An Evening With Mokhtar Alkhanshali

December 13, 2017 Ashley Rodriguez Coffee, Coffee Books Comments Off on An Evening With Mokhtar Alkhanshali

Third Culture Coffee and Oatly teamed up to host a night with Mokhtar Alkhanshali, founder of Port of Mokha and Yemeni coffee pioneer, to talk about his journey to bring Yemeni coffee to the specialty market and the upcoming release of the book The Monk of Mokha.

BY ASHLEY RODRIGUEZ
BARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE

Photos by Julie Rings

On December 1, Third Culture Coffee and Oatly hosted a night of snacks, coffee, and conversation with Mokhtar Alkhanshali, founder of Port of Mokha based in Oakland, Calif. The event took place at Third Culture in Bellevue, Wash., and focused on coffee across cultures and the future of sustainability.

Mohktar’s story is well-documented: After working with farmers in Yemen for three years, he packed up samples ready to taste for the SCA Global Expo in 2015. On the eve of his departure, civil war broke out in Yemen, and he escaped on a fishing boat from the Port of Mokha to Djibouti. His coffees would go on later to score 90+ from leading coffee professionals. His story received major news coverage, and he’s the subject of Barista Magazine’s Master Q&A in the current issue, which you can read here. He’s also the subject of Dave Eggers’ biography The Monk of Mokha, which is slated to hit bookstores in January 2018.

Below are some photos of the event, where folks gathered and listened to Mokhtar give a few remarks, as well as mingled with him and other coffee professionals.

The event was held at Third Culture Coffee and hosted in conjunction with Oatly. The event focused on coffee across cultures and the future of sustainability in coffee.

 

The event featured different food and drink specials, like the affogato pictured above, as a way for folks to discuss how coffee is treated in various cultures.

 

Mokhtar, pictured above, works with farms in Yemen, where many of the coffees are naturally processed. Though this is primarily due to the scarcity of water, Mokhtar believes that investment in naturally processed coffees is crucial to the sustainability of coffee.

 

Attendees look on as Mokhtar speaks. His story captured the interest of award-winning author Dave Eggers, who followed Mokhtar for two years recording his story for his upcoming book The Monk of Mokha. Dave even took some Q-grader courses with Mokhtar.

 

Mokhtar Instagram Story livestreaming as Radhika Kapur explains the process of making Indian Filter Coffee. Radhika owns Third Culture Coffee with her husband, Varun Das, and their partner, Adarsh Nair.

 

Third Culture Coffee and Oatly worked together to host the event. Attendees enjoyed hors d’oeuvres, Oatly coffee drinks, and glasses of mulled wine throughout the event. Some of the drinks offered during the event were a house-made Ginger Chai Oatly Latte, Haldi Doodh, and New Orleans Iced Coffee.
About Ashley Rodriguez 413 Articles
Ashley is the Online Editor for Barista Magazine. She's based in Chicago. If you want to share a story or have a comment, you can reach her at ashley@baristamagazine.com.