Zahra Bani Murra

This Jaadi lot is lifted by spiced aromatics, a sweet, syrup-like tropical acidity, and a long, citrus-led finish.

Ethiopia is often referred to as the birthplace of Arabica Coffee, and it is indeed likely that these wild plants first grew there. However, it was in Yemen that coffee was first cultivated, roasted and consumed as a beverage. Sufi mystics drank it to stay alert during long nighttime prayers. The term “Arabica” reflects this early Arabic heritage.

Between the 15th and 17th centuries, Yemen held a monopoly over the global coffee trade. Most exports passed through the port of Al Mokha—a name still associated with coffee. Yemeni producers were very protective of their craft, and would often boil, parch, or roast their coffee before export to prevent cultivation elsewhere. Legend has it that the Yemeni monopoly ended in the 17th century, when a pilgrim named Baba Budan smuggled seeds back to India. Unable to compete within an increasingly globalised coffee market, Yemeni production gradually diminished, with the country now producing only around 0.27% of world’s coffee.

Taher Aqeeq, who introduced us to this coffee, is part of a movement aiming to shift that narrative. His journey began when, fresh out of university with a civil engineering degree, he volunteered to join his uncle on a community road project in the breathtaking Haraz Mountains. He remembers falling in love with the locally grown coffee he drank whilst working there.

Taher later returned to London, holding onto a deep affection for Yemen and its coffee. Fate would have it that, twenty years after his first visit, he encountered two passionate Yemeni coffee producers from Haraz, Mohammed and Huzaifa, seeking to enhance their skills and find a market for their exceptional beans. Inspired by their meeting and eagar to help, Taher founded Aqeeq Haraz Bunn with the intention of helping to revitalise the Yemeni coffee industry by upskilling Yemeni producers and introducing their coffee to the UK market.