History & Origins
Port of Mokha was founded by Mokhtar Alkhanshali, a Yemeni-American from San Francisco whose attempt to rebuild Yemen’s specialty coffee supply chain became the subject of Dave Eggers’s 2018 book “The Monk of Mokha.” Alkhanshali grew up in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood, the son of Yemeni immigrants, and became interested in coffee’s Yemeni origins after learning that the beverage had first been cultivated and traded commercially from the port of Mocha—the same port whose name was eventually corrupted into the chocolate-coffee flavor descriptor used globally.
Alkhanshali began traveling to Yemen in 2013 to locate surviving populations of heirloom Yemeni coffee varieties, connect with remote mountain farmers, and establish a traceable supply chain capable of bringing high-quality Yemeni coffee to specialty buyers. The project was interrupted by the outbreak of the Yemeni civil war in 2015; Alkhanshali famously evacuated the country as the conflict escalated, an ordeal documented in detail in Eggers’s account. He resumed operations as quickly as conditions permitted, continuing to work with farmer networks in the highland regions of Haraz, Bani Mattar, and Raymah.
Port of Mokha operates primarily as an importer and quality-control intermediary, not a producing farm. Its function is to identify and train farmers in quality practices, purchase cherry at premium prices tied to quality, manage dry milling and sorting, and export traceable lots under regional and farm-level designations. This model addresses one of Yemeni specialty coffee’s structural challenges: the country’s farmers are typically smallholders with limited access to modern processing infrastructure or international buyers.
Terroir & Growing Conditions
Yemen’s coffee-growing regions occupy the western and central highland ranges, primarily the Haraz mountains in Sana’a governorate, Bani Mattar district, and Raymah governorate. Elevations in these zones commonly exceed 2,000 meters, and some terraced growing plots sit above 2,500 meters—among the highest coffee cultivation in the world. The combination of extreme altitude, ancient volcanic basalt soils, and Yemen’s characteristically dry, desert-adjacent climate produces a growing environment with no close parallel elsewhere in the coffee belt.
Annual rainfall in Yemen’s coffee regions is erratic and generally low—typically between 400 and 800mm—and coffee cultivation depends heavily on seasonal monsoon rains and, increasingly, on groundwater irrigation. The water scarcity that defines Yemeni agriculture also influences coffee: slow, stress-affected cherry development over a long growing season concentrates sugars and flavor precursors in ways that partly explain the variety’s distinctive cup character.
Yemeni heirloom varieties—Udaini, Dawairi, Tuffahi, Kholan, and others—are genetically distinct from the cultivar groups dominant in Ethiopia, Latin America, and East Africa. Many have never been formally characterized by researchers, and their genetic relationships to known arabica lineages remain incompletely understood. Port of Mokha’s sourcing work has contributed to documentation and preservation of these varieties under conditions of active conflict and climate stress.
Processing & Production
Coffee in Yemen is processed almost exclusively as natural (dry process), a practice that predates the introduction of wet-processing infrastructure in Africa and Latin America by centuries. Cherries are dried whole on rooftops, patios, or raised surfaces in the high-altitude, low-humidity mountain air. The traditional processing environment—cool nights, dry air, and intense solar radiation—produces a distinct fermentation dynamic that differs from natural processing practiced in more humid climates.
Port of Mokha works with farmers to introduce consistent sorting practices, improve drying bed hygiene, and establish turnaround protocols that reduce defect rates without eliminating the character-building aspects of traditional Yemeni natural processing. The organization pays significant premiums above the Yemen market price for lots that meet its quality benchmarks, creating a direct incentive structure for participating farmers to adopt the practices it recommends.
Dry milling and export logistics are managed by Port of Mokha’s team under challenging supply chain conditions. Yemen’s ongoing conflict has disrupted port access, banking, and transport infrastructure repeatedly, and each shipment requires navigating a set of logistical and security constraints that do not apply to any other major coffee-producing country. The ability to deliver traceable, high-scoring Yemeni lots to international buyers despite these conditions is Port of Mokha’s primary operational achievement.
Cup Profile & Tasting Notes
Yemeni coffees processed through Port of Mokha’s supply chain present a flavor profile unlike any other major origin. The natural processing and heirloom genetic material combine to produce cups defined by dried fruit intensity—raisins, dates, tamarind, and dried fig appear consistently across regional lots. Dark chocolate and wine-like ferment notes are common, with wild blueberry and spice appearing in the best Haraz and Bani Mattar lots.
Acidity is present but integrated, rarely shrill, and often described as reminiscent of red wine rather than citrus. Body is full and viscous relative to other naturals. The overall impression is of aged complexity and earthy depth—a cup profile more closely associated with ancient cultivation practices and extreme terroir than with contemporary processing innovation.
Port of Mokha lots have scored in the low-to-mid 90s on the SCA scale when processed to the company’s quality standards, placing Yemeni specialty coffee within reach of the premium tier for the first time in the modern market. The farm-level and regional designations on Port of Mokha’s lots allow buyers to distinguish between the distinct character of Haraz (more chocolate, earthy spice) and Bani Mattar (brighter, more fruit-forward) growing zones.