Tag: Best of Yemen 2025

Yemeni Coffee Achieves Record Heights at the Best of Yemen 2025 Auction

Posted on by Qahwa World

Dubai – September 2025 (Qahwa World) – The Best of Yemen 2025 auction, organized by Qahwa Al Qimma (Qima Coffee), has come to a historic close after two days of global bidding that stretched across 12 intense hours. The event not only broke price records but also highlighted the resilience of Yemeni farmers and the global demand for their unique coffees.

The auction witnessed unprecedented participation, with servers overwhelmed after 11 hours of bidding and forced into a temporary pause. When resumed the following day, just one more hour of spirited competition was enough to crown this year’s winners.

The Top Lots

1st Place: Yahya Al Faqeeh, offering the rare Yemenia variety processed naturally, achieved the highest price of the auction at $851.50 per pound for 37 lbs. The winning buyer was Black Sip Coffee Roasters, securing one of the most expensive Yemeni coffees in history.

2nd Place: Maghrib Ans XV (Kent, Alchemy process), 110 lbs, sold for $320.50/lb to Sulalat.

3rd Place: Hejrat Al Ain Women Farmers XV (Yemenia, Alchemy process), 88 lbs, reached $327.50/lb, purchased by Albhaa Roastery and Out of Line.

4th Place: Bait Yaseen XI (Yemenia, Alchemy process), 110 lbs, sold for $196.50/lb to Entro Coffee Egypt and ESS’s Roasters Saudi Arabia.

Women Farmers in the Spotlight

Women-led lots stole the spotlight this year. Coffees from Hejrat Al Ain, Hayma Dakhiliya, Bait Al Yaziji, and Al Mezab all ranked among the top positions, underscoring the growing role of Yemeni women in shaping the country’s specialty coffee renaissance.

Global Buyers

Bidders came from across the Middle East, Asia, Europe, and North America. Notable names included George Howell Coffee Company (USA), Slope Roastery (Saudi Arabia), Andes Coffee Roaster (Latin America), and several specialty roasters from China and Europe. The diversity of buyers confirmed Yemen’s status as a global benchmark for rare and exclusive coffees.

Auction Figures

Total lots: 33

Total weight: 2,857 lbs

Total value: $391,632

Average price (weighted): $137.08/lb

Median price: $109/lb

Highest price: $851.50/lb

Lowest price: $50.50/lb

Lots over $100/lb: 21

In its closing statement, the organizer said: “This milestone is not only about record prices—it is about the resilience of Yemeni coffee and the farming communities behind it. The unwavering commitment of our buyers and partners makes these moments possible year after year.”

The Best of Yemen 2025 auction was more than a commercial success; it was a cultural milestone. It brought together farmers cultivating coffee in the mountains of Yemen with roasters across the globe, uniting two ends of a shared story: those who grow coffee at its birthplace and those who bring it to the world’s cups.

Living Legacy: Yemen’s Coffee Farmers Shine in Best of Yemen 2025

Posted on by Qahwa World

Dubai / Sana’a – August 2025 (Qahwa World) – The mountains of Yemen have spoken once again. The Best of Yemen 2025 auction has revealed its winners: 33 rare coffees, each carrying the taste of history and the strength of survival. This year’s theme, Living Legacy, honors the people, practices, and places that have kept Yemeni coffee alive for more than five centuries.

At the summit stands Yahya Al Faqeeh, a farmer from Al Jidan in Hayma Kharijiya. His Yemenia natural, just 37 pounds in total, scored 90.45 points—the highest of the competition. In his cup: jasmine, yellow lily, peach, macerated strawberry, blueberry gummies, and green apple. Behind it is a family tradition stretching back three centuries, with women at the heart of harvest and terraces carved into stone that have endured drought, pests, and time itself.

He is joined by other remarkable producers: Maghrib Ans XV (90.29), a Kent variety shaped through Qima’s Alchemy fermentation; Hejrat Al Ain Women Farmers XV (90.16), a women-led lot grown at 2,300m; and Bait Yaseen XI (90.16), a community coffee that blends history with floral vibrancy.

This year, women played a defining role. Fourteen of the winning lots—42 percent—came from women farmers, either through individual entries or collective groups. From Hejrat Al Ain to Al Mezab, their stories echo sacrifice and determination: planting seedlings instead of qat, selling gold to buy new trees, and working from dawn to dusk so their children inherit both terraces and tradition.

The auction also highlighted Yemen’s unique balance of tradition and innovation. Natural processes preserved terroir at its purest, Alchemy lots introduced layers of clarity and sweetness, and Carbonic Honey, represented by Bani Zaidan, added rare vibrancy while conserving water.

From 12 highland villages, perched between 1,800 and 2,300 metres, these coffees are more than agricultural products—they are monuments of endurance. Each terrace tells a story of families who, against scarcity and isolation, continue to farm the world’s most legendary coffee.

On 18 September 2025, buyers worldwide will compete for these treasures at the seventh edition of the Best of Yemen auction, held in collaboration with the Alliance for Coffee Excellence. For them, it will be a chance to secure rare coffees of unmatched flavour. For Yemen, it is another chapter in a legacy written across mountains, families, and centuries.

Because Yemeni coffee is not just grown. It is lived.