A brief introduction to the description of the flavor and aroma characteristics of the spicy Yemeni boutique coffee beans

Despite the high quality and smooth aroma of Yemeni coffee, there is something unsatisfactory, that is, the quality can not be continuously guaranteed, and the classification of its coffee beans is uncertain. Traditionally, the best coffee beans in Yemen come from Mattari, followed by Sharki, followed by Sanani. These coffee beans are low in caffeine. Deep-roasted Yemeni coffee often shows a chocolate-like bitter sweet flavor, affecting today's fancy coffee seasoned with chocolate sauce is also known as the word "mocha". Yemeni coffee has the most unique, rich and fascinating complex smell in the world: red wine, wild game, dried fruit, blueberry, grape, cinnamon, tobacco, sweet spices, log and even chocolate. you can see all kinds of adjectives used in Yemeni mocha. Just as there are many meanings of mocha, there are various spellings of mocha in English: Moka, Moca and Mocca are all common spellings, and there are as many as four local spellings on sacks and documents of Yemeni coffee: "Mokha", "Makha", "Morkha" and "Mukha", which all have the same meaning.

Mokha Ismaili: one of the traditional ancient tree species, a market name for famous coffee from central Yemen, is also described as a plant classification of traditional Yemeni coffee with high beverage quality. Planted at a high altitude of more than 6500 feet, the beans are characterized by a more round shape, smaller beans than Madali, thick taste and high complexity. In general, they often outperform Madali. This is the least produced and most expensive Yemeni mocha (Yemeni mocha is no longer cheap). The high-quality Mokayishi Mary is produced in Hirazi (although it is famous as Bani Matar, it is the best-known local reputation in Yemen). The highest elevation in Hirazi is 8000 feet.

Mokha Rimi: produced in the Djebel Remi (also known as Raimi, Rayma) area, the quality is similar to that of Shannani, which is usually slightly fermented, occasionally with surprisingly strong sweet aromas of raisins, and when roasted properly, the coffee beans smell like opening a full-bodied bottle of jam.

Mokha Yafeh: produced in the southern Yemeni province of Yafeh (also known as Yaffe), belongs to the uncommon Yemeni mocha, is the only "southern flavor" in Yemen, the production is also small, almost all of them are sold to the neighboring United Arab Emirates, in the international boutique coffee market has been rarely seen.

Arabian mocha: a coffee of single origin in the mountains of Yemen from the southwestern tip of the Arabian Peninsula bordering the Red Sea. The best cultivated coffee in the world is famous for its high viscosity and special acidity of rich wine.

The Yemeni mocha has achieved different genres according to the planting areas, such as the chocolate and sour taste of the MATTARI mocha, and the rough and fragrant taste of the SANANI mocha.

The characteristics of Yemeni coffee:

The taste of Yemeni mocha is complex and changeable, and how to bake the best flavor of Yemeni mocha is a challenge for coffee roasters. Medium and shallow roasting shows sweet fruit, mild, warm sun-fermented flavor; deep baking shows a strong aroma of red wine, bitter sweet chocolate finish.

Flavor: exotic, slightly alcoholic, spicy and exciting, different, must be tasted

Suggested baking method: medium baking

★★★: excellent

Yemeni coffee market:

Yemeni coffee is exported from December to April. The problem in the past has been that coffee from the north was mixed with shoddy stuff before it was shipped from the southern port of Aden. Only coffee shipped from the port of Hodeida can be determined to come from the north. The vast majority of Yemeni coffee is grown under natural conditions, mainly due to the lack of funds from growers.

The origin of these trees is Ethiopia. Yemen is the first country in the world to produce coffee on a large scale as a crop. Today, Yemeni coffee farmers still produce coffee in the same way as they did 500 years ago. Coffee berries grow naturally on trees, do not use any artificial fertilizers or pesticides, receive a small amount of rain and fog on the hillside in summer, blossom and bear fruit, and in dry winter, ripe coffee berries are allowed to hang on the trees to dry-a very unique and rare practice, thanks to the extremely dry climate and intense sun in Arabia, in other coffee producing areas, the same practice can lead to coffee berry rot on the trees.

Coffee producing areas in Yemen:

Beans and berries produced in Yemen (Peaberrybean): this coffee bean is smaller and rounder than most coffee beans and looks like peas, sometimes called mocha coffee beans. Mocha beans are similar in shape to Ethiopia's Harrar coffee beans, with small particles, high acidity and a strange and indescribable spicy flavor. Taste carefully, but also can distinguish a little chocolate flavor, so the attempt to add chocolate to coffee is a very natural process of development.

In Yemen, coffee growers plant poplars to provide shade for coffee trees to grow. As in the past, these trees are planted on steep terraces to maximize the use of less rainfall and limited land resources. In addition to the Tippika Coffee Tree and the Bourbon Coffee Tree, more than a dozen different coffee species native to Ethiopia are grown in Yemen. Authentic mocha coffee is only produced in the Republic of Yemen in the southwest of the Arabian Peninsula, grows on steep hillsides at elevations of 3, 000 to 8, 000 feet, and is the oldest coffee in the world.

Mokamadali (Mokha Mattari): the most famous coffee market name in the province of Bani Mattar (another word for Bany Mattar) from the western part of the Yemeni capital Sana'a. Coffee is produced at high altitude, usually with a good aroma of red wine, dry fruit, thick taste, deep-roasted and often bitter sweet chocolate. Good quality Madali beans are small in shape, with sweet wine and moderate ripe fruit fermentation flavor of raw beans. Always the winner because of the more obvious Yemeni style.

Mokha San'ani: a widespread market name for coffee from some growing areas west of the Yemeni capital Sana'a. It is a mixture of beans from tens of thousands of small farms on the hillside near the capital San'a (left, Sana'a, Yemen). Planted at a slightly lower altitude than Madali, generally speaking, it tastes thinner and less acidic, but it has a good fruit flavor and often has better ripe fruit and wild game than Madali. According to my experience, the quality of Sanani varies greatly in recent years, and sometimes there are inferior goods with flat flavor, fishy smell and excessive fermented flavor. Careful cup testing and selection is a must for coffee makers to do their homework and must not be lazy.