Yemen Mocca Matari

The home roaster can really play with this coffee as different roasts produce vastly different qualities. Roast it lightly and unevenly to accentuate the acidity and wild character. A city to full city will produce the chocolate texture on your tongue and awaken deeper, tangier levels of development. Dark roasts, which often mask delicate flavors and floral notes in some coffees, can bring out hidden depth with this one. It will not taste like other dark roasted coffees unless you take it too far.

Cup characteristics: Very fragrant. Wild, exotic flavor notes. Acidic, very winey, long finish, clean. Tangy. Characteristic dark chocolate mouthfeel.

Statistics: Population (2006): 21.4 million People
Coffee Production: 50,000 bags (60 kg)
Country bag capacity: 132 pounds - 60 kg
Domestic Consumption: practically none
Coffee Export: 50,000 bags (60 kg)
Cultivated Area: About 7700 hectares (19,000 acres)

Harvest: October-December

Arabica Introduced: Around the 6th century from Ethiopia.

Specialty Coffee Regions: Bani Mattar (Mattari), Haraz (Harazi), Bani Ismail (Ismaili), San'ani

Farms: About 300,000 very small family owned farms.

Botanical Varietals: Ismaili, Typica, Matari, Bourbon, numerous ancient heirloom species.

Yemen was the first county to cultivate coffee. The legendary Omar and Kaldi ascribed the power of Yemen coffee as life affirming. Mocha itself is shrouded in myth and has become synonymous with coffee. All Yemen coffees are naturals meaning the coffee is dried in its husk without fermentation, then milled. While not certified as organic, Yemen coffee is grown as it has been for hundreds of years, without man-made fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides. Yemen produces truly world class coffee.