The Magical Beans Of Al Mokha In Yemen

 

There are a huge number of people in every corner of the world who are addicted to coffee, from opening their eyes and crawling out of bed for a hot cuppa to drinking this beverage whole day till they hit the sack again .The legend has it that the magical beans were discovered by the Sufi mystics in the vibrant and warm land of Yemen.

Al-Mukha or Mocha and المُخا in Arabic , is a port city on the Red Sea coast of Yemen , it is considered the house of coffee,  the name Mokha which later got fame as Mocha aswell is named after this historically rich city of Yemen.Today there are many who claim the monopoly on this dark brew , but it is said that it was the Yemenies or land of Yemen who introduced coffee beans to the world, when the magical beans left the shores of Yemen, the Ottomans taught the Europeans how to make and drink coffee and later when their colonialism started to spread,  so does their interest in the magical beans , the coffee plants were smuggled out of Yemen and planted in the newly occupied tropical colonies for consumption by the colonial masters.

Furthermore the legend continues with ,Initially coffee leaves were used like the tea leaves but the caffeine content of the leaves was insignificant.  Then the coffee cherries were tasted. That tradition is still practiced in Yemen and it is called Qishr coffee.Coffee cherries were better in jolts but it was soon found that the beans were even better.so much so that the coffee quickly became the main crop in Yemen and its coffee trading port Mocha is still a famous name in coffee consumption. Yemen maintained a virtual monopoly in coffee cultivation and trade for almost two hundred years.

Something about this art, this is to share the beauty of Yemen , an illustration of old architecture in yemen , the ruins and history standing tall in the land full of ancient history and diversity,Yemen always gives a feeling of travelling back to the past, the warm weather and sun kissed atmosphere is balmy.One can always hold a warm cup of Mocha or Mokha coffee and while sipping it day dream about the stories and history that once lived in that historically rich region.