I’m familiar with African and Latin American countries as sources for coffee beans, and have tried several of Columbia Street Roastery’s single origin varieties from countries like Brazil, Guatamala, Ethiopia, Burundi, but I’ve never thought of Yemen as a source of coffee. They currently have beans from Sana’a, Yemen, which according to CSR, can be difficult to get because of dangerous export routes and political instability. The way it’s farmed is rather unique and interesting. From the CSR website:
Coffee from the Saut farmers comes from one of the highest elevation villages, at nearly 2400 masl, where has been farmed on very narrow terraces for generations. Like in other parts of Sana’a, coffee here is grown in the highlands by smallholders terracing the landscape with heirloom cultivars watered through irrigation or stores of water deep underground who then hand-pick and dry the coffee on rooftops and age it inside caverns. The rudimentary processing methods and limitations of space combined with varieties of coffee not found outside of Yemen result in highly diverse and unique cup profiles coming out of this region.
Also, Yemen has been an important coffee-producing region since the 15th century.
You can purchase an eight ounce bag in the store or online now for $30. I’m a big fan of ordering their coffee online, then popping in to pick it up. It’s super fast and easy. Also don’t you love their snazzy new packaging?
Columbia Street Roastery
24 East Columbia Ave
Champaign
M-F 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Sa 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.