In the mountains of Yemen grows some of the most beautiful coffees in the world. This Yemen Haraaz Fresh Al Emadi is grown at an altitude between 1900 and 2240 meters above sea level. The Al Emadi Co-op consists out of 500 farmer families and works together with the Al Ezzi washing mill that handles a solely natural process. Located in the Western Haraaz Sharqi region are numerous coffee plantations that used to function as Qaat farms (a natural narcotic that is popular in the region. Nowadays the Al Emdai Co-op puts all their effort in convincing the farmers to remove the Qaat plants and start growing coffee.

The Out of the Grey package comes with a degassing valve and a Ziplock. The standard size is 12 .oz which translates roughly to 340 grams of coffee. On the front of the package is some information about the coffee such as the region, the name of the coffee, the variety and tasting notes.
When opening the package there is a sweet honey scent that is accompanied by the aroma’s of cookie and red fruit. The coffee is a dark roast and has an equal look to it. The pea berry beans are all cute and small with little to no defects.

As I start grinding the coffee on my Fiorenzato F64 Evo, the aroma’s of chocolate and vanilla come forth as well. This all creates a bouquet of aromas on the nose.

I start brewing the espresso and see the thick, syrupy and brown marbled coffee flow into the cups. The aroma’s fill the room and I take a quick sip of the espresso. The first thing that comes to mind is the winey mouthfeel of this coffee. I slurp oxygen inside, swirl the coffee in my mouth before swallowing and notice a sourness on the sides of my tongue. An explosion of bright acidity can be noticed in my mouth when the coffee is still hot. I take another sip and taste the flavors of cocoa, dark chocolate and hints of cherry fruit and red fruits. These flavors go perfectly with the winey mouthfeel and acidity of this coffee. The aftertaste is fruity sweet with cocoa and lingers for quite a long time.

This coffee is great on a Cappuccino and Flat White since the cocoa and chocolate flavors come forth nicely. It creates a strong chocolate/milk/coffee combination that I quite like. Not all is great however: the fruity notes have faded to the background and are hardly noticed anymore.

I am a big supporter of Yemen coffee; buying Yemen coffee helps the local farmers in financial aid in times of war and the coffee from Yemen is of a high quality. The same go’s for the Haraaz Fresh Al Emadi Pea Berry by Out of the Grey. This coffee will bring rich notes of cocoa, chocolate, red fruit and cherry to your cup. These cocoa and chocolate flavors also make for a great latte based drink such as a Cappuccino or Flat White.
I would like to focus a little more on the winey mouthfeel and the explosion of bright acidity when the coffee is still hot: this is really nice! Well done Out of the Grey!