10, or fine-sugar size (about 80% passing a No. 20 sieve). Begin with a 30g bloom for 30 seconds, then pour 95g more (about 125g on the scale) over roughly one minute; when the water level drops to about two-thirds of the bed, add the remaining 100g (about 225g on the scale), finishing the pour at around 1 minute 35 seconds. Drawdown completes at 2:00-2:10, at which point you remove the dripper and the brew is done.