Green Coffee Offerings : Arabia : Yemen |
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View Our Current Yemen Coffees
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Upcoming Crop CommentsGiven the political instability in the region, we were amazed by the quality of coffee we were able to get from our supplier in 2011. We hope the same is true in 2012 |
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About Yemen's Coffee
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Yemen has a coffee culture like no other place, and perhaps some of what we enjoy in this cup is due to their old style of trade. Exporters do not buy from farms, but through an extesive network of middlemen. Local buyers receive coffee in the pod, the entire dried cherry, and that is stored, usually in underground caverns! The coffee actually exported is usually the oldest of their stocks, not new crop coffee! But this is the way it has been, and is one reason that new Yemen arrivals often have moisture content readings in the 10.5% range, in my experience. Yemeni growers are not hurt by this system with so many middlemen, largely because the coffee land under cultivation is limited, production is fairly low due to high altitude and limited inputs, and the crop is in such high demand. Competition from the Saudis also keeps Yemeni coffee prices very high. We are offering Qishr now too (also spelled Quishir, Keshir, Geshir) - the dried coffee husks used to make traditional hot infused coffee tea, or Yemen Ginger Tea.
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| General Yemen Roasting Tips: These coffees are very high-grown and need to be roasted slightly longer than other arabica coffees. This is a dry-processed natural coffee, and the roast color will be uneven from bean to bean ...but we judge coffee by the "cup quality," not visual appearances: don't be an "eye-cupper". Some Yemeni coffees are very small in screen size, which might cause problems in the Alpenrost. Yemeni coffee really develops its flavors over the first 2 days after roasting, especially the body/mouthfeel. Ideally, try to wait 24-48 hours before brewing. Since this is a hand prepared coffee dried in the sun - watch out for rocks! There can be small stones in the coffee that you need to cull out before roasting and definitely before grinding as these can jam a grinder. (In wet processed coffees the stones fall out in the water channel but in dry processed coffees, small stones can escape detection and make it all the way through to the final bag.) Expect uneven roast colors from Yemeni coffees, just as with the dry-processed Ethiopian coffees. Yemeni coffees pass from 1st crack to 2nd crack rapidly, so be on your toes! | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Our Yemeni Offerings:
Please refer to our Reference Page for definitions of terms and cupping numbers used below. Check out the Sweet Maria's Coffee Home Roasting Forum for more conversation about home roasting this and other coffees.We are currently out of stock. The review below is provided for your reference.
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Bani Mattar is one of the few coffees from the growing regions surrounding the high-altitudes of Sana'a that was traditionally kept separate. All others were mixed to form "Sana'ani coffee" with decidedly mixed outcomes. But coffee in Bani Mattar is a bit different, tall old-growth trees than appear like a fruit orchard than a typical coffee farm (well, NO coffee production in Yemen looks like a coffee farm anywhere else!) When I traveled in Yemen last November, the Mattari coffees where not ready to cup yet, it was too early in the harvest. And after we were stranded in a mountain town in Ismaili overnight, our itinerary to visit Bani Mattar was disrupted. Yet when our shipment of coffees that were a direct result of the trip finally arrived at the Port of Oakland, the Mattari was a real standout coffee. The Sharasi was delicate and sweet, the Ismaili was appropriately spiced, earthy ... the Mattari was a very complete cup with unique winey tones. It was impressive. The dry fragrance has striking mature fruit character from the get-go. At C+ it has red grape, and a winey fruit tone that is partially covered by chocolate, as well as earthy notes and tobacco. With Full City+ the fruit is still present, but somewhat eclipsed by dark chocolate roast tones. There's a rustic, woody maple syrup sweetness in the wet aroma, and a trace of mango in the lighter roasts. The body seems thick and dense, and overall this cup has a very deep, subdued range. After comparing the Mattari side by side to the Ismaili and Sharasi (as well as several others that did not meet our mark) this dark fruited bitter-sweetness is so apparent. Yemeni coffees need rest after roasting. They have more aromatics at 12 hours or 24 hours, but really develop at 72+ hours of rest after roasting. This is even more true for espresso. The Mattari as Single Origin (SO) espresso is very dense: It remonds be quite a bit of Scharfen-berger 70% bittersweet chocolate. But I preferred the Ismaili and Sharasi for espresso
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We are currently out of stock. The review above is provided for your reference.
Archived Reviews
To view reviews for out of stock coffees, visit our Yemen Coffee Archives.
2005-2006 | 2004 -2003 | 2001-2002 | Pre-2000 Tom's Sample Cupping Log | Moisture Content Readings This page is authored
by Thompson Owen and Sweet Maria's Coffee, Inc. and is not to be
copied or reproduced without permission
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