Where Does the Origin of Mocha Coffee Come From?
The origin of mocha coffee lies in the Yemeni port of Mocha. In the early 17th century, Yemeni coffee shipped to Europe through that port carried the MOCHA mark on its burlap sacks, so Europeans called the drink Mocha coffee. The port became the starting point of the world coffee trade, and coffee grown there was called Arabia coffee, the root of the name Arabica.
Yemen's steep terrain and dry climate give its coffee a wild, complex flavor. Beans are dried whole in the sun, an old method still used today. The country's three main areas are Sanani, Matari and Ismaili. Ethiopia, across the sea, also exported through Mocha, which is why some Ethiopian naturally processed lots still carry the Mocha name.
Yemen, a country renowned worldwide for its frankincense and spice trade, is also one of the earliest places on Earth where coffee was cultivated. From the biblical legend of Noah's Ark to the realm of the Queen of Sheba, this land carries thousands of years of civilization memory. In the early 17th century, Yemeni coffee was exported to Europe through the ancient port of Mocha, and the MOCHA mark printed on the burlap sacks led Europeans to call this delicious beverage "Mocha coffee," making the port of Mocha the originator of the world coffee trade. Its unique steep terrain and arid climate have created a wild, complex flavor in Yemeni coffee that cannot be replicated. This article will trace the origin of the name Mocha coffee, explain in detail the ancient wisdom of Yemen's full natural sun-drying method, and take a deeper look at the unique charm of the three major producing regions: Sanani, Matari, and Ismaili.
01 | Regional Introduction
* The History of Yemen *
Yemen is famous for its frankincense and spice trade, and is also one of the earliest places in the world where coffee was cultivated.
Looking back, this is also where Noah built the Ark in the Bible.
It is said that three thousand years ago, the legendary Queen of Sheba, who traveled with gold, spices, and a vast delegation to Jerusalem to visit King Solomon and bore him a son, ruled over this very land. (Some say this prince was the first king of Ethiopia.)
In any case, perhaps precisely because of such a long historical heritage, it is said that the people of this land still retain a very strong sense of self-respect and are extremely independent.
In Yemen, the lifestyle of thousands of years ago continues to this day, and it is said that in many areas even the central government's authority struggles to reach. Ethiopia, across the sea from Yemen, also exported coffee through the port of Mocha, so Ethiopian naturally processed coffee is often labeled with the name Mocha as well (such as Ethiopia Harra Mokka). Yemeni Mocha can be called the originator of the world coffee trade; Yemen deserves great credit for bringing delicious coffee to the world. It was called "Arabia coffee," which is also the origin of the later name "Arabica original species."
It is said that in the 17th century, the place where Europeans first imported coffee and spread it around the world was none other than the then-largest coffee port in the world—the port of Mocha.
Today's "port of Mocha," compared with its former fame, has failed to continue its prosperity and has been reduced to a historic port with nothing but white sand beaches.
Even so, it still spreads far and wide through the name of coffee.
Although Ethiopia was the first country in the world to discover coffee, the first country in the world to cultivate coffee as a crop on a large scale was Yemen. In the early 17th century, the first batch of Yemeni coffee was exported to Europe through the ancient small port—the port of Mocha—astonishing Europeans. Because all exported coffee burlap sacks had to be printed with the MOCHA mark to prove that they were shipped from the port of Mocha, Europeans called the delicious coffee shipped from the port of Mocha "Mocha coffee." This is why Mocha became synonymous with coffee in the early days.
Yemeni coffee grows on steep, rugged slopes with sparse rainfall, poor soil, and insufficient sunlight. Such unique, difficult, and unfavorable conditions for coffee growing have nonetheless produced the irreplaceable Yemeni Mocha in the coffee world. The main producing regions are Sanani, Matari, and Ismaili.
The Matari producing region is located on the highlands west of the capital, at an altitude of 2,000–2,400 meters, making it the highest-altitude producing region in Yemen, but also the most remote, with inconvenient transportation. After harvest, farmers often have to wait quite some time before the coffee can be transported out.
02 | Processing Methods
Traditional Sun-Drying
Yemen is the classic example of the old-style sun-dried flavor and the only country in the world that produces fully sun-dried coffee. This traditional processing method, which uses no water at all, has remained unchanged since Europeans became enamored with wild Mocha in the 17th century. This is related to Yemen's extremely dry climate. Coffee is mainly planted in the central highlands, where the average annual rainfall is only 400–750 millimeters, far below the 1,500–2,000 millimeters optimal for Arabica.
Because the water-scarce environment has made it impossible for farmers to introduce more advanced washed methods to this day, the wild aroma surpasses that of Harar coffee, making Yemen the best choice for experiencing the old-style flavor.
In the central highlands of Yemen, mountains rise and fall, rugged and perilous. Small farmers mostly adopt a scattered planting method, with a few trees planted on steep slopes and dozens planted on terraces or cliffs. Each has different soil and microclimates, and therefore different aromatic components.
Yemeni farmers' sun-drying method is rougher than Ethiopia's. Coffee cherries are not picked even when they turn red; instead, they are left until the cherries dry naturally on the branch and turn purplish-black, then fall to the ground and are gathered. This differs from the refined sun-drying of Yirgacheffe or Sidamo, where red cherries are picked and spread on "raised mesh beds," and it is the main reason Yemeni coffee has such a strong wild flavor.
Yemen's natural sun-drying method involves manually harvesting fully ripe coffee cherries and then directly placing the freshly harvested cherries on a dedicated coffee drying yard or a compacted dirt front courtyard at home to sun-dry. During the sun-drying period, as with drying rice in Taiwan, a wooden rake must be used to turn them so that every bean dries evenly. After about twenty days, when the coffee is completely dry, the outer pulp and skin are removed to take out the coffee beans. Yemeni coffee has a rich, complex, untamed, full-bodied flavor, with strong fermentation notes and low acidity. In addition, Yemeni coffee often contains an uncertain factor (the timing of seasonal rainfall) that makes it unpredictable. Calling it the most special coffee in the world is not an exaggeration at all.
Related recommendation: What is Mocha coffee? Yemen Mocha-Matari sun-dried beans are Yemen's truly authentic Mocha coffee beans.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
