JURY SCORE
Authentication of Coffeea Arabica genetics using DNA fingerprinting technology.
“Don’t give up in times of difficulty”.
Cup profile:
Youssef has been growing coffee since he was a child, originally helping his father on the farm, before growing his own on a farm 3km from his house, in the village of Bait Alal. Youssef is incredibly passionate about coffee, and it makes up much of what he grows. Infact, he’s planning to remove all his qat trees, to make more room for coffee trees. He also grows some almonds and barley.
Coffee is Youssef and his family’s main source of income and he’s very dedicated to making sure it’s tended to properly. Each day he walks to and from the farm - about an hour each way - and during harvest season he sometimes has to stay the night, although his brothers and family help him too.
Youssef is determined to make some of Yemen’s best coffee and is constantly looking to expand his farm and improve the quality of the coffee he grows.
Bait Alal is a village in the region of Hayma Kharijiya, on the west side of Sana’a City. Perched on a mountain top, it has an altitude of 2300 metres and is home to some 300 farming families. The farmers in Bait Alal see the coffee tree as a symbol of pride and they believe that coffee originated from this area. The land has been passed down through the generations, with some of the coffee trees dating back over three hundred years. Due to a harsh climate, the farmers face many growing difficulties, which is one of the reasons for low yields being produced. However, no matter how small the harvest is or how harsh the conditions, the farmers never abandon their coffee trees. Bait Alal is also home to Al Ruwad, Yemen’s largest and most established specialty coffee cooperative, serving 285 families – the equivalent of around 2000 people.
AUGUST 18th
2:00pm BST - London, United Kingdom
6:00am PDT - LA, USA
9:00am EDT - NY, USA
3:00pm CEST - Amsterdam, Netherlands
4:00pm AST - Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
5:00pm GST - Dubai, UAE
9:00pm HKT - Hong Kong, Hong Kong
10:00pm JST - Tokyo, Japan
10:00pm KST - Seoul, South Korea
11:00pm AEST - Sydney, Australia