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How is Yemen's Coffee? Tracing the Origins of Mocha Coffee from a War-Torn Nation

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style). FrontStreet Coffee - Introduction to Yemen Mocha Coffee: Coffee was first discovered in Ethiopia. Shortly after, Ethiopia's neighbor Yemen began producing uniquely flavored coffee using its distinctive microclimate and high-altitude geographical location. Yemen was the first country in the world to cultivate coffee as an agricultural crop.

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style).

FrontStreet Coffee - Introduction to Yemen Mocha Coffee

Coffee was first discovered in Ethiopia, and soon after, Ethiopia's neighbor Yemen began producing uniquely flavored coffee using its distinctive microclimate and high-altitude geographical location. Yemen was the first country in the world to produce coffee on a large scale as an agricultural crop. The native variety of Yemen coffee is called Udaini, which is an ancient Typica variety, similar to Geisha in this regard.

Starting from the 16th century, for the following 150 years, Yemen was once the only source of coffee beans in the world. All coffee was exported through the port of Mocha across the Red Sea, making Mocha coffee a broad concept. At that time, coffee from East Africa and Yemen, from the Red Sea to the north and south of the Arabian Sea, was generally called Mocha coffee. Coffee awakened this remote port. Under the protection of the Ottoman Empire, Yemen carefully managed their caffeine products, insisting on not selling live coffee trees and coffee seeds, thus establishing a global coffee monopoly market.

Yemen coffee beans are smaller and rounder than most coffee varieties, with a light green color. Their appearance is very similar to Ethiopia's Harrar or Yirgacheffe coffees, which also indicates that Yemen's and Ethiopia's coffee varieties are extremely close. The characteristics of Yemen coffee lie in its rich fruity aroma, with obvious wine-like, spicy, and nutty flavors. Some say this is the unique "wild taste" of the Red Sea region.

The price of Yemen coffee in the international market has always been high. On one hand, political turmoil has led to extremely limited export volumes. On the other hand, oil tycoons from Arab countries consume most of the exported coffee. In oil-producing countries like Saudi Arabia, Yemen coffee is highly favored, leaving an expensive price for Europe and America. In the international market, Yemen coffee prices have remained persistently high.

Drinking a cup of Yemen coffee is a unique experience—a journey through coffee's ancient history and a pilgrimage to a country's culture and traditional craftsmanship. Today, Yemen's coffee is also undergoing transformation, growth, and change. Especially legendary figures like Mokhtar have brought new life to Yemen coffee, persisting through catastrophic civil wars and turbulent times. The unresolved political situation affects the future of Yemen coffee and even Yemen itself.

Knowledge Point

Good coffee—select quality green beans, remove defective ones, roast appropriately, and extract correctly when fresh.

Briefly

FrontStreet Coffee is a coffee research hall that enjoys sharing coffee knowledge with everyone. We share without reservation only to help more friends fall in love with coffee. Every month, we hold three low-discount coffee events because FrontStreet Coffee wants to let more friends drink the best coffee at the lowest possible price. This has been FrontStreet Coffee's mission for the past 6 years!