One of the world’s oldest, most famous coffees grows on the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen. Yemen Mocha is cultivated and processed today much as it has been for centuries. Grown on low bushes at 3,000 to 7,000 feet the coffee plants exist in harsh conditions. The dry climate produces small extremely hard beans which are irregular in shape and color. All of the coffee is processed by the dry method with many of the coffee cherries being allowed to dry on the tree before picking. When most of the crop is ripe, all the cherries are picked and spread out on earth patios to dry, then the cherries are milled to remove the hull and release the two coffee beans inside. This primitive and obviously organic method of growing and the rough conditions that the coffee endures account for the classic flavor this wonderful coffee displays.
Yemen Mocha Mattari is a full-bodied coffee which is simultaneously smooth and piquant, tremendously complex and overwhelming aromatic. It is excellent either straight or blended as in the classic Mocha/Java blend. A small amount will “spice” almost any variety of coffee.