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PRODUCER
Coffee is grown on small terraced farms in the high mountains in very simple ways. All coffee is picked by hand, grown using natural organic fertilizers and dried on raised beds or roofs of houses.
Our lot was purchased through Mocha Mill, one of the first exporters of specialty coffee in Yemen. Mocha Mill embarked on a journey of specialty coffee in Yemen in 2014, when they decided to carry out a feasibility study on growing and exporting specialty coffee. Right after the first harvest, they were able to get coffee to the US to be cupped and evaluated. This helped them to understand the quality but also the risks associated with incorrect processing.
Unfortunately, in the same year, 2014, a civil war broke out in the country. However, this did not prevent them from continuing their journey and over the years led them to create supply chains in 6 different regions of Yemen. During this time, in 2017, they built a dry mill in Samat, where they also invested in an optical coffee bean sorter, coffee processing equipment and the construction of warehouses for drying experimental coffees. In 2021, they processed and exported a total of about 10 containers with specialty coffee.
Our coffee is a mix of cherries from several small holders and the variety is mainly Jaadi, which is a large tree known for its good production.
PROCESSING
All coffee in our lot was hand-picked and processed naturally. Coffee was dried in cherry, intact, with all the juices . After manual sorting of cherries, they are dried on the roofs of houses for 6 – 12 days. Subsequently, they were transported to the processing station in Sana’a, where they were tasted and divided according to quality. Afterward, the coffee is processed in a dry mill (peeled from the cherry), sorted on an optical sorter and packed in 30 kg bags.
VARIETY
Varieties grown in the somewhat dry climate and under direct sunlight tend to have deeper chocolate tones, but drying processing contributes to dynamic tartaric acidity, which adds fruity nuances.
Varieties in Yemen do not have their names according to regions or methods of how they were created. Most trees got their name by observing their external characteristics. Examples are Udaini, Jufaini and Jaadi, Dawairi or Tufahi. These names of some varieties translated from Arabic mean Crocus, Serious, Cyclic or My Apple.
