Yemen coffee

1500–2400 m · picked October to December · Arabica

Coffee was first farmed and traded here, shipped from the port of Mokha in the 1500s. The trees grow on ancient stone terraces with almost no rain, and yields are tiny. This is where Baba Budan is said to have taken the seven seeds that started Indian coffee.

Grown in

Haraz, Bani Matar, Sana'a, Ibb

Varieties

Old landraces such as Udaini, Tufahi and Dawairi, recently grouped as Yemenia

Processing

Natural, dried on rooftops and terraces

In the cup: Winey, dried fruit, dark chocolate, spice and a wild, fermenty edge. Unlike anything else.

Next to Indian coffee: The ancestor of Chikmagalur coffee. Rare and expensive in India, but worth tasting once to close the loop on the Baba Budan story.

Coffee regions of India →