איז # קאַפע ווערט שפּאָרן?

Saudi society is changing rapidly. Women have been allowed, and movie theaters have returned to the kingdom. The international community has, rightly, been supportive of these initiatives, writes Joseph Hammond. 

Yet, there are elements of traditional Saudi society worth preserving, which also need international support. One of these is the country’s unique coffee culture.

Coffee is a permanent fixture of Arabian culture which is served everywhere from small cups at wedding celebrations to gatherings by camp-fires flickering under the starry night sky.

From flat whites to modern concoctions like the beloved pumpkin-spiced latte coffee is now a global phenomenon. Yet, Arabia was once so central to the worldwide coffee trade that the port of Mokha, Yemen gave its name to the chocolatey "mocha coffee" found around the world.

After decades of war, Yemen has only recently having revived its ancient tradition of coffee cultivation. Environmentalists should cheer a Yemeni switch from khat to Coffee. Khat, a chewable leafy green stimulant and a thirsty crop, is contributing to Yemen's water crisis.

Across the border, Saudi Arabia is one of the largest coffee producers of the fabled Arabica coffee. The mountainous region of Jazan, located in the southern-most part which borders Yemen, has been producing "black gold" in the form of prize coffee long before it struck oil.  Khawlani coffee production stretches back over three centuries.

Named after the ancient Arab tribe of Khawlan, the tradition of coffee cultivation has been passed down from generation to generation and is continued today by 700 farmers.

אַדווערטייזמאַנט

Since 2017, the Saudi Heritage Preservation Society has fought to protect the cultivation of the Khawlani bean. Processing the Khawlani bean can be an arduous process. Planted, harvested and processed painstakingly by hand, the Khawlani bean plant can take up to three years to bear fruit. This year the Saudi Heritage Preservation Society has made a formal request to UNESCO for the protection of this ancient Khawlani cultivation method of coffee.

Recognizing Khawlani coffee production comes at a time that other countries are seeking recognition for their unique coffee culture.  Concurrently Italy has asked UNESCO to protect Italian expresso culture. A venture which is somewhat קאָנטראָווערסיאַל in Italy, as recent years has seen a race to the bottom in terms of quality as vendors have sought to keep the price of one euro. Others suggest such a designation will hurt the evolution of expresso. Still, Italy's chances remain relatively high after traditional Napoli pizza preparation received UNESCO protection in 2017.

Coffee is as important to the Islamic world as pizza is to Italian culture (if not more).

Within the Muslim world, coffee is not merely a beverage to be drunk. Once referred to as the "wine of Islam. During the Middle Ages, the Sufis and other pious Muslims would stay up late praying aided by coffee. In doing so, coffee overcame the opposition of some Muslim leaders such as a ban imposed by the Turkish Sultan Murad the Fifth. In 2013, Turkey advocated successfully to have Turkish coffee culture receive יונעסקאָו שוץ.

Similarly, many Christian leaders at first opposed what they saw as a Muslim Trojan horse. Years later then Pope Clement VIII sampled it for the first time and had a change of heart. "This Satan's drink is so delicious that it would be a pity to let the infidels have exclusive use of it" he supposedly said. Today it is the world's stimulant of choice.

Surely, UNESCO in the coming months has many important issues on its plate from protecting historic structures to the development of sustainable cities. Yet, still this  organization and it's Secretary-General, Audrey Azoulay (who is herself of Moroccan origin) - have time for a coffee break.

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