WHISPERS OF SAND, Yemen

This lot was harvested from the remote highlands of Yemen, where desolation and beauty walk hand in hand, and where the first breath of Coffea Arabica was drawn. Cultivated in the villages of Bani Murrah and Obaraat, this offering is composed of three nanolots grown by Abdullah al-Nadem, Murad al-Jermuzi & Hussein al-Ezzi, farmers bound not only by geography, but by a shared heritage and purpose. At altitudes ranging from 2,200 - 2,300 MASL, these steep and sun-bleached terraces yield coffees of startling clarity and depth.

The farmers involved are all members of the Dawoodi Bohra community, supported by the enduring vision of al-Mashtal al-Burhani, an initiative whose work falls under the Social Upliftment Department of the Dawat-e-Hadiyah. While the nursery’s name speaks softly of cultivation, its mission is rooted in restoration. In a land fractured by war and reduced by years of hardship, al-Mashtal al-Burhani champions a quiet return, replacing fields of Qaat with the fruiting limbs of Arabica.

This transformation began under the guidance of the late Dr. Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin, who implored his followers to revive Yemen’s coffee legacy as an act of spiritual and ecological healing. Between 2009 - 2012, volunteers from across the world came to Yemen, uprooting Qaat and planting saplings of change. That sacred charge continues today under the leadership of his successor, Dr. Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin.

Through al-Mashtal al-Burhani, farmers are not merely given seedlings, they are offered a path forward. The nursery distributes plants freely to those in need, provides agronomic training through al-Madrasa tul-Bunn (the School of Coffee), and assists in water sourcing during the dry season. Each lot is reviewed with care in a dedicated laboratory, where farmers receive feedback not as critique, but as a compass for refinement. Any proceeds from sales are returned to the producers in full, reinforcing a model grounded in dignity, sustainability, and trust.

The coffee itself is a natural-processed blend of Jaadi and Dawayeri, harvested in 2024 at peak ripeness. The cherries were acquired directly from each farmer by Saify Burhani Coffee Traders, who ensured a premium well above market rates and payment delivered in cash, upfront. After harvest, each nanolot was kept isolated, hand-sorted to remove defects and dried on raised beds for two to three weeks. It was only after cupping that the cooperative deemed these three lots worthy of union, not for convenience, but for harmony of profile and strength of volume.

The resulting cup is vivid and layered. Of the mere 27 kilograms produced, only 17 have reached Australian soil. Its presence here is no accident but the result of tireless work by Murtaza Pishori, director of Saify Burhani Coffee Traders. His role has been instrumental in carrying the fruits of this movement across oceans and into the hands of those who seek meaning in the cup.

This lot is more than coffee, it is a fragment of revival, a trace of resilience, and a testament to the sacred duty of cultivation reborn.