Twenty-nine green coffees, including two scoring 90+, have been named winners in the 2022 Best of Yemen coffee competition, with an online auction scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 9.
Involving a partnership with Yemen coffee trader Qima Coffee, the Best of Yemen auction was the first coffee auction held under the Private Collection Auction banner of the United States-based nonprofit the Alliance for Coffee Excellence.
Presenting coffee as a potential pathway for peace and prosperity within the country, whose people have suffered from a civil war for nearly eight years, the coffee auction is designed to connect coffee farmers to premium markets. Ten per cent of all proceeds will help Yemeni producers access climate-smart best agricultural practises training, genetically verified varieties and innovative climate adaption strategies, like rainwater catchment and artificial shade through the Qima Foundation.
For 2022, the list of auction coffees reflects three different processing methods: 19 natural process; three “slow dried” process; and seven “alchemy process,” which ACE describes as a combination of pressure, temperature control, gas regulation and managed drying. Aside from two SL28 and one Bourbon varierty of arabica, all the coffees are the “Yemenia” variety.
More than 400 samples from approximately 2,900 farmers countrywide were evaluated by national judges before a tasting panel of 30 coffee specialists from around the world identified the 29 winners.
Fifteen of the 29 winners came from Hayma Kharijiya, a coffee-growing region located in the west of Sana’a where at least 1,000 families grow coffee.
It was a huge surprise for me… I want to now immerse myself in my coffee farms and put all my energy and motivation into improving my quality.
Hifthallah Alhaymi, first-place winner, 2022 Best of Yemen Coffee Competition
