Lot #9 - Yemen Coffee Auction
INTERNATIONAL JURY CUPPING SCORE
88.9
Cheery liqueur, kiwi fruit & bubblegum.
Farmer Group: Mutawasat Community
Region : Mutawasat / Haraaz / Sanaa
Country: Yemen
Processing: Natural
Elevation: 1,700 - 2,200m
Varieties: Yemenia
Sourced Through: Upstream Imports & Qima Coffee
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This lot gathers the production of 55 farmers from one of the most remote regions in Yemen. Coffee is their only source of income and they have spent their whole life on the farm. They started at a young age helping their parents on the farm and with time they inherited land and gained enough knowledge and skills to take responsibility for the farm.
What Is Yemenia?
A pure arabica mother population, unique to Yemen, that represents a new ocean of varieties with untapped potential to transform the genetic landscape of Coffea arabica in the world.
Whilst some coffee aficionados are aware of Yemen's rich coffee history, being the birthplace of the coffee drink, few are aware of Yemen's critical role in shaping arabica's genetics across the world.
In fact, over 98% of the world's known cultivated varieties of Coffea arabica, can be traced back to Yemen. The arabica species, which was found wild in the forests of Ethiopia, travelled to Yemen at least 600 years ago, where it was grown as a cultivated crop, likely for the first time in the crop’s history. As it went from the lush forests of Ethiopia to the arid mountains of Yemen, the genetics of the Yemeni trees would change over time to adapt to the new environment through domestication and natural selection. Coffee cultivation continued in Yemen for the next 300 years, during which the genetics of the Yemeni coffee trees gradually changed through domestication and a process known as genetic drift, such that they became distinctly different from their Ethiopian ancestors. These unique trees would go on to become the 'mother' trees of almost all of the cultivated varieties known today.
As part of Qima Coffee's R&D programme with Dr Christophe Montagnon, Qima undertook an ambitious project to investigate and map out Yemen's genetic landscape. After years of work, they conducted the largest genetic survey in Yemen's history, covering an area of over 25,000km2.
The results unveiled one of the most significant findings in coffee history.
About Qima Coffee
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.
They are re-introducing the world to one of the rarest and finest specialty coffees. In doing so, they aim to restore Yemen to its former glory as a globally renowned source of exquisite coffee.
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Customer Reviews
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Farm: Resplendor
Country: Brazil
Region: Chapada de Minas
Altitude: 900 - 1,000 masl
Variety: Icatu
Processing: Pulped Natural
Farmer: Gustavo Nunes
Sourced Through: Southland Merchants
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Resplendor Farm is a producer of specialty coffee located in the heart of Chapada de Minas region, between the municipalities of Agua Boa and Capelinha. It began in the 1970’s when Mr. Walter Palmeiras and Mr. Alair Campos came from Machado, south of Minas Gerais, to the city of Capelinha. They have since brought several other growers to the region, which has allowed the development of it, generating well distributed, higher incomes.
In 2005, Mr João Felisberto de Miranda took the responsibility for the farm, starting a cycle of changes there. In 2009, Gustavo Vieira de Carvalho was invited to become a partner with him, bringing morse techniques and strong experience in administration. Joao Miranda and Gustavo de Carvalho are from two different generations but both carry on in the tradition of their families, whom are endlessly passionate about coffee production.
It was in the Southwest of Minas Gerais state that they started this partnership for the construction of a new chapter in their story; they became principal actors in the transformation of the Vale do Jequitinhonha region. This region combines the natural advantages of the microclimate of Brazil with constant investments in planting technologies, post-harvest techniques and in the drying process of pulped coffee.
Furthermore they have well integrated logistics with warehouses from their own group, which guarantees access to export markets with a constant volume, being able to withstand crop failures. Resplendor Farm has 600 hectares of coffee planted and it is managed with the latest techniques and production concepts. In this way, the plantation is self-sustaining.
They also have a strong social responsibility on the farm with its employees and surrounding communities, along with their farming practices and the environment. The farm has both UTZ and Rainforest Alliance certification, a sustainable agriculture norm, which they endeavoured to acquire in order to meet the challenges they set themselves. Gustavo Vieira owns the Geral Super Safra warehouse, located in the South of Minas Gerais. There all the selection, distribution and storage is done.
Joao and Gustavo believe strongly in the way they choose to operate, as they do in Resplendor Farm and in the Geral Super Safra warehouse, always seeking to achieve excellent performance and deliver the best coffee possible.
Region: Jambi
Cup of Excellence 2022
Rank: 19
Score: 87.35
Cup of Excellence: These coffees have each been cupped a minimum of five different times during the cupping process. The winning lots are the top 30 coffees that scored above an 87 by the Cup of Excellence Global Coffee Centers.
National Winners: The National Winner lots are coffees scoring 85+ points during the International Phase by the Cup of Excellence National Jury and International Jury. These coffees have each been cupped a minimum of five different times during the cupping process.
Hear from Irwandi here:
"I am Irwandi, I know coffee from 2016. and started to enter the post-harvest process in 2017, why did I get into the world of coffee because, coffee is a source of economic income for me and my family, besides that processing coffee is also fun for me. My hope for the world of coffee is that the price of coffee will get better and more stable, the market will be wider and more open, we as farmers can be more enthusiastic and confident that coffee is a sufficient and sustainable income for us."
Farm: Finca el Paraíso 92
Producer: Wilton Benitez
Country: Colombia
Region: Cauca
Elevation: 1,950 masl
Variety: Colombia
Processing: Double anaerobic thermal shock
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Wilton Benitez is a highly specialised Colombian coffee producer with a lifetime of experience in the production and processing of exotic coffee, with a plethora of awards for the quality of his coffees. Today Wilton has a processing plant in the Department of Cauca and two small farms (one in Cauca and the other in Risaralda). His farms meet the highest standards of quality and control and social practice. Granja Paraíso 92 is a family farm that has different varieties such as Java, Bourbon Pink, Geisha, Pacamara, Caturra, Tabi, Castillo, Supremo and Colombia. They use highly innovative cultivation systems such as terraces and drip irrigation. It has its own laboratories to calculate all the details from shade to nutrition with scientific efficiency - all aimed at producing incredibly unique and aromatic coffees.
The processes applied to the different coffees start from a strict selection, sterilisation and characterisation of the cherry. Next is the first phase of controlled anaerobic fermentation, where a specific microorganism is added for each process. After that, the coffee is pulped and subjected to a second fermentation phase which is followed by a bean sealing process that is carried out through impacts of hot and cold water to improve the organoleptic conditions of the coffee.
Farm: Finca el Paraíso 92
Producer: Wilton Benitez
Country: Colombia
Region: Cauca
Elevation: 1,950 masl
Variety: Caturra
Processing: Double anaerobic thermal shock
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Wilton Benitez is a highly specialised Colombian coffee producer with a lifetime of experience in the production and processing of exotic coffee, with a plethora of awards for the quality of his coffees. Today Wilton has a processing plant in the Department of Cauca and two small farms (one in Cauca and the other in Risaralda). His farms meet the highest standards of quality and control and social practice. Granja Paraíso 92 is a family farm that has different varieties such as Java, Bourbon Pink, Geisha, Pacamara, Caturra, Tabi, Castillo, Supremo and Colombia. They use highly innovative cultivation systems such as terraces and drip irrigation. It has its own laboratories to calculate all the details from shade to nutrition with scientific efficiency - all aimed at producing incredibly unique and aromatic coffees.
The processes applied to the different coffees start from a strict selection, sterilisation and characterisation of the cherry. Next is the first phase of controlled anaerobic fermentation, where a specific microorganism is added for each process. After that, the coffee is pulped and subjected to a second fermentation phase which is followed by a bean sealing process that is carried out through impacts of hot and cold water to improve the organoleptic conditions of the coffee.
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Honeydew melon, blueberry yoghurt and cumquat
Washing Station: Deri Kidame
Country: Ethiopia
Woreda: Wamena
Zone: Guji
Elevation: 2050 masl
Varieties: Kurume, Dega, Wolisho
Processing: Natural
Sourced Through: Utopia Coffee
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The Deri Kidame washing station is named for the Deri Kidame kebele (town/village), where it is located in the Wamena woreda (administrative district) of Ethiopia’s Guji zone. The area has fertile red brown soil and Cordia Africana and Acacia Ensete ventricosum trees for shade, benefiting the coffee plants grown by the many smallholder farmers who contribute cherries to the washing station. Coffee farms in the area range 2000–2100 meters above sea level in elevation. The washing station is outfitted with 10 fermentation tanks and 181 raised drying beds which are assigned individual codes, allowing for improved traceability and a higher level of control and tracking throughout the drying process.
This lot of coffee underwent Natural processing at the Deri Kidame washing station. Coffee cherries are sorted to remove less dense fruit prior to processing. The cherries are then moved to raised beds where they are dried for approximately 18 days.
Coffee is prepared for export at Tracon Trading’s coffee cleaning and storage plant on 30,000 sq meters of land in Addis Ababa. The plant is equipped with modern Pinhalense coffee processing machines and a Buhler Z+ color sorter. The machine has the capacity of processing six tons per hour. Beans pass through a final hand sort on conveyor belts. The plant’s six storage silos have a capacity of roughly 15,000 metric tons. The warehouses are clean, with ample lighting and ventilation, which are ideal for maintaining the quality of the coffee.
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