Yemen Mahal Aqeequl Drying Station
Widely known as one of the primary origins of coffee prior to the 17th century, the Haraaz region of Yemen is rocky and mountainous. While not ideal growing conditions, it was here that coffee was first intentionally cultivated and exported on a large scale. Much of the world has Yemen to thank for its introduction to coffee. Dissemination of Yemen coffee occurred primarily through the country’s major port, Al Mokha, which in turn influenced much of the world’s nomenclature of coffee.Â
However, even with such a rich history, coffee from Yemen is facing increasingly greater obstacles. The climate and geography of the country has never been favorable towards coffee, but the added recent political strife and natural disasters have made coffee incredibly scarce. On top of this, arranging exports of coffee is incredibly difficult, due to the extremely limited quantity of coffee available as well as the obstacles that arise with international trade with the ongoing political conflict. All of this serves to drive up scarcity which in turn drives up the price of these coffees.
In spite of all this, Yemen continues to produce unique and highly treasured lots of specialty coffee, which make it all the more worth the effort of acquiring them. This microlot from the Mahal Aqeequl Drying Station is one such lot. This lot is a collaboration between the drying station and Al-Ezzi Industries, a company founded and owned by Shabbir Ezzi, an entrepreneur with the passion for improving specialty coffee in Yemen. Shabbir in turn has collaborated with our importer, Cafe Imports, in order to highlight the spectacular characteristics of these coffees.
In our search for coffees that truly stand out, this specific lot stood out on the cupping table time and time again with its intoxicating fruit and wine characteristics, both layered and complex. The care and effort that it took to even get this coffee into our hands makes the quality of this coffee all the more extraordinary. This is a coffee that is indeed worthy of elevation.
