Ismaili is a "fabled" origin. Even in Yemen, in a local market in Sana'a, the spice-tea-qishr-coffee vendor told me his green beans (much of it broken "triage" coffee, mixed with cardomom pods) was truly special. "It's Ismaili coffee, " he said. I didn't mention that I slept on the floor of a villagers house the night before, in the mind-boggling vertical mountains of Ismaili, a landscape etched in stone with ancient terraces lined with ghat and coffee trees. The dry fragrances from the Ismaili (at 3 different roast levels) is a bit rocky, and it takes me a minute to adjust, to wrap my mind around these extreme and exotic smells; leather, dried herbs, dusty sweetness, caramel, spice, aromatic sandalwood and ginseng. The wet aromatics have clove and allspice with a bit of ginger, while the darker roast (FC+) is very pungent and intense, with suggestions of sarsaparilla and anise. Later there are some interesting sweet notes that come out, traces of butterscotch (C+) and syrupy plum wine (FC+). Ismaili are not fruity-bright Yemens, and this one is true to character. At C+ roast the first flavors to emerge are spices: fresh ginger root, a zest of pepper, anise. I like the darker roast levels better: At FC+ it's a different beast: bittersweet pungent notes, dark herbs, Chai and "roastaroma tea" notes, licorice, cinnamon stick, clove, black walnut, spiced chocolate. The body seemed heavy, but I think it is actually deceptively light and perhaps it has to do with the intensity of cup flavors as it cools. The Ismaili makes great Single Origin (SO) espresso. The cup here is more rooty and earthy than the Sharasi, more pungent and extremely long in aftertaste. Note that 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 best espresso I had from Ismaili was a casual experiment; 1/3 of a C+ roast rested for a week (!) and 2/3 of an FC++ roast rested for 36 hours. Fantastic!



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Sharasi is a coffee from north of the capital city Sana'a, and a region I had never heard of before travelling to Yemen last November. But when we cupped the separated regional lots, lots normally blended to for the generic "Sana'ani" coffee, it was clear what Sharasi was contributing to the mix; clean sweet fruited flavors. What arrived here in the container of small-lots that resulted from the November trip is a bit different from what we cupped there, more muted, lower in general tonality. But it keeps with the same theme; rustic sweet fruited notes, and quite "clean" in flavor for a Yemeni coffee. The dry fragrance has sorghum syrup sweetness in the light roasts, turning to aromatic wood notes (sandalwood scent) at FC+. I did some test roasts specifically for SO espresso (Single-origin espresso, i.e. not a blend) as soon as I realized what a balanced sweetness it had. Single-origin Yemen espresso has always finished too hidey, leathery, dusty-dirty for me. I knew right off this lot (and actually all 3 arrival lots) had incredible SO espresso uses. There's a sweet rye bread and butterscotch fragrance in the light roasts, and a hint of molasses. Darker roasts are more pungent in aroma, "noir" in character, intense and less delicate. There's spicy star anise notes, sassafras, and cinnamon stick. The light roast cups a bit milder at first than one might anticipate from Yemeni coffees, but intensifies greatly as it cools. The body is elegant and buttery. There's a bit of butterscotch and cocoa nibs, rooty sweetness, herbs, rustic chocolates. As it cools, more dried fruit notes emerge, like the real health-food store (unsulphered) dried apricot flavor. Darker roasts are more complex and a little sweeter; I found the lightest roasts had a flavor that was too grainy to my taste. But pull a shot of an FC+ roast and those apple-and-apricot fruit flavors re-emerge. Note that 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.



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