Visiting Port of Mokha’s site is almost too much- the history lesson, the harrowing escape, the impossible praise across the board from luminaries of the coffee world. I’ve never been so precious in preparing 4 oz. of coffee beans, and was rewarded with the best cups of coffee I’ve ever had.
At $12/oz., even most of the coffee 1% won’t be replacing their subscriptions with Port of Mokha on the regular. But if you’re a coffee aficionado, definitely treat yourself at some point, or at least make it the next thing you gift your friend who keeps telling you you need to buy and grind your beans fresh (they’re right).
It’s not an accident or a surprise that this is the world’s best coffee. Coffee drinking has its historic origins in Yemeni monasteries in the 15th century, and broadly speaking, higher elevations produce better coffee:
Higher elevations produce hard, dense beans... [that] are of a higher quality than soft beans, because they have a higher concentration of sugars, which produce more desired and nuanced flavors. Several factors contribute to the increased concentration of sugars in coffee grown at high elevations:
- harsh growing conditions slow the bean’s maturation process and provide time for complex sugars to develop
- fast drainage down the mountain reduces the amount of water the coffee plants can soak up and, in turn, how fat their cherries can become
- fewer plants survive at higher elevations, reducing the likelihood that disease will spread to coffee plants
- Driftaway, one of our favorite coffee subscriptions services
So if 5000 feet is pretty high, and Yemini coffee is grown at elevations as high as 8200 feet... well, you get the idea. Whether you order beans or make a pilgrimage to a roaster, drink Port of Mokha at some point.