Yemeni coffee history and fame

Yemeni coffee – history and fame

Previously, the name of Yemen was associated with coffee especially in Mocha where it was the starting point of coffee as a popular drink to the whole world. That was a long ago, but now for many peoples, coffee name is associated with the name of Mocha in reference to the city and port in Yemen. Mocha is the main station for exporting Yemeni coffee to the world.

The original home of the coffee tree :

Coffee is a perennial tree that ranges from 4 to 6 meters in length, with deep roots and smooth leaves.

As for the coffee uses, they are varied, and it includes serving it as a hot or cold drink. Coffee is considered a stimulant drink due to its caffeine content. However, most studies and opinions are differed and multiplied about the first origin of coffee trees and the history of its presence in wildlife and forests. Some opinions see that coffee came from the Arabian Peninsula and then moved to Ethiopia. But other opinions say that Ethiopia was the first home of coffee, as it is believed that coffee first appeared was in the forests of Kaffa region in southern Ethiopia. So, the name of Kaffa here refers to the name of the stimulant substance that was discovered in the coffee beans. And there is another opinion given by an exploratory mission of the World Food Organization in 1924, while studying coffee trees in Ethiopia. The mission published in its reports and asserted that it has not any proving evidence refers that coffee native home was in Ethiopia. The mission believes that the coffee was probably transported to Ethiopia from Yemen due to the great similarity in the natural factors surrounding the coffee trees in the two countries Ethiopia and Yemen. From this standpoint, we will discuss the relationship between the Yemeni people, and this blessed tree. As it was mentioned in the historical books and in many novels, that the Yemenis knew coffee tree at the beginning of the 5th century AD ,when it entered Yemen with the Ethiopian Campaign in 525 AD. Coffee was grown in the Al-Aden region, and this is the first statement in the field of coffee cultivation in Yemen. As for the other narrations and statements. The first time Yemeni coffee was to mention was that at the Arab physician Abu Bakr al-Razi in the year 900 AD.

When Yemenis found their way to Wealth in growing coffee trees, as it was an important useful source for getting a lot of money. Here, planting coffee in Yemen began to expand year after year until Yemeni coffee became a prominent sign of high quality and a luxury brand that was presented to the most prestigious ruling families, whether in Europe or India, France and other countries of the world until its reputation became known and its fame was demanded and increased in various countries of the world. As a treasure, the coffee was to Yemen. Since then, the Yemeni soil has supplied us with the best sorts of coffee in the world until Yemeni coffee reputation reached various countries in the world. Nowadays, Yemeni coffee still enjoys considerable distinction and unique specificity everywhere in the world.

Planting coffee witnessed its great development between the period of 13th and 18th centuries AD.

During the last period, the volume of Yemeni coffee exports reached its peak and achieved a recorded number Perhaps it could not achieve it now.

The name of the Yemeni coffee was linked to the name of the port (Mocha). After that, the name of this port became akin and close to high-quality Yemeni coffee. The coffee trade reached many countries, as Yemeni merchants took it to Cairo at the beginning of the sixteenth century, then the coffee trade reached Istanbul, where the first coffeehouses were opened in 1554 AD, while for the Europeans, coffee did not reach them until 1906 AD, and it arrived in England in 1950 AD.

As a result, to the arrival of Yemeni coffee to these areas, its reputation became very popular and its demand increased by foreign companies operating in Mocha and by Dutch merchants also by Egyptian merchants to get the excellent Yemeni coffee.

Coffee growing areas

Planting coffee is good in the valleys and in the agricultural terraces whose height ranges from 1000-1700 meters above sea level.

As a result of the great convergence of climatic conditions in most regions of Yemen, coffee is grown in several regions and on a large scale in Yemen.

As a result, to the great convergence of climatic conditions in most regions of Yemen, coffee is grown in several areas and on a large zone in Yemen. The most important areas are in Sana’a Governorate, Bani Mutair, Haraz and Al-Haima, where the climate is favorable for coffee growing. It is also cultivated in Hajjah governorate, specifically the areas of the Razih Mountains, in which it is widely cultivated. It is also cultivated in the Al-Udain, Yafa ‘, Bani Hammad and other regions of Yemen.

Types of coffee grown in Yemen

There are three varieties of coffee sort which are grown in Yemen fall under the name of Yemeni coffee: The Adeni variety – the Apple variety – the Circular variety.

The naming of the coffee kinds varies according to the region in which it is grown, as it is called in the name of the region in which it is grown Hammadi, Yafei, Burai, Al Harazi, Matari and Al Haimi coffee. The rainy variety is considered the best varieties in terms of its quality and flavor, which is grown in the governorate of Sana’a, where the demand for it increases both at home and abroad.