Coffee's original terraces, still farmed by hand.
QAHWATEA sources organic arabica from smallholder terraces above 2,000 metres in western Yemen, where coffee has grown since before the word existed in any other language.
600+ yrs
continuous cultivation in the Haraz region
2,000m
average terrace elevation
Sun-dried
natural process, no washing stations
Steep ground, old trees, small harvests
In the Haraz mountains, coffee trees share narrow stone terraces with qat and fruit trees, watered mostly by mist and seasonal rain. Many trees are decades old, tended by the same families for generations.
There is no room here for large plantations. A terrace might hold a few dozen trees, harvested by hand into woven baskets, then carried down the mountain on foot or by donkey.
Four terraces, four cups
Udaini
Bani Matar district
Dense, low-yield tree grown above 2,100m. Winey acidity, notes of dried fig and cardamom.
Mattari
Al Haymah highlands
Yemen’s most traded heirloom. Deep body, dark chocolate, a long spiced finish.
Tuffahi
Sana’a plateau terraces
Named for its apple-like sweetness. Brighter cup, floral, lighter roast recommended.
Yafi
Southern highland slopes
Rustic and full-bodied, with a tobacco-and-molasses character that suits darker roasts.
Farm to cup in four steps
Every lot follows the same dry, natural process used in Yemen for centuries — no washing stations, no shared machinery between farms.
01
Hand harvest
Ripe cherries picked one by one across steep, uneven terrace rows.
02
Rooftop drying
Whole cherries dried in the sun on rooftops and stone terraces for two to three weeks.
03
Hand hulling
Dried husks removed by hand or small mechanical huller, then sorted by density.
04
Lot separation
Beans kept separate by terrace and harvest week, never blended before roasting.
Organic, verified at origin
No synthetic fertiliser or pesticide is used on any partner terrace — most farms simply never adopted them.