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 but there are some interesting berry aroma hints in the medium roast. 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 root, cinnamon bark, clove, some black walnut, and 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!

Sharasi is a coffee from north of the capital city Sana'a, and a region I had never heard of before traveling to Yemen in 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 '07 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 strong sweetness in the light roast, sorghum syrup sweetness with dried apricot fruit, turning to aromatic wood notes (sandalwood scent) at FC+. There's a tons of fruit (mango, jackfruit) in the wet aroma, with sweet rye bread and butterscotch. 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. As with the aroma, the light roast cup is heavily fruited with dried apricot and red apple. 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 but less sweet, 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 SO Sharasi espresso. I did some test roasts specifically for SO espresso 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. The Yemen crop is small this year, and the prices extremely high, even for mediocre coffees, and higher still for good ones. I feel the Sharasi is really worth offering though, even though we had to pay over $2 more for it than in previous years.

Qishr is an infused tea beverage that you make using the dried coffee husks of the coffee fruit, a by-product of of the natural dry-process method. Oddly, Yemen is one of the few places that produces top quality Qishr. But this is fitting since this is the true Qishr too, from the first place to grow coffee commercially, Yemen. And this is the first time Sweet Maria's has ever offered a tea! But since it is made from the fruit of the coffee tree, we feel justified in making an exception. Qishr goes by many names, often phonetic interpretations of the true arabic name: Keshir, Kishir, Gesh, Quishir. If you like herbal tea, and have some forgiveness of rustic flavors, you will enjoy Qishr! I brew it straight, with no added ingredients such as sugar, spice, etc. and it is outstanding. You will detect flavors such as rose hips, fresh ginger and other spices. You can also make Yemen Ginger Tea with Qishr, where you actually add ginger, sugar and other ingredients ... but I suggest you try it with no additives at least once. I think you will find it complex and satisfying without adding other flavors. How to brew it? The husks themseves do not need to be ground - you can brew it as it comes to you from us. Use the same proportions as coffee brewing, one SCAA coffee scoop of Qishr to 5 oz very hot water. I make it just as you "cup" coffee, put one scoop in a cup, pour over with waterjust off a boil. It benefits greatly from stirring during infusion. Steep 4-6+ minutes. The husks will (mostly) sink, and you can simply drink right from the cup. It actually improves as it steeps longer. Of course you can use tea-brewing devices, but a tea ball won't be large enough, generally. You can use a woven tea basket. But you can make Qishr best in a French Press if you are preparing more than one cup. To make the flavored Yemen Ginger Tea with Qishr you boil it with the hot water and other additives. In Ethiopia I am told they roast the Qishr first, but I am not familiar with this technique