History & Origins
Founded in 2016, Qima was first established to source coffee from Yemeni smallholder farmers in the midst of the civil conflict, and has grown to become Yemen’s largest and most impactful specialty coffee exporter.
When conflict in Yemen broke out in 2015, Faris Sheibani knew he had to do something. Born and raised in the UK, but with strong Yemeni roots, he was living what he calls “a paradoxical life”; the people he knew and loved in Yemen were in the midst of a civil war, while he had a comfortable life on the other side of the world. As the conflict intensified, Faris left his job in oil and gas, and travelled to Yemen with the goal of making positive social change on a wide scale.
Coffee, he decided, was to be the vehicle. “My background isn’t in coffee, I’m a chemical engineer,” he says.
“In Arabic, qima means “summit”, so mountain top,” he says. “Mountain top because, typically, high altitudes produce better coffee. But also because I knew it was going to be an uphill struggle.
Established in 2016, initially sourcing from 30 farmers in one small community, today Qima works with over 2,600 farmers across 53 communities throughout Yemen’s coffee lands. Operating directly at farm-level and working exclusively with fresh cherries, Qima Coffee is Yemen’s only fully integrated specialty coffee operator and the country’s largest specialty exporter.
Qima has pledged to donate 10% of its annual profits to education and agricultural projects through their Qima Foundation.
Terroir & Growing Conditions
Qima works directly with Yemeni growers and works directly with smallholder farmers across central and northern Yemen, creating equitable trade in cultivating and hand harvesting specialty coffee sourced from some of Yemen’s highest altitudes.
At altitudes ranging between 1,200-2,000 MASL, the slopes receive plenty of sunlight, but due to the high altitude and regulated temperatures, excessive heat is dissipated. This interplay between shade and sunlight is crucial and contributes to the development of healthy coffee plants.
It is the driest and most extreme coffee-growing region in the world, with the widest range of temperatures. Despite these harsh conditions, Yemeni coffee farmers have developed innovative cultivation practices that balance economic sustainability with environmental conservation.
The Sana’a governorate occupies the biggest share of Yemeni specialty coffee production in quality and quantity. The main coffee-growing areas are Hayma Dakhiliya, Hayma Kharijiya, Bani Matar, Bani Ismail, and Haraaz. Some factors that make high-quality coffee growing possible here include a range of altitudes, soil fertility, microclimate and rainfall.
While not certified as such, Harazi coffee is organic by default, as there are no synthetic fertilizers nor pesticides available, and all crops are rain fed. With almost no access to commercially available farming supplies, the coffee is grown in a naturally organic environment, free of pollution.
Processing & Production
We work exclusively with fresh cherry to ensure that every step of the critical post-harvest process is carefully managed and controlled, with eight centralized processing centres across the country that receive and process coffee every day. These practices have resulted in 91% of our coffees achieving a score of 86+, with a growing proportion of exceptional 90+ coffees year on year.
When it comes to sourcing and buying coffee from our farmer partners we apply a genuinely equitable three-tiered pricing model that encompasses the cost of production for the farmer, a living wage to cover the basic household needs and quality-related premiums. WE MANAGE THE VALUE CHAIN FROM CHERRY TO CUP FOR GUARANTEED QUALITY.
The culmination of years of processing experience and more than 1,300 processing experiments, the Qima Alchemy Series represents the next generation of coffee processing innovation. Alchemy processing, Qima’s proprietary in-house advanced PHP, is the culmination of over 1,300 meticulous experiments, redefining coffee processing with a precise, data-driven approach. The Alchemy series integrates pressure (up to 10 bar/145 psi), temperature control, gas regulation, and managed drying. By combining advanced fermentations, carbonic maceration, and innovative drying techniques, it achieves unparalleled flavour complexity while preserving the coffee’s terroir and genetic heritage.
This lot undergoes Qima’s carbonic honey protocol—an innovative process adapted for Yemen’s water-scarce environment. After selective hand-harvesting by over 200 smallholder farmers in Wadi Jannat, cherries are delivered to Qima’s local drying facility. There, they are fermented in sealed, CO₂-rich tanks to initiate anaerobic breakdown and flavour development. Cherries are then depulped without water, leaving the sticky mucilage intact. The mucilage-covered beans are dried slowly on raised beds and turned regularly to ensure even drying, prevent over-fermentation, and preserve clarity.
Cup Profile & Tasting Notes
To assess the cup quality of Yemen, Qima Coffee, in collaboration with the Alliance for Coffee Excellence, put together an independent jury panel of 35 cuppers from 24 leading global coffee companies across 14 countries. The cup quality was found to be exceptional and the coffees were ranked as amongst the highest in the world.
This year’s auction, taking place September 15, had 1,550 entries, with 45 coffees passing to the International stage, where they were evaluated by one of the largest juries ever organized by ACE—35 judges from 24 companies across 14 countries. The winning lots represent one of the most interesting and diverse offerings in Yemen’s coffee history, with a comprehensive mix of high scores (five 90+ point scoring lots), genetic and process assortment, and farmer representation.
Virtually all Yemeni coffee is naturally processed, sometimes Yemen is called the “mother of all natural processed coffee.” Historically, coffee from Yemen has been known to have notes of chocolate, cinnamon, and cardamom with deep, earthy undertones. However, thanks to Qima Coffee’s new and wild processing methods, such as the Alchemy Series, you can now taste blackcurrant, dried mango, lychee, bubblegum, blood orange, etc.
Yemen’s main harvest season is Oct-March, with the best harvest period happening during the months of Oct-Dec.
On August 14th 2020, Qima Coffee announced the discovery of an entirely new mother population that was previously unknown to the coffee world. Yemenia is a new mother population within the species of Coffea arabica that is found exclusively in Yemen, and represents an ocean of unexplored genetics and future varieties that have the potential to reshape the world of arabica for centuries to come.