Some four centuries ago small quantities of this coffee with a very fine flavor, grown on the hillsides surrounding the town, were exported through this port. It was the first coffee enjoyed by Europeans. Soon after, all imports from Arabia were classified as Mochas. The tiny Yemen crop is now shipped through the ports of Aden and Hodeida. Coffee production has become less important to Yemen in recent years.
Production is relatively small and only a fraction of that is exported to other countries.
Yemen Mocha coffee is cultivated and processed today much as it has been for centuries. Lack of rain necessitates the maintenance of irrigation systems designed to provide the trees with controlled constant moisture. The relative dryness of the soil and air results in the production of a bean that is small and extremely hard. All of Yemen's tiny crop is processed by the dry method, and much of it, in fact, is permitted to dry on the tree before picking and hulling. Again, it is the dry hot air that permits this unusual, but in this case, advantageous technique.