Al-Manshiya, Yemen

Origin

• 🇾🇪 Yemen

Tasting notes

Character

• Experimental
  50
• Funky
  40

Among all the Yemeni lots we bought this year, Al-Manshiya is easily the loudest. This coffee knocked us back the moment we tasted it. Peach blossom, candied-cranberry, hints of floral, and honeyed-sweetness overflows from the cup, with a clarity and intensity we haven’t experienced many times. And with a roast we absolutely nailed, every vibrant note comes through with precision. It is grown in Ans, Dhamar, Yemen, on high-elevation terraced farms (1,900–2,100m) where centuries of farming heritage, resilient families, and traditional methods yield coffee shaped by mountainous terrain and limited water resources. A rare Kent varietyVariety (cultivar)The botanical subtype of the coffee plant — Gesha, Bourbon, SL28 — analogous to grape varieties in wine. A major driver of cup character alongside origin and process., historically identified in India but genetically rooted in Yemen’s early TypicaTypicaThe oldest cultivated arabica lineage, ancestor of most Latin American coffee. Low yield, clean and sweet cup; the baseline other varieties are measured against. BourbonBourbonOne of the two foundational arabica varieties (with Typica), named after Île Bourbon (Réunion). Sweet, balanced, caramel-leaning; parent of countless modern cultivars. lineage, it transformed here through the advanced Alchemy XCI process, a layered progression of aerobic, carbonic macerationAnaerobic fermentationCherries or depulped seeds ferment in sealed, oxygen-free tanks. Produces intense, unusual flavors — cinnamon, bubblegum, boozy fruit — that divide opinion., and anaerobic fermentations followed by ultra-slow drying. Selected for the prestigious 90+ Series, this lot is a breathtaking fusion of heritage, innovation, and expressive flavor. If you have the opportunity, we strongly recommend trying all four Yemeni coffees we purchased this year to experience the full rainbow of flavors Yemen has to offer. No other coffee-growing country produces profiles quite like these, and this past harvest was one of the most remarkable we have ever tasted.