Do you think mocha is really just coffee with hot chocolate?

Days go by and time passes like flowing water.

Today, when I was asked about the year and date by chance, I realized that the year 2017 is almost coming to an end.

In the fast-paced city, we are like running a relay race, racing against time, but forgetting that we can never be faster than it.

There were several intermittent heavy rains at the beginning of September, but now the dark clouds have faded and we can finally see the clear sky that we haven't seen for many days.

We sit in the office and keep typing away on the keyboard, turning cup after cup of coffee into the only stimulant that keeps our bodies functioning. But as we sip the coffee, we have never truly gotten to know it.

Today I will talk about Mocha coffee.

Do you think mocha coffee is still coffee with hot chocolate added?

Origin of Mocha

Mocha, this magical coffee with a sweet chocolate flavor, has a long history beyond your imagination.

The mocha coffee that people drink today with chocolate syrup or cocoa powder is like a fake luxury bag in the eyes of coffee experts. The price of real mocha coffee is 3-4 times that of ordinary boutique coffee.

And there is only one place that produces mocha coffee, and that is Mokha, a small coastal city in Yemen that is ravaged by war.

In the early 17th century, the first batch of Yemeni coffee was exported to Europe through the ancient small port of Mocha, which amazed the Europeans.

Because all exported coffee sacks had to be printed with the mark "MOCHA" to prove that they were shipped from the port of Mocha, Europeans called the delicious coffee shipped from the port of Mocha "Mocha coffee", which is why Mocha became synonymous with coffee in the early days.

Ethiopia, which is separated from Yemen by a sea, also exports coffee through the port of Mocha, so Ethiopian sun-dried coffee is often called Mocha.

Yemeni Mocha is the originator of the world's coffee trade. Yemen has made an indispensable contribution to the promotion of delicious coffee to the world. It is called "Arabia Coffee", which is also the origin of the later name "Original Arabica".

Geographical environment

Yemen's geographical environment is not very advantageous. Located in the Arabian Peninsula, desert, drought and storm are another kind of scenery. Just like the countries hidden in North Africa and West Asia, it is full of dry Gobi and desert. Although it is located on the coast of the Red Sea, it still maintains the most complete Arab tradition.

Such geography and environment have created the unique Yemeni Mocha. The coffee here grows in arid mountainous areas without any chemical fertilizers or pesticides. Some farmers even pick the coffee berries directly after they dry on the trees.

Mocha flavor

Yemeni Mocha coffee has distinct flavor characteristics, special taste, and varied layers. It has a strong sour taste, the kind of pleasant fruity acidity, and a distinct chocolate flavor. The stronger the coffee, the easier it is to taste the chocolate flavor.

So in order to better experience the unique taste of Yemeni Mocha coffee, people now add hot chocolate to coffee to make fancy Mocha coffee.

Mocha coffee beans

Mocha beans are smaller and rounder than most coffee beans and are a light green in color, which makes them look more like peas.

The appearance of Mocha coffee beans is similar to that of Ethiopian Harar coffee beans. They are small in size, high in acidity, and mixed with a strange and indescribable fermentation flavor.

Due to low production and dwindling coffee plantations, Yemeni Mocha is becoming increasingly popular, but it is difficult to taste authentic Yemeni Mocha in ordinary coffee shops.

Seeing this, we realize that everything is not as simple as it seems. Many things we don’t know have become “false knowledge” because of hearsay.

It turns out that the cultural and historical heritage contained in a cup of coffee requires us to spend a lot of time to think carefully and explore.