Coffee development history of Yemeni coffee beans and some African countries

Yemeni coffee bean planting area is also very large, coffee beans occupy an important position in the national economy. Yemeni Matari 999 mocha coffee (Mattar 999) has a unique wild and strong flavor. Yemen, a rather poor region of the Arab countries, was formed in May 1990 by the merger of the Arab Republic of Yemen (Northern Yemen) and the Democratic people's Republic of Yemen (Southern Yemen).

Yemenis are used to drinking tea and are happy to drink coffee. When drinking tea, they always add coffee bean shells to the tea, while drinking coffee requires a lot of spices and ginger. It can be said to maintain the more traditional and ancient habit of making coffee and drinking coffee.

Coffee has been a traditional export product of Yemen for hundreds of years, and it is still one of the most important cash crops and export products of Yemen. Statistics show that among the top 30 exports of Yemen in 2000, cooked coffee beans, raw coffee beans and coffee shells ranked second, eighth and 21st respectively, with a total value of about US $17.5 million, of which raw coffee was about US $12.25 million. The planting area of coffee increased from 27000 hectares in 1995 to 33000 hectares in 2000, and the output increased from about 9000 tons in 1995 to about 12000 tons in 2000, with an average of 0.34 tons per hectare of real coffee. In 2000, the output value of coffee was 3 billion rials, or about 19 million US dollars.

Yemeni coffee originated from Arabian coffee trees hundreds of years ago, all of which are produced in areas above 3000 feet above sea level. For hundreds of years, the unique planting and production methods of Yemeni coffee have remained almost unchanged. The seedlings of Yemeni coffee trees are first cultivated in nurseries and then transplanted to high elevations. Pesticides and fertilizers are not used in the breeding process. Mature coffee beans are naturally air-dried on coffee trees, shelled with stone grinders and then washed by repeated manual grain selection. The shape of the coffee beans is regular, the size is uniform, the color can range from light green to yellowish brown, and the aroma is rich and long-lasting. The high-quality coffee, whether drunk alone or mixed, is meaningful, refreshing and has an endless aftertaste.

Moha is a small seaport on the red sea in the south of Yemen. for hundreds of years, most of the famous Yemeni coffee was exported to countries around the world, so Yemeni coffee gradually got its name. For many years, Yemeni Moha coffee has been regarded as the best coffee in the world, and its excellent quality has always been praised by the world. Moha coffee was first exported to Europe, and then gradually became popular in neighboring countries. Saudi Arabia is said to like Moha coffee in Yemen in particular, and the Saudis are willing to pay a high price even if they know it is of slightly lower quality. Today, almost all Arab regions and even India export coffee in the name of Moha. In fact, Yemen is the real origin of the world-famous Moha coffee.

There are many varieties of Yemeni coffee, most of which are named after their origin and type, with different flavors, such as fresh wood, tobacco, musk, fruit wine, roasted nuts, cocoa and warm seasonings, especially Moha coffee. At present, the most famous Yemeni Moha coffee on the market are Isemary, Matari, Sanani and other varieties. Sanani coffee has medium-sized beans and fruit wine flavor, produced from Sana'an and surrounding areas. Matari coffee originates from and around Mattar in the west of Sana 'a. the best-known Moha coffee has a unique flavor, coffee beans have chocolate color, complete grain shape, but with fruit wine and seasoning flavor. Isimarie coffee is the rarest variety of Moha coffee, produced in the highest altitude of Yemen, the output is very limited, the price is expensive, but there are fruit wine, spices, nuts, malt and other flavors, the quality is higher than the Matari and Sanani coffee, is the best coffee in the world. In addition, Xilazi and Zamarni are also famous coffee brands, which are produced in the high mountains along the Sana'a-Hodeida highway and in the Zamar region.

Yemeni Moha coffee beans are small and heavy, which is an important feature that distinguishes coffee from Caribbean and Ethiopian coffee. In recent years, due to the deterioration of natural conditions and man-made reasons, such as water shortage and the occupation of resources planted by Carter, the development of Yemeni coffee industry is relatively slow. How to further consolidate and develop the coffee planting industry and reshape the glory of Yemeni coffee in history is an important issue for the development of Yemeni agriculture.

Coffee (scientific name: Coffea arabica), also known as coffee tree, Arabica coffee, etc., is the national flower of Yemen. Before the 6th century in the park, Yemen was called Arab, so the coffee trees transported from them to other places were also called Arabian coffee trees. The name coffee comes from the Arabic word "Qahwah", which means plant drink. Later, coffee spread all over the world and was named after its place of origin, "Kaffa". It was not officially named "coffee" until the 18th century.

It is an evergreen shrub of Rubiaceae in plant taxonomy. Lateral branches extend horizontally, opposite, occasionally three whorls; simple leaves opposite, flowers are 2-10 clumps in leaf axils, the fruit is drupe oval, the first fruit is dark green, yellowish red or purplish red when ripe, the fruit of coffee is formed by pericarp, pulp, endocarp, silver peel, and the seeds (coffee beans) wrapped in the innermost layers mentioned above, the seeds are located in the central part of the fruit, and the parts outside the seeds are of little use.

The world's first coffee tree was found in the Horn of Africa. Coffee cultivation began in the 15th century. For hundreds of years, Yemen in the Arabian Peninsula is the only coffee producer in the world, and the market demand for coffee is very strong. In the Yemeni port of Moka, when coffee is shipped out, it often needs to be protected by heavy troops. At the same time, Yemen has also taken various measures to prevent coffee saplings from being taken out of the country. Despite many restrictions, Muslims who made a pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca secretly brought coffee saplings back to their hometown, so coffee soon took root in India. At that time, in Venice, Italy, countless merchant ships traded perfumes, tea and textiles with Arab merchants. In this way, coffee spread to a wide area of Europe through Venice. Many European businessmen have become accustomed to drinking coffee. Later, small vendors peddling coffee appeared on the streets of many European cities, and coffee gained rapid popularity in Europe. In the 17th century, the Dutch introduced coffee to their colony of Indonesia. At the same time, the French began to grow coffee in Africa. Today, coffee has become the second largest trading product on the earth after oil! Among the countless legends of coffee discoveries, there are two legends that people are most interested in talking about, namely, the Story of the Shepherd and the Arab Monk.

Three major coffee growing areas in the world: Africa, Indonesia and Central and South America. Yemen is the first country in the world to produce coffee on a large scale as a crop. The mocha coffee in Yemen today is grown and processed in much the same way as it was hundreds of years ago. On most coffee farms in Yemen, coffee farmers still resist the use of artificial chemicals such as chemical fertilizers. Coffee farmers plant poplars to provide shade for coffee to grow. Coffee trees are planted on steep terraces to maximize the use of less rainfall and limited land resources. Yemeni mocha beans are still shipped in a bag made of straw, unlike chemical woven bags in other places.

Yemeni coffee has been cultivated for more than 2000 years. According to statistics, coffee is cultivated in 76 countries in the world. Coffee in China was first introduced in Taiwan in 1884. In 1908, overseas Chinese brought back large and medium seeds from Malaysia to Hainan Island. At present, the main cultivation areas are Yunnan, Guangxi, Guangdong and Hainan.