Yemen: Northern Crown, Khulani

Yemen holds the distinction of being Earth’s first coffee cultivation territory, with seeds originally rooted in Ethiopian arabica landraces and a tradition that shaped the earliest commercial coffee trade. In the northern highlands of Sa’adah Governorate, coffee remains closely tied to family scale agriculture, where legacy growers maintain terraced plots and rely on generations old methods to farm in rugged mountain conditions. Northern Crown Khulani is cultivated by small farmers connected through the Khulani Coffee Society for Agricultural Development (KCSAD), a grower coalition spanning Sa’adah that supports farm investment and stronger quality standards across harvest and post harvest work. This lot is naturally processed, using careful hand picking, sorting, and sun drying on raised beds or rooftops, a method that suits the region’s climate and preserves character from heirloom varieties. Even amid ongoing conflict, these communities continue producing coffees valued worldwide, sustaining both an economic lifeline and a living cultural tradition.