TYPICAL CUP PROFILE

Yemenia delivers a dense, spiced, and deeply earthy cup, the direct heir of centuries of natural processing on the stone terraces of Yemen's mountains. The nose carries dried fruit and warm spices such as cardamom, while the palate unfolds a winey, fermented character layered with dried fruit, dark chocolate, and a long, complex finish. It is one of the wildest, least domesticated cups in the coffee world, a reflection of genetics found nowhere else on the planet.

GENETIC ORIGIN & HISTORY

Although Ethiopia is the botanical birthplace of Coffea arabica, it was in Yemen that the plant was first cultivated as a commercial crop over 600 years ago.

Through centuries of isolation in the arid Yemeni highlands, those original Ethiopian seeds adapted to extreme drought conditions. Through natural selection and farmer-led domestication, they evolved into a unique genetic group distinct from any other coffee origin. Recent genetic mapping studies confirmed the existence of this cultivated cluster found exclusively in Yemen.

This breakthrough led Faris Sheibani, founder of Qima Coffee, alongside World Coffee Research, to formally name and promote this genetic group as "Yemenia." Designed as an open-access, free-to-use designation, the term allows Yemeni coffee farmers, local cooperatives, and exporters to protect and monetize their agricultural heritage.

Remarkably, historical landraces from Yemen laid the foundation for global coffee production: genetic tracing reveals that over 98% of the world's cultivated Arabica varieties can trace their lineage directly back to these ancient Yemeni seeds.