Us and coffee from the Yemen
Hello and welcome! I’m Aisha and, not only am I part of the Mug Run team I am also half Yemeni, so I’m especially excited that we are bringing our new coffee from the Mocha Mill to you.
The Yemen has a history as old as time and there are many tales of coffee, ranging from the fantastical to the practical, and so I thought this would be a great time to share some of these with you and introduce the coffee to you (you can find these and more on the internet ).
The stories, tales and history
In the 9th century an Ethiopian goatherder called Kaldi noticed his goats dancing after eating red berries off a nearby bush, he took these to the Sufi monks who, finding them bitter, roasted them and discovered they made a delicious drink. Another tells of the 13th century Sufi mystic, Ghothul Akbar Nooruddin (Sheikh) Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili, who witnessed the same but in birds and the Oromo people who experienced the same.
Other experiences include coffee helping monks stay awake at night to pray, and coffee being given as a gift to the Prophet Muhammad by the Angel Gabriel as an alternative to Muslims drinking alcohol.
The earliest written mention of coffee is said to come from Abd-al-Kâdir in 1587. The story goes that a man named Omar was exiled from Mocha to a desert cave near the Sarawat Mountains. Being hungry he ate some berries and, finding them bitter, he roasted and boiled them and upon drinking the liquid felt instantly better. Hearing about this, Mocha requested his immediate return, his find was proclaimed a miracle and he was made a saint.
However, it is possible that the Yemen’s relationship with coffee started long before any of the above when it was part of the Aksum Empire. The Aksum Empire was made up of Yemen, Eritrea and Northern Ethiopia, it was once ruled by the infamous Queen of Sheba and its magnificence was comparable to ancient Egypt.
Pistachios and almonds were eaten at this time and, like coffee, are drupes. The nuts are poisonous raw so they are roasted to remove the aflatoxins, because of this it is possible that coffee has been roasted and consumed in this region long before any of the above.
The general belief today is that coffee originated in Ethiopia and was exported to Mokha in Yemen by traders where it was cultivated - this being where the drink ‘mocha’ gets its name. By the early 1700s 100% of the world’s coffee supply came from or via the Yemen and you will still find, like in my family, generations spanning 100s of years who have grown coffee. As coffee became more popular it was cultivated in other places and the reliance on the Yemen for the world’s coffee dwindled to what is now 0.1%.
Mocha Mill – Yemeni Speciality Coffee
Founded in 2014 by Adnan Awnallah, the Mocha Mill works with farmers, 75% of which are women, to educate and continually improve coffee production. Their mission is to be transparent with farmers and cooperatives, fully traceable for importers and roasters and consistent in their delivery of specialty grade coffee.
With Yemen suffering one of the world’s worst water crisis’ and global warming sustainability is also at their core, they look to meet these challenges by implementing innovative irrigation and dry processing techniques.
Yemen Howari 2611 - in the cup
As soon as I opened the bag the sweet aroma of maple entered the air. Once the water was added I was treated to flavours of what I can only describe as caramelised syrup with a slight citrus coming from the pink grapefruit and bergamot notes. It is the sweetest coffee I’ve ever tasted and words like ‘delightful’ and ‘fresh’ instantly came to mind. I’ve never tasted coffee quite like it. It’s available on our website and I hope you’ll treat yourselves to this experience.
It is hoped that as people take the leap and try what the Yemen has to offer that this once thriving source will become more accessible for everyone to enjoy. For more information on the Mocha Mill please visit https://mochamill.com/
Written by Aisha.