What are the characteristics and varieties of coffee beans in Yemen? The story and characteristics of mocha coffee beans in Yemen

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Yemeni coffee:

Yemeni coffee varieties are mainly Udaini, so which category of coffee do these four Yemeni varieties belong to? In Arabica gene research, scholars successfully found Yemeni coffee (Anthony, F., Combes, M., Astorga, C. et al) by comparing the genes of four Yemeni varieties with those of various native species from Africa. Theor Appl Genet, 2002) belongs to the category, in fact, the main varieties of coffee in Yemen are from the ancient tin card varieties. A variety of data show that the saying of Yemeni mocha is only a long-standing general name, the real variety of Yemeni coffee is actually Udaini (Udaini) and other four major varieties.

It is precisely because of this general name or place name, masking the variety of coffee behind. In 1993, scholar Ali made a report on the research and classification of Yemeni coffee. In the report, he collected and sorted out the coffee varieties in Yemen. at present, there are four main coffee varieties in Yemen, namely, Udaini (Udaini), Dawairi, Tufahi and Burra'i.

A gift from God.

Yemeni coffee was first discovered by an Islamic Sufi scholar that when he boiled water, he put the seeds of a local wild fruit in the water, and the water would turn brown. After drinking this liquid, he will not only become refreshed, but also pray or study energetically at night.

As a result, the Mocha missionary shared the surprise discovery with his family, and as more and more people promoted the drink, the drink was seen as a gift by the Yemeni people. They began to grow coffee in mountains and valleys and shared coffee with pilgrims and traders who came to Yemen.

It was from the 16th century, and in the following 150 years, that Yemen became the only source of coffee in the world, and all coffee was exported across the Red Sea through the port of Mocha.

Yemeni coffee awakens the sleeping port, while Yemen's unique microclimate and extremely high altitude (only suitable for extremely drought-tolerant coffee varieties) also bring complex spices and high-sweetness chocolate flavors to coffee.

As for why people always identify "Yemeni coffee" as "mocha coffee", Mokhtar explained that Yemeni coffee got its name at that time because it was exported from the port of Mocha. In fact, the real breed of Yemeni coffee is called Udaini. It is not only an ancient variety of iron pickup, but also one of the most common and oldest varieties of coffee in Yemen.

One cup of single product

Change the course of his life

Everything in the world has its ups and downs, and Yemeni coffee has not escaped the changes of history. Even though it monopolized the world coffee market hundreds of years ago, with the globalization of coffee cultivation, the coffee empire is still in decline. Yemeni coffee is now at the forefront of boutique coffee again, so we have to start with him.

Mokhtar, who was born in San Francisco, has not been interested in coffee because of his "bitter" stereotype. Even when he was a child, he used to follow his parents back to Yemen to visit relatives, and every time he went back, his grandmother would take him to the mountains to pick coffee and red cherries.

His improvement on coffee began one day in 2013, when he went to a boutique cafe in San Francisco and drank his first cup of coffee. First he took a sip, and the charming flavor that followed struck him like lightning. At that moment, the past of life seemed to collide with the future, which not only ignited his curiosity about his hometown and coffee as far away as Yemen, but also showed him the way to change his life.

In order to learn more about coffee, Mokhtar began to read, taste and learn everything about coffee frantically. But no matter which cafe he went to, he couldn't find any Yemeni coffee. This is because the quality of Yemeni coffee has declined sharply over the past 100 years, and former Yemeni farmers thought it would be more profitable to grow Carter, a plant known as the "magic box of Satan" (East African poppies, which are legal in Yemen and illegal in other countries). It is estimated that in Yemen, where water is extremely scarce, 40% of their water consumption is used to grow Carter.

With Mokhtar's in-depth study of coffee and his love of his native land, he is determined to revitalize Yemeni coffee and share its precious wealth with the world. He began to accept systematic learning, cup testing, tasting, distinguishing and grading raw and cooked beans, and later became an Q-grader. In this way, he packed his bags and set off for Yemen.

Motta / Mokhtar mode:

Bring Yemeni coffee back to the top of the world

To revive Yemeni coffee, you must have a comprehensive understanding of the ancient coffee country. Mokhtar traveled in Yemen for three years, visiting 30 coffee-growing areas. Sometimes because of the backward traffic and the remote location of the manor, he had to hike in the mountains for three days, and his footprints spread to all the coffee-growing land in Yemen.

On the coffee farm, he listens to the legends of his ancestors and feels the coffee context of this ancient country; in the mountains, he sleeps in the mountains to watch coffee cultivation and measure rainfall. Mokhtar's method is simple. If he can persuade farmers to improve the quality of their coffee beans, they can earn a higher income than growing Carter, and farmers are willing to accept growing coffee again.

Although Yemeni farmers are said to be among the first in the world to grow coffee, their standards have been falling because they have been isolated from the international market for years. "they pick and handle coffee cherries in a very casual way," Mokhtar said. "so I had to slow down and help them myself, such as setting up tanning beds and introducing the first moisture tester."

From the use of organic fertilizers to harvesting only the most mature coffee cherries to drying and treatment, Mokhtar has helped Yemeni farmers set up a whole new planting system. Moreover, he organized farmers into cooperatives, requiring that the board of directors must have 50% of women; when farmers use new planting methods, they can get a subsidy of 1% higher than the market price.

At the same time, in order to save everyone from the trouble of usury, he provided interest-free loans to farmers. For example, in the first year, he paid for six weddings for Cannon, while farmers used coffee cherries to repay the loans.

Mocha Port Coffee:

After the baptism of war and gunfire

In order to enhance the flavor of Yemeni coffee, Mokhtar and farmers are diligent in the manor every day. After many days and nights and countless painstaking efforts, in March 2015, he was finally able to share his achievements with the world, but Yemeni coffee did not escape the dramatic historical fate.

When he was ready to bring samples of raw beans from different plots, he wanted to bring them to the American Fine Coffee Association (SCAA) to be tested at the world's largest coffee forum in Seattle. The civil war broke out in Yemen on the eve of his departure.

Both civilian airports were bombed and all routes were suspended. Neighboring countries, such as India, Somalia and Pakistan, are trying to help their citizens withdraw from Yemen, but the US government has done nothing and Mokhtar is trapped in Yemen.

For a moment, the ancient country was shrouded in war, the ground was covered with shell wreckage, and there was panic in the air. We can't let this rare flavor go to waste. His only way out is to get out of here first! So Mokhtar returned to the port of Mocha, hired a small fishing boat and asked the fisherman to take him to the other side of the Red Sea.

Carrying a simple backpack and two boxes of coffee, two people and a boat sailed for seven hours on the endless sea without navigation and reached Djibouti, a small country in the Horn of Africa. Then from there, for a few more days, Mokhtar finally set foot on American soil. His "escape experience" and his pursuit of top coffee during the war have been widely reported by many media, among which the famous American writer Dave Eggers also wrote the novel "THE MONK OF MOKHA" based on his story, which is a bestseller all over the world.

In the flames of war

The amazing flavor of Nirvana

Although the twists and turns of Mokhtar and Mocha Coffee in Yemen have the same ups and downs as the plot of the movie, it also fulfilled the folk proverb "good things take a long time".

The Yemeni coffee from the port of Mocha, baptized by war and gunfire, topped the COFFEE REVIEW's annual list of the top 30 coffee beans with a score of 97 points. Mokhtar also said, "it's a miracle that these coffees can be presented here."

The Yemeni Port Mocha beans, which was nirvana from the flames of war, not only won the recommendation of a large number of big names in that cup test, but also began to show its edge in the World Barista Competition. Just like the French division champion, the Turkish division champion and the American division runner-up of the recently won World Coffee Brewing Competition are all beans from the Yemeni port of Moka.