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Black Plum, Lychee, Marmalade, Rose, Vanilla

Story Behind the Coffee

Yahya Allahaba is one of the most prolific coffee growers in Yemen, a regular participant (and winner) at Best of Yemen, and producer of some of Yemen’s highest rated coffees. He belongs to Bait Alal community in Hayma Kharijiya region. Yahya’s family history is enmeshed with coffee cultivation, going back to almost 10 generations. He lost his father early in life. Yahya was a single child, with apart from his mother, he had no living relatives. Thinking back to those trying times, he ponders, “it almost felt like we almost lost everything when we lost him”. But his mother stepped up to the task. She shouldered and oversaw the well-being of the expansive fields, while raising him single-handedly, until he came of age and took over the farm himself. Seeing how his mother played such a pivotal role in his life, Yahya remembers her fondly and respectfully. “She taught me everything I know today; from cultivating the trees, the pruning and shearing, and cherry picking. I would often practice with her on the farm. She stood by my side until I was smart enough to handle the farm, old enough to get married and settled enough to start my own family.” Such was their bond and collective love for coffee that Yahya’s mother continued working on the field beside him till she passed away a few years ago. He takes immense pride in her. “She was the strongest person I ever knew. She made me the man I am today.” About the farm, Yahya says, “It was my great grandfather who planted and documented the trees I use today. Some of these trees are over 250 years old! Back in the day, when I was a child, we used to face harassment on a daily basis. People were trying to take over our farmland, or interfere with our water supply.” He adds cheekily, “But I am standing here today, and the bullies are not!” As a regular on Best of Yemen, we ask him if he has a secret. “I think about my coffee trees all the time: what do they need? How can I grow coffee better? And I mean all the time. Coffee is the first thought I have when I wake up, and it is the thought I go to bed with. Always! That is how I am able to grow such good coffee.” “My siblings work in the city, but I want to pass on my coffee expertise and assets to my children. After all, this is my family’s legacy."