Our Story
Strengthening our homeland and the people within it is our responsibility, our motivation, our pride and our pleasure.
The Sheba Coffee team has its roots embedded in Yemen. We have passion for coffee and combine it with a love for the region. As our rich, fertile earth nourishes the finest coffee ever grown, we seek to sustainably nourish our country in return, especially during its times of unrest and conflict.
Traceability and sustainability a must, from cherry to cup. We work directly with farmers to ensure ethical trade practices are employed. We connect these skilled farmers with a global network of buyers, investing in the infrastructure they need to succeed and work in partnership to deliver socio-economic progress. As we steep in centuries of farmers’ inherited wisdom, we in turn provide training and tools to achieve their best ever yields.
Our unique global presence allows us to provide coffee connoisseurs with the most extraordinary coffee with the rarest, richest flavours you can imagine.
To reawaken the world to our magnificent ancient coffee beans, one cup at a time
A Potted History
We have been blessed to inherit our heritage from the ancient Kingdom of Sheba, and now we are dedicated to building a new legacy for Yemen's future.
Ruled by the legendary Queen of Sheba – or Saba (سباء) – was a Southern Arabian kingdom which stretched from today’s Yemen all the way to Ethiopia. It is this land from which coffee originated in the 15th century and where we take our name.
The earliest credible evidence shows that late in 1450 Yemeni Sufi monks were the first to make the coffee drink as we know it today, discovering its beans, when roasted and ground, made a delicious energizing drink. Word quickly spread and coffee was exported across the Middle East from Yemen’s Port of Mocha (al-Makha) eventually to Europe and the rest of the world. Up till the 17th/18th century, Yemen was the world’s sole exporter of coffee read more
Our Farmers, Our Family, Our Community
The Sheba Coffee network is comprised of small, family-owned farms, some covering less than 100 square meters. This ensures all Sheba Coffee cherries are selected with incredible care and attention.
Furthermore, our model allows those families to maintain complete ownership of their businesses, get fairly compensated and make sure that their own legacy continues to thrive.
To showcase the full range of Yemen’s farming landscape, our single-source beans are harvested from a range of farms, altitudes, soils using traditional methods. This results in a cornucopia of incredible sumptuous flavors, from comforting chocolate and dried fruits to vibrant, zesty citrus notes, as well as floral, berry, peach and melon essences.
Sustainability & Social Responsibility
We Pay Farmers Fairly
Ethical trading and paying our farmers fairly are the cornerstones of our Sheba Coffee values. We purchase our coffee at more than 300% over what traditional traders would pay and additional to this there is an incentives system which increases the final payment to over 340%. We do our best to sustain and scale our activities with our farmers from proving new plants through to growing these plants and finally to selling the crop for the value they deserve.
We Work With NGOs to Create Positive Change
NGOs: SMEPS, PRAGMA
INGOs: Food and Agriculture Organization
USAID: Yemen Economic Stabilization and Success
Sheba Coffee Accreditations
We have received an honorary award and certificate from the Ministry of Agriculture, and a trophy on International Coffee Day.