FLAVOUR PROFILE

Lemongrass, Nectarine, Guava, Panela, Sweet spices

Bani Zaidan

Perched at 1,800 metres on the mountain slopes of Maghrib Ans, Bani Zaidan is a farming community where coffee is cultivated as a collective endeavour, with families sharing irrigation channels, techniques, and harvest work. This year, their lot stands apart as the only carbonic honey coffee in the auction, a process designed both to respect Yemen’s environmental constraints and to expand its flavour horizons.

The method begins at the farm gate, where Qima’s on-ground team collects selectively hand-harvested cherries and transports them to our dedicated processing facility. After inspection for ripeness and defects, the cherries are transferred into stainless steel tanks, flushed with carbon dioxide to remove oxygen, and fermented under controlled conditions for 36–72 hours. They are then de-pulped without water, leaving the mucilage layer intact, and laid on raised beds to slow-dry for around 25 days before being milled and hand-sorted.

The result is a vivid expression of Kent, a variety with Yemeni genetic roots that has shaped global Arabica history. In this process, Kent takes on new dimensions, delivering a cup with striking clarity, layered fruit complexity, and a long, refined sweetness — a rare intersection of Yemeni heritage, environmental ingenuity, and processing innovation.