Yemen Mocca Mattari

 

This is a luxury coffee that is commonly known as one of the top three coffees in the world.

In Korea, it is also known as the coffee that Van Gogh loved.   Legend has it that to understand Van Gogh, you must drink Yemeni Mocca Mattari.

 

I ordered a Yemeni Mocca Mattari.

We ordered it despite the high price, partly because of the illusion created by the colorful descriptors of Yemeni coffee, but also because we wanted to show our respect for the country that produces the coffee we enjoy.

 

Yemen was actually the first coffee kingdom.

It was in Yemen in the 15th century that coffee was first cultivated and first brewed as a beverage, and the port of Mocha in Yemen was the exclusive port for collecting and distributing all the coffee the world had to offer.   Because of its unique position and prestige, the name mocha is still used interchangeably with coffee.  And because of the strong chocolate flavor of Yemeni coffee, mocha is still used as a name for a drink that adds chocolate flavor to coffee.

But Yemen's glory as a coffee kingdom was short-lived.  As coffee exploded in popularity and consumption among European civil society, empires began transplanting coffee trees to their colonies to produce their own lucrative coffee.  The exclusivity of Yemeni coffee was short-lived as coffee was massively cultivated and distributed in every colony where it could be grown.

In modern times, Yemeni coffee has become synonymous with organic coffee, which is grown and harvested the old-fashioned way, in small batches, due to the unintended consequences of civil war and epidemics.  The flavor of Yemeni Mocca Mattari is characterized by the chocolate and sweet acidity of green coffee beans and the earthy, earthy flavor of the old-fashioned natural harvesting and drying method. 

 

In Japan, the top three coffees in the world are Jamaica Blue Mountain, Hawaiian Kona, and Kilimanjaro AA from Tanzania.   However, in Korea, instead of Tanzania, Yemeni Mocca Mattari is one of the top three coffees.  It's even more mysterious, with a plausible legend that it was Van Gogh's favorite coffee.  Why is Yemeni Mocca Mattari treated as a luxury coffee only in Korea?   It's probably because of Korea's strong love for the first founder.  Perhaps Korea wanted to honor Yemen as the original coffee kingdom, which deserved to be treated as a coffee monarchy, but was not.  Moreover, the unfounded rumor that Van Gogh loved coffee is a myth that was created by superimposing the image of Yemeni coffee on the wistful image of the artist, who never enjoyed the glory and fame of coffee in his lifetime.

 

Yemeni Mocca Mattari has a sad flavor with a dignified aroma.

When I sipped it, the acidity had a different weight than Ethiopian, and the chocolate flavor had a different freshness than Guatemalan.  I can only imagine the colorful earthiness and bodied taste.  The image I get from drinking it is that of a taxidermied artifact, very old, corroded and covered in dust, but standing upright, unable to forget its former glory.  The taste of Yemeni Mocca Mattari is, in a word, sad.