Fortuna Roaster Series: A History of Moka Java
William Barton, Head Roaster | Fortuna Enterprises, LLC
For the month of March, we chose to dive deeper into a classic blend we’ve been roasting for several years: our delicious and well-loved Moka Java blend. Our Moka Java is based off of a rich history of coffee blending, the roots of which can be traced as far back as the early 1500’s. Over 500 years later, we're keeping the tradition alive with a classically-inspired yet refreshingly modern take on the Moka Java blend.
The First Exported Coffee
Coffee as we know it originally evolved in Ethiopia. Relatively early in its long history, coffee was brought across the Red Sea and planted in Yemen where the drink quickly grew in popularity across the Middle East. Hundreds of years later, European travelers started to catch on to this new drink, which they took to calling ‘kaffa,’ and returned home with samples and stories. Soon, a newly-constructed port through which all coffee in the world would travel through was named Al-Makha, otherwise known as Mokha.
A Stolen Coffee Plant Starts a Colonial Industry
Only a few hundred years after the construction of the Al-Makha port, the Dutch, on behalf of the rest of the envious and coffee-craving world, were able to sneak a single coffee tree out of Yemen (a big-time crime punishable by death). As the story goes, a Dutch agent weathered torrential storms and gave the ailing coffee tree his water rations in order to get it back to the Dutch Indonesian colonies for planting.
Tall tale or not, the Dutch were successful in planting the coffee on the island of Java, where the new, thriving colonial crop would quickly become part of global trade.
Mokha Java
Dutch East India Company ships traveled along both the ports of Mokha and Java, loading their hulls with beans bound for Europe. When the beans arrived in Europe, they were often blended together. The unique flavors of Yemeni coffee mixed well with the full, rich body of Java coffees. History’s first and favorite coffee blend was born.
Try Ours Today!
We’re honored to pay tribute to the fascinating history behind the global spread of coffee with our Moka Java* blend. While we source our coffee neither from Yemen nor Java due to trading difficulties, our Moka Java captures the essence and expected attributes of the historical blend. Indonesian coffee lends a rich and full body to our blend while east African coffee balances with bright acidity and a twist of unique flavor. Order a bag of this special Fortuna coffee and discover the unique, time-tested taste yourself!
We hope you enjoy!
- William Barton
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| Image from: Pexels, Daniel Reche |
The First Exported Coffee
Coffee as we know it originally evolved in Ethiopia. Relatively early in its long history, coffee was brought across the Red Sea and planted in Yemen where the drink quickly grew in popularity across the Middle East. Hundreds of years later, European travelers started to catch on to this new drink, which they took to calling ‘kaffa,’ and returned home with samples and stories. Soon, a newly-constructed port through which all coffee in the world would travel through was named Al-Makha, otherwise known as Mokha.
A Stolen Coffee Plant Starts a Colonial Industry
Only a few hundred years after the construction of the Al-Makha port, the Dutch, on behalf of the rest of the envious and coffee-craving world, were able to sneak a single coffee tree out of Yemen (a big-time crime punishable by death). As the story goes, a Dutch agent weathered torrential storms and gave the ailing coffee tree his water rations in order to get it back to the Dutch Indonesian colonies for planting.
Tall tale or not, the Dutch were successful in planting the coffee on the island of Java, where the new, thriving colonial crop would quickly become part of global trade.
Mokha Java
Dutch East India Company ships traveled along both the ports of Mokha and Java, loading their hulls with beans bound for Europe. When the beans arrived in Europe, they were often blended together. The unique flavors of Yemeni coffee mixed well with the full, rich body of Java coffees. History’s first and favorite coffee blend was born.
 |
| Image from: Pixabay |
We’re honored to pay tribute to the fascinating history behind the global spread of coffee with our Moka Java* blend. While we source our coffee neither from Yemen nor Java due to trading difficulties, our Moka Java captures the essence and expected attributes of the historical blend. Indonesian coffee lends a rich and full body to our blend while east African coffee balances with bright acidity and a twist of unique flavor. Order a bag of this special Fortuna coffee and discover the unique, time-tested taste yourself!
We hope you enjoy!
- William Barton
Roast Master
Fortuna Enterprises, LLC
(* = organic also available!)
(* = organic also available!)
Fortuna Enterprises - Want it all? We have it all!
Established in 2000, Fortuna Enterprises is the consummate leader in providing complete and comprehensive solutions for all of your coffee shop needs. Located in Greensboro, NC, Fortuna excels in unparalleled customer service by offering specialty roasted small-batch coffee, a fully stocked warehouse, imports, design, equipment repair, consulting, barista training, and more!
We are compelled to be the unsurpassed authority for all coffee shop requirements. We use this drive to continue our extensive research in carefully selecting only the highest quality coffees, equipment, syrups and other coffee shop necessities. Our products have a proven record of premium industry performance and unmatched reliability. We buy large quantities from our suppliers so we are in turn able to negotiate extremely competitive pricing for our customers.
We look forward to hearing from you about how we can take you from concept to completion!
Established in 2000, Fortuna Enterprises is the consummate leader in providing complete and comprehensive solutions for all of your coffee shop needs. Located in Greensboro, NC, Fortuna excels in unparalleled customer service by offering specialty roasted small-batch coffee, a fully stocked warehouse, imports, design, equipment repair, consulting, barista training, and more!
We are compelled to be the unsurpassed authority for all coffee shop requirements. We use this drive to continue our extensive research in carefully selecting only the highest quality coffees, equipment, syrups and other coffee shop necessities. Our products have a proven record of premium industry performance and unmatched reliability. We buy large quantities from our suppliers so we are in turn able to negotiate extremely competitive pricing for our customers.
We look forward to hearing from you about how we can take you from concept to completion!
