ANCIENT SAGE, Yemen

This offering hails from the arid highlands of Yemen, a land both storied and scarred, where coffee first drew breath. It is a rare and solemn privilege to present a lot cultivated through the quiet labour of al-Mashtal al-Burhani, an organisation whose name translates to “the nursery,” yet whose work bears the weight of generational transformation.

al-Mashtal al-Burhani operates under the Social Upliftment Department of the Dawoodi Bohra community. In a land long ravaged by war and hardship, their mission is not one of profit, but of restoration. Years ago, the late Dr. Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin, revered spiritual head of the community, called upon his people in Yemen to turn away from the cultivation of Qaat, a crop with destructive consequences for both soil and spirit. In its place, he urged the replanting of what once flourished: the sacred Coffea Arabica. Between 2009 and 2012, volunteers from around the world heeded his call, travelling to Yemen to uproot Qaat and lay the groundwork for a return to coffee.

Today, that vision endures under the stewardship of his successor and son, Dr. Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin. Through al-Mashtal al-Burhani, a quiet revolution in agriculture is taking hold. This organisation does far more than distribute saplings. It supports Yemen’s smallholder farmers from root to harvest, offering education through al-Madrasa tul-Bunn, the School of Coffee, where farmers are trained in refined growing practices. The nursery itself tends young coffee plants with great vigilance, offering them for sale or freely to those unable to afford them.

When the dry season strips the land of moisture, water is supplied or sourced with assistance. Each farm’s harvest is examined in a dedicated laboratory, with feedback returned to the grower, not for criticism but refinement. All of this is done without pursuit of profit. Any revenue from coffee sales is returned to the farmers, anchoring the effort in a spirit of trust and dignity.

The lot before you would not have crossed seas were it not for the enduring efforts of Murtaza Pishori, director of Saify Burhani, whose work in bridging the worlds of producer and roaster has made this exchange possible. His role has been pivotal in making such offerings accessible outside Yemen, where the country’s treasures too often remain unseen and unsought. It is through his stewardship that we are able to share this remarkable lot, a fragment of devotion, defiance, and the enduring spirit of Yemeni coffee.