I sometimes get discouraged working in Yemen. Needless to say, it’s difficult. But it’s also extremely rewarding and every once in awhile I stumble upon something like the below that reinvigorates me in my work. What follows is a passage from William H. Ukers seminal work “All About Coffee”. It was written in 1922 by the founding editor of the Tea & Coffee Trade Journal. The book is a treasure trove of knowledge about coffee and one that I have referred to often during my time as a coffee professional. The passage below is special to me for a few reasons, not the least of which is that it restates, and records in literature the fact that Yemeni coffee is the best in the world. It also describes—to anyone who has had the challenging opportunity to roast Yemen coffee—the difficulty therein. Yemen coffee is notoriously difficult to roast and only the most skilled roasters in the world can wrangle it. To me, the below passage illustrates, in many ways, the potential of Yemen coffee. And reminds me that there was a time when it’s magic was not just recognized, but widely known.
"For many generations Mocha coffee has been recognized throughout the world as the best coffee obtainable; and until the pure food law went into effect in the United States, other high-grade coffees were frequently sold by American firms under the name of Mocha. Now, only coffees grown in Arabia are entitled to that valuable trade name. They grow in a small area in the mountainous regions of the southwestern portion of the Arabian peninsula, in the province of Yemen, and are known locally by the names of the districts in which they are produced. Commercially they are graded as follows: Mocha Extra, for all extra qualities; Mocha No. 1, consisting of only perfect berries; No. 1-A, containing some dust, but otherwise free of imperfections; No. 2, showing a few broken beans and quakers; No. 3, having a heavier percentage of brokens and quakers and also some dust.
Mocha beans are very small, hard, roundish, and irregular in form and size. In color, they shade from olive green to pale yellow, the bulk being olive green. The roast is poor and uneven; but the coffee's virtues are shown in the cup. It has a distinctive winy flavor, and is heavy with acidity—two qualities which make a straight Mocha brew especially valuable as an after-dinner coffee, and also esteemed for blending with fancy, mild, washed types, particularly East Indian growths.
As in other countries, the coffees grown on the highlands in Yemen are better than the lowland growths. As a rule, the low altitude bean is larger and more oblong than that grown in the highlands, due to its quicker development in the regions where the rainfall, though not great, is more abundant.
While Mocha coffees are known commercially by grade numbers, the planters and Arabian traders also designate them by the name of the district or province in which each is grown. Among the better grades thus labeled are, the Yaffey, the Anezi, the Mattari, the Sanani, the Sharki, and the Haimi-Harazi. For the poorer grades, these names are used: Remi, Bourai, Shami, Yemeni, and Maidi. Of these varieties, the Mattari, a hard and regular bean, pale yellow in color, commands the highest price, with the Yaffey a close second. Harazi coffee heads the market for quantity coupled with general average of quality."
Comments