The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1908-05-03
TELL WHERE We
GET OUR MOCHA.
Department of Agriculture Issues
Circular of Information
on Subject
Times Dispatch Bureau.
Munsey Building.
Washington, d. C., May 2,

sF Washington, ID. c., May 2.
The Board of Food and Drug 1nspec-
tors. Department. OF Agriculture, has
Just decided what the term Mocha"
shall mean when applied to coffee. The
that the term .'hiocha," rs applied to
coffee. shall be restricted to coffee
grown in that part OF Arabia, north and
east OF Hodeidah, known as Yemen.
los Because OF the commercial value of
the true Mocha bean 1t became neces-
sary for the board, acting under the
pure food law to indicate the restric-
tions which should be placed upon the
coffees put on the market and sold I'M
+ der the name of Mocha" After fully
considering the matter and correspon-
dence with the consular agent OF the
United states Mt Alden, the board decid
g ed as stated above. The consular agent
IA In his letter discusses Mocha coffee In
an interesting way. He says:
"'rhe Mocha coffee is produced In that
district of Southern Arabia known as
Yemen The latter is n strip Of terri
tory commencing at point on the Red
Sea, little north of the port OF
Iiodeidal, and extending first southeast
to the Strait of Babel Mandeb and
then east nearly to Alden. Yemen Is,
with tho exception OF narrow fringe
Of land along the Red Sea and the Gulf
OF Alden, rugged and mountainous, en-
bracing innumerable small. elevated
valleys OF high fertility which are irri-
gated by water from tho melting
SHOWS. This is the coffee district of
Arabia
THE term Mocha was bestowed upon
yemen coffee early in the last century.
when Mocha was the port from which
all Arabian coffee was shipped
The formation of huge sandbars In
the Red Sea off Mocha. practically bar
ring gu. all shipping. caused the port to
be abandoned. and It's trade went to
1todeidah and .sden, the bulk OF 1t go
Ing to the latter place.
LAS al of the coffee raised in Yemen
may properly be called Mocha coffee,
all coffee shipped from the port of
Eodeidah comes within such classifi-
cation. With regard to that exported
from Alden, however. the case is some
what different. There Is coffee grown
In the upland regions of Abyssinia, In
the vicinity of -iarrar. which is known
locally and to the coffee trade Of The
world as 'Longberry' or 'Harrar,' In con-
trast with that of Mocha. which is
some times called the 'Shortberry The
CclOTS Oh pOlii SolleeS dlG 0ClIIdiiS
the same. but the Abyssinian product
has raw, rank. leathery odor. while
that of the berry grown in Arabia is
delicate and agreeable. The Harrar
berry is much longer that the Mocha
one, besides being much less regular in
form.
While considerable quantity of
Abyssinian coffee is brought to Alden
for shipment to Europe and to the Unit
ed States, 1t is doubtful whether very
little OF 1t. If any, is exported as being
Mocha coffee, the local merchants as a
rule dealing in both grades OF coffee
and being very careful of the reputa-
ton of their houses. In Alden the only
way In which a dishonest dealer might
adulterate Mocha coffee would be by
mixing it with the Abyssfnian article.
Such proceeding would be at best but
II clumsy fraud and would be readily
md rapidly detected. 1t is safe to say
that practically all of the coffees ship
ped directly from Hodeidah or Alden to
the United States and labeled Mocha
are pure and unadulterated."