Yemen Mokha Matari

West of Sana'a, the Bani Matari highlands rise in stone terraces that farmers stacked by hand over centuries. Here grows some of the oldest cultivated coffee on earth, heirloom Arabica that traces its lineage straight back to the trees that first crossed the Red Sea. This is where the word "mocha" was born.

OriginYemen RegionBani Matari, Sana'a Governorate Elevation2,000-2,400m ProcessNatural (Dry) VarietyHeirloom Landrace Arabica The Source

Terraces Above the Old Trade Routes

Bani Matari sits in the mountains west of Sana'a, where roughly one hundred smallholder families tend coffee on plots smaller than half an acre. Each family works around a thousand trees rooted in hand-built stone terraces, a farming system that doubles as cultural heritage. The trees are old-growth landrace Arabica, the unhybridized stock that genetic studies confirm seeded nearly all the world's Arabica outside Ethiopia.

Matari grows at the highest elevations of any Yemeni coffee, climbing from 2,000 to 2,400 meters. That altitude slows cherry maturation and concentrates sugars, which is why Yemen's peak high-altitude coffee carries such density and complexity. The exporter, Fatoum Muslot, comes from a family that has shipped Yemeni coffee since the 1950s and has tightened hand-sorting standards to lift cup consistency lot by lot.

The Craft

Dried in Cherry, the Way It Has Always Been Done

This lot is dry-processed, the oldest and simplest method in coffee. Whole cherries dry slowly on patios and raised beds, then rest in Ecotact liners that lock in moisture and aroma. As the fruit dries against the seed, it pushes deep dried-fruit sweetness into the bean, the signature of a true natural. If you want to understand why Yemeni coffee tastes the way it does, the natural versus washed processing distinction is the place to start.

We roast to City+, a medium-light roast that frames the date and cocoa notes without flattening the spice. The profile holds its shape even pushed toward Full City, gaining bittersweet depth while the dried-fruit core stays intact. We roast in small solar-powered batches in Virginia Beach so the heritage in the green coffee reaches the cup unmuddied.

Date Syrup Pumpkin Bread Chai Spice Inky Cocoa BodyFull AcidityWine-like The Cup

Contrast in Every Sip

The cup opens on chewy date syrup and pumpkin-bread comfort, then a mid-palate of pistachio adds a savory undercurrent that keeps the sweetness honest. Chai spice brightens through the middle before a long, inky-cocoa finish settles in. The body is syrupy and full, the acidity winey rather than sharp.

Pulled as espresso, it turns dense and cardamom-tinged with a cocoa close. Brewed on a V60, it leans toward date cake with a gentle citrus lift. It rewards a slow, attentive cup.

Find Your Fix

For espresso, try 20g in to 42g out over 29 seconds at 197F for a syrupy, spiced shot. For pour-over, run a V60 with 15g coffee to 250g water at 205F over about three minutes for date-cake sweetness. It also shines through Chemex, Aeropress, and standard drip. Browse more whole-bean lots in our coffee beans collection, store the jar airtight, grind on demand, and find your fix.

Roasted in small batches at our Virginia Beach roastery.

Packaged in reusable glass mason jars, returned locally for reuse. Solar-roasted.

Virginia Beach, VA