FLAVOUR PROFILE

Peach Blossom, Orange Peel, Apple & Pear, Caramel Fudge

Bani Ofair

In the central highlands of Dhamar, at 1,800 metres above sea level, Bani Ofair is home to around fifty farming families whose lives are anchored in coffee. Remote and rugged, with limited infrastructure, the community has nonetheless earned recognition for producing coffees of distinction, shaped by persistence, collaboration, and generations of knowledge passed down through the terraces.

Bani Ofair has been a key focus of Qima Coffee’s seedling distribution programme, receiving genetically verified varieties that enhance resilience and productivity. Alongside Yemenia and SL34, the region is one of the few places in Yemen where the Kent variety is cultivated.

First identified in India in the 1920s by British planter L. Kent, the Kent cultivar gained early prominence for its resistance to coffee leaf rust, a disease that devastated global coffee production. Genetic research shows that Kent traces its lineage to Yemen’s Typica-Bourbon population, carried across oceans through Yemen’s southern ports in the 17th and 18th centuries. Its Yemeni genetic roots, often obscured by colonial-era naming, highlight Yemen’s pivotal role in shaping the foundations of Arabica coffee worldwide. In Bani Ofair’s highland terraces, Kent continues to thrive in the land from which its ancestors were first taken.

This year’s naturally processed Kent lot embodies that history. It balances floral aromatics with bright fruit character and a deep, confectionary sweetness, reflecting both the variety’s resilience and the unique conditions of Dhamar’s highlands. For Bani Ofair’s farmers, it is not only a crop but an inheritance and a legacy they continue to preserve for generations to come.

Coffee here is more than a livelihood; it is a cultural centrepiece. Families begin each morning with a shared cup, and during harvest, farmers gather to taste and evaluate one another’s lots. This practice strengthens community bonds while fostering a shared pursuit of quality that has become a hallmark of the region.