Yemen and Ethiopia have long contended for the distinction of being the source of coffee. The first written text referring to coffee is believed to have come from Sufi monks in Yemen in southern Arabia but in Africa, the oral storytelling of Kaldi the Ethiopian goat herder, who fed his flock coffee and watched as they reacted to the beans before deciding to try it himself, long pre-dates the written text of Yemen. We believe Ethiopia to be the source of coffee; however, Yemen is recognized as being instrumental in bringing coffee to the World from their port of Mokha in the middle of the fifteenth century.
Mokha 1450 is the ‘Heart of Coffee’
MOKHA 1450 goes back to the source focusing heavily on the twin origins of coffee; Ethiopia and Yemen to emphasize where all coffee comes from and where coffee begins its journey to its drinkers across the World. We provide our connoisseurs with unique experience by sourcing coffees that limited in quantity and are exclusive to us that can be found only at Mokha 1450 and nowhere else in the world, hence the “Boutique” in our name. Most importantly, we also provide our connoisseurs with a strong link to the forgotten people; the coffee farmer; primarily women, living sometimes in poverty and doing the exceptionally hard and thankless work of providing coffee; one of the most globally consumed products in history.
Our philosophy is an attempt to do coffee the right way in providing a model where the end user and the farmer share more equitably in the burdens and rewards in producing an amazing cup of coffee. As most people are unaware of Yemen’s historical significance in bringing coffee to the world, so too are the present day drinkers of coffee unaware of the contribution from female farmers all over the world in producing coffee for global consumption. Women, who generally do most of the labor, represent and create 90% of the coffee value chain but constitute a woeful 5% ownership and management within the coffee supply industry.
We at Mokha 1450 aim to radically change this statistic. We have discovered that, to secure exceptional coffees ethically on a consistent basis is to pay a fair price that equitably compensates the famers for their hard work or embarking on a collaborative approach with the female farmers as the situation dictates to help them overcome some of the country specific burdens that have held them back in the past. We have started from the heart of coffee, ethically sourcing from women’s cooperatives such as our exceptionally driven female coffee farmer Fatimah Khabeer in Yemen.
In working with Fatimah Khabeer in Yemen we have establish exemplary standards and a level of consistency that is generally elusive to Yemeni coffee through training and working with our in country partners to assist with quality control as well as through providing investments where needed. The result of this collaboration is that we have secured tremendous high quality coffee that we have closely monitored from harvest to export.
Additionally, we have been lucky to source exceptional coffee from Ms. Asnakech Thomas in Ethiopia. An incredible one of a kind self made and entirely financially independent female coffee entrepreneur and farmer, Ms. Thomas single handedly created, developed, and manages the world renowned Amaro Gayo coffee brand in the Ethiopian farming region of her childhood where she also founded several important social organizations in support of the local community. Ms. Thomas intuitive and ingenious harvesting and processing methods and an obsessive focus on quality allows for one of the most prestigious coffees that have obtained ninety plus Specialty Coffee cupping scores.
Partnering with these incredible women as well as other female cooperatives around the world creates the foundation for long standing relationships where we can contribute to their efforts by paying a price that is more commensurate with their efforts and allows for the building of vital resources such as further employment and increased education opportunities for their communities.
Our motivation is to continuously source Specialty coffees from additional female cooperatives, in other coffee growing regions around the world.