We are extremely lucky to be able to bring to you, again, a coffee from the oldest continuously produced commercial coffee growing region in the world: the western mountain range of Yemen. Although Coffea arabica is generally accepted to have been discovered in western Ethiopia, Yemen was the first place to have commercially cultivated and traded the coffee seed, and from about 1500 to 1750, was the only country in the world that grew coffee for export, much of which went through the Red Sea port Al-Mukha or “Mocha” (sound familiar?). More recently, the ongoing Yemeni civil war has made it difficult for producers to grow and export their coffee. We have been fortunate to have an established relationship with several producers there, and receive our coffee directly from these producers, after a dizzying journey throughout the middle east and finally over the Atlantic. And our taste buds celebrate upon its arrival!
This coffee comes to us from Hasan Alsalol, a farmer in the eastern part of the Haraz growing region, located in the central mountain range of western Yemen. The varietal, Jaadi, is a local name for a Yemeni landrace, or native crop, and has been processed in the traditional way, picked ripe, and dried in the whole cherry on raised beds before being hulled by millstone and further cleaned and hand-sorted. The high growing altitude and carefully managed rain irrigation, as well as this carefully managed traditional processing, really allows the deep complexity and natural sweetness of this coffee to shine.
How It Tastes:
This is a perfect holiday coffee. Super complex, the coffee has a chocolate-covered fruit dry aroma, and is reminiscent of mulled wine in the cup, with notes of cardamom, orange, and nutmeg. This spicy complexity lingers with you, bringing to mind the smells of a holiday bazaar.
How to Brew It:
This coffee is great for pourover or french press, at a 1:15 or 1:16 coffee to water ratio, and a brew temperature of 200 - 205 degrees.
