PORT OF MOHKA AUCTION LOT 16

Due to the special nature of this lot, the coffee will be roasted and dispatched on Tuesdays only.

This coffee is Auction Lot 16 from the 2020 Port of Mokha auction, from the farmer Mohamed Ali Subaih in the Bait Alal region of Yemen.

For 150 years, starting in the 16th century, Yemen was the exclusive coffee supplier to the entire world. All coffee shipped out of the region via the Port of Mokha, on the Red Sea.

Yemen’s unique microclimate and high elevation where coffee grew produced drought-resistant plants that yielded complex coffees with sweet, chocolatey flavours.

To imitate Yemeni coffee, many coffee houses would add chocolate to drinks brewed from beans of other origins (hence the term ‘mocha’). It is thought that sometime in the mid-1600’s, an Indian pilgrim smuggled seven green coffee seeds out of the country, and from those seeds, coffee cultivation spread across the planet and grew into a worldwide commodity. Though 90% of the world’s coffee can be genetically traced back to Yemen

Origin: Yemen

Process: Natural

Variety: Udani

Importer: Port of Mokha

Harvest: 2020

Per-Kilogram green price: £89.38

Amount purchased: 20kg

ACACIA HILLS GESHA

The land upon which Acacia Hills Estate sits was previously 4 smaller farms, first cultivated by German settlers in the 1930s and 40s. In the 1960s, the four farms were united as the Acacia Hills Estate and the estate has been producing coffee ever since: a total of over 50 years.

In 2007, Leon and Aideen Christianakis, local Tanzanian coffee farmers, partnered with an American roaster to purchase and upgrade the estate to focus on specialty coffee production. Today, Leon and Aideen incorporate a wide variety of practices, including soil analysis, managed shade and processing methods, into their production to ensure the highest quality possible. 

The estate also features its own cupping lab that enables Leon and Aideen to analyze their coffees onsite. 

Origin: Tanzania

Process: Washed

Varieties: Gesha

Importer: Sucafina

Harvest: 2020-2021

Per-Kilogram green price: £16

Amount purchased: 30kg