Yemen holds the distinction of being the first place where coffee was cultivated, beginning in the 12th Century. While arabica coffee’s origins are in Ethiopia, monks and pilgrims traveling from the Arabian peninsula to Ethiopia discovered coffee and brought it back with them to Yemen, where it took hold and became an essential element of the culture and economy of Yemen. 

Almost a decade has passed since Mokhtar Al-Kaanshali’s nerve wrecking journey, chronicled in Dave Eggers’ book The Monk of Mokha, across the Red Sea on a small fishing boat, with two suitcases of green coffee, and the clothes on his back. After 8 years of working with Yemeni coffee farmers Mokhtar launched Al-Khanshali Coffee Estates, farms owned and operated by Mokhtar. This coffee hails from Al-Khanshali Estate One, a farm Mokhtar owns and operates, giving him intimate control over every step of the coffee production process.

In 2022 we launched the first-ever offering from Al-Khanshali Coffee Estates, and we’re thrilled to have another coffee from Mokhtar back on our menu for the 2024 Holiday season. This lot is comprised exclusive of the Ja’adi variety (one of two prominent cultivars in Yemen) and is Sun Dried as whole fruit, undergoing the Anaerobic Slow Dry process pioneered by Panamanian coffee producer Wilford Lamastus (winner of the best of Panama, and achieving the highest price ever paid for green coffee), who is also one of Mokhtar’s mentors. This all comes to together in this rich and complex coffee with notes of blueberry, baking spice, fine dark chocolate, with a lingering plum sweetness.

• Producer: Mokhtar Al-Khanshali
• Farm: Al-Khanshali Estate I
• Region: Sana'a Province, Yemen
• Variety: Ja’adi
  
• Processing: Anaerobic Slow Dry Natural
  
• Altitude: 2,300 meters