{"id":39808,"date":"2024-06-18T19:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-18T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/?p=39808"},"modified":"2024-06-18T09:00:41","modified_gmt":"2024-06-18T13:00:41","slug":"coffee-matters-how-a-forgotten-middle-eastern-bean-is-being-revived-in-the-states","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/food\/2024\/06\/18\/coffee-matters-how-a-forgotten-middle-eastern-bean-is-being-revived-in-the-states\/","title":{"rendered":"Coffee Matters: How a Forgotten Middle Eastern Bean is Being Revived in the States"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Looking through the annals of coffee history two countries stand out for their massive influence on bringing the world the beloved bean. Ethiopia<\/a> and Yemen<\/a> have competing claims as the first nation to make coffee. But while Ethiopia has continued to churn out beans of the highest quality Yemeni coffee has nearly dropped off the map entirely. It is but one side effect of nation\u2019s many armed conflicts.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since obtaining modern independence in the early 20th<\/sup> century, Yemen has found itself in one form of strife after another. Beginning in 2014, the current war in Yemen is the latest blight on country\u2019s once stirring reputation. Gone are talk of coffee and ancient ruins, violence now being the nation\u2019s most common claim to fame. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One person hoping to change that state-of-affairs is Ameen Ali Alrumaim. His lifelong experience with the Yemeni bean dates to a childhood spent in Haraz.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

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Photo credit Greg Reese source Pixabay<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cCoffee means everything to us. My earliest memories are of my stepmom boiling coffee and drinking it with our breakfast. That\u2019s what you\u2019d call a classic Yemeni morning,\u201d he said.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a child, he learned firsthand from his grandfather how to harvest coffee. The two of them would pick coffee cherries together and lay them out to dry in the sun. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI would eat some and they were so sweet, with syrup covering the bean from the inside. That taste has always stuck with me.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After leaving his village and heading for the capital Sana\u2019a, Alrumaim would first work at coffee shops in 2004. At the time, the city\u2019s coffee shops had a great reputation around the Middle East. But something was not quite right.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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