Yemeni Coffee Trade

Timeline

1. c. 1581–1584Sana'a highlands · YemenArabica coffee was grown on terraces in Yemen's northern and central highlands; cherries were sun-dried or washed and carried south by camel caravan to Taiz and Mocha, with local sheikhs and merchants controlling supply from the growing regions.
2. c. 1584–1587Mocha · YemenMocha was the Red Sea's sole major coffee export port; Indian and Ottoman merchants shipped from here, coffee traded under the name "Mocha beans," and port tariffs and warehousing were collected by the local ruler.
3. c. 1587–1590Cairo · EgyptCoffee was carried north via Jeddah and Suez to Cairo, where coffeehouse culture flourished and spread along Ottoman trade routes to Istanbul, becoming spaces for urban sociability and information exchange.