Yemen
Al Mekhlafi - Yemen
250g
*Competition Series*
Limited Edition
QUALITY SCORE: 93.50
Cup Notes
Vanilla / Violet / Raspberry / Blackberry / Dates
Suggested for espresso and filter
when we roast
We freshly roast to order all coffees on Monday, Wednesday and Friday (excluding national holidays), and ship the same day! Cut-off time is 11:59pm (UTC+1) of the day before the roast day. *We only ship whole beans*
Details
- Producer
- Ahmed Al Mekhlafi
- Country
- Yemen
- Terroir
- Manakha
- Altitude
- 1900 - 2500 mt
- Process
- Gardelli Red
- Arabica cultivar
- Typica and heirlooms
- Picked in
- March 2018
- Arrived in
- January 2019
- Shipped in
- Box + Vacuum pack
- Roast profile by
- Rubens Gardelli
- Roasted on
- Customised solid-drum roaster
THE STORY BEHIND
“Yemen is in crisis. Mired in a civil war, its infrastructure and economy have been destroyed, and the violence is taking a desperate toll on most of the population, with famine and no medical help in the worst-hit regions.”
But Yemen, even if it is now war ravaged, witnessing a devastating hunger crisis and an approaching water shortage, is also the cradle of coffee, where it has been grown for at least 700 years. And what is the aim of Specialty Coffee if not trying to save the origins and help small farmers improve their life conditions while also selecting a brilliant coffee?This lot came from Ahmed Almekhlafi's farm. He is 65 years old and he is from Al Hayma Al Kharigiah. He inherited the farm from his grandfather through his father. Ahmed is very active in taking care of his coffee trees with the precious support of Mocha Mill, the famous Yemeni coffee miller. He has become a Specialty Coffee farmer with SCA certification.
Needless to say, it is not safe to travel here. Aldiwani and Gardelli remotely collaborated in the production and processing for the first lot and the result was amazing. Climate in Yemen, especially in Sanaa, the Yemeni capital city, is very cold ( 15 – 5 degree) which is a great condition for the Gardelli Natural fermentation process, helping sugar move slowly from the bean’s outer skin to the bean itself.
This exclusive lot is the strongest representation of team work. It went through difficult and long transfers from the farm to the mill with frequent car fuel shortages and harsh security check points. The hardest and the longest part is shipping and taking this coffe out of Yemen in the midst of the war, with the roads closed, flights being delayed or cancelled and the 15-hour dangerous drive to the nearest airport.
But we finally made it! And we are so happy to bring to you this Yemeni pearl.
THE VARIETY
Typica originated from Yemeni stock, taken first to Malabar, India, and later to Indonesia by the Dutch. It later made its way to the West Indies to the French colony at Martinique. Typica has genetically evolved to produce new characteristics, often considered new varietals: Criollo (South America), Arabigo (Americas), Kona (Hawaii), Pluma Hidalgo (Mexico), Garundang (Sumatra), Blue Mountain (Jamaica, Papua New Guinea), San Bernardo & San Ramon (Brazil), Kents & Chickumalgu (India)
Ethiopian Heirloom, why the generic name? It's estimated that there are somewhere in-between six and ten thousand coffee varietals in Ethiopia. And due to this colossal figure, there hasn’t been the genetic testing to allow buyers to distinguish the varietal. With the cross pollination that naturally happens in the wild, the name ‘Ethiopian Heirloom’ exists as a catch all phrase to describe this happenstance. However, that really makes Ethiopian quite a mystery – and an interesting mystery with that as each village or town could potentially have a different varietal which could carry very unique properties.
Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee, meaning it was only naturally found here.
THE FERMENTATION PROCESS
Pick only the perfectly ripe coffee cherries one by one by hand, bring them back to the processing centre, remove the defected cherries...do some magic (only from nature, nothing chemically added), put the cherries over raised beds, constantly roll for a even drying, then wait.
Does it sound easy?
Well, you have to try yourself to do each single step to understand how many difficulties must be faced and that is why this lot came out so unique.
