Alchemy Peaberry - Wadi Mahyad

Impressions: yellow plum, watermelon, chantilly, hops
Roast degree: 2/5

Country: Yemen
Governate: Al Mahwit
Village: Wadi Mahyad
Varietal: Yemenia
Process: Peaberry (natural)
Partner importer: Qima Coffee

ONLY 25 x 250g & 10 x 100g available!

Our second Yemeni peaberry launch of the year (read more about it in our newest article) is a funky, delicious one. It also comes from a group of female producers (see the Women Alchemy Lot). The small hamlet of Wadi Mahyad is a coffee village within the prolific Mahwit region and, thanks to fertile a soil and abundant water supply (a rarity in the country), produces truly stellar lots.

In Mahwit, eighty percent of the women are directly involved in coffee production. These women handle about sixty percent of the coffee cultivation, a true testament to their vital role in an industry that sustains the community.

Historically, these women were confined to secondary roles and their contributions remained largely unrecognized. In recent years, Qima has taken significant steps to support women farmers of the region by introducing focused training programs. They also supported the training of ten female farmers to form a dedicated women’s coffee cooperative. This cooperative represents a turning point, ensuring that the vital contributions of women are formally recognised and celebrated. The cooperative serves as a platform for collaboration, exchange of knowledge and stands as a symbol of the collective resolve of Mahwit’s women.

This is one of many lots from that new community we committed to at the end of 2023. We decided to divest money from an importer whose values didn't align with ours, and reinvesting with our long time partner Qima in this small community felt pretty good. This yemenia varietal, a new mother population identified only in 2020, shows the amazing genetic potential of coffee. It is no surprise that this varietal is only present in Yemen: 98% of all coffee varietals can be traced back to the country.

Mahwit region is quite cut off and it's hard to find Mahwiti coffee. With the right processing, Qima found the coffee can be excellent and they have been working with smallholders from Wadi Mahyad to access the market with more of their coffees, helping them fetch higher prices (see our transparency report). One of the ways they are involved with farmers was to isolate the peaberry seeds, who are often discarded and sold locally due to their small size. A good, well process peaberry lot offers a bright and complex profile while giving farmers a little extra income.

Less than three years ago, Qima distributed seedlings in the region and have been interviewing farmers to see how these seedlings were performing. Volumes per tree are up by 50% this year across the community, a great news for farmers!

Mahwit’s journey from neglect to promise testifies to the perseverance, innovation, and community spirit of the region.