Yemen is the primary gateway for coffee to the rest of the world. It was from there, in the 18th century, that the coffee plant began to spread to countries along the equator. This is a well-documented and accepted fact in the history of coffee. So, what new discoveries have emerged in 2020?
After extensive genetic research on coffee trees in Yemen, conducted by a team of specialists from Yemen and abroad, it was found that Yemeni coffee trees contain most of the genetic origins of coffee trees around the world (outside of Ethiopia), thus confirming the history of coffee as reported above.
But as is the nature of great discoveries in any field, chance and unplanned events play a pivotal role in shaping the future, and here is one golden example of that:
In the midst of the research conducted by those scientists on the formation of the genetic tree of the Arabica family, through which it was confirmed that Yemen is the main gateway for the coffee plant, they found the seed of another dazzling discovery, which was through the existence of a genetic group different from any of those found in the rest of the world! A group that exists only in Yemen and under which many strains fall.
This discovery holds great significance for the entire coffee industry, representing one of the most important developments in the last fifty years. It also offers a new dimension in mitigating the effects of climate change, which poses one of the greatest challenges to coffee cultivation in the future. It is worth noting that this discovery is still in its early stages and is currently undergoing verification and scrutiny. The upcoming phases of research are crucial in determining its full impact.
That's the scientific side, but what about the coffee itself? The cup? As part of the Elite Cup organization's activities, the brothers at Summit Coffee provided samples of very special crops they had worked on with Yemeni farmers, some from a newly discovered Yemeni group and some from other well-known groups and strains.
Surprisingly, the blind evaluation conducted by the tasters' committee gave the newly discovered (Yemeni) genetic group the top positions without competition, all within samples considered to be among the best in the world!
Photos from one of the farms where the new genetic group was grown... Yemeni
