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Hopkins Hosts Mokhtar Alkanshali, Coffee Entrepreneur and subject of Dave Eggers’ book, "The Monk of Mokha"
Did you know that the coffee bean is a fruit and the first cup of coffee was brewed in Yemen?
Historian, community organizer and coffee innovator Mokhtar Alkhanshali visited Hopkins on Wednesday, February 13th and shared his personal connection to the history of the coffee bean. Mokhtar’s journey of rediscovering Yemen’s coffee roots and the recounting of his harrowing tale of bringing Yemini coffee to the U.S. is chronicled in bestselling author Dave Eggers book “The Monk of Mokha”.
Today, Mokhtar is the CEO of Port of Mokha Coffee. His mission is to connect coffee lovers with the farmers of Yemen and to lift the local coffee growing economy. He has done this by organizing Yemeni farmers into collectives, training them on best growing practices and providing interest-free micro loans that allow them to weather the debt cycles perpetuated by loan sharks.
The Coffee Review bestowed Port of Mokha’s Hayma Microlot coffee with a 97 rating, the highest rating, and Mokhtar is a certified Q grader—an equivalent title to a sommelier in the wine world.
Members of the Hopkins community were not only treated to a sweeping history of the coffee bean, they also sipped some freshly brewed Port of Mokha coffee brewed by Mokhtar himself.
To meet Mokhtar and hear his story, click on this link. https://www.portofmokha.com/story
Special thanks to Becky Harper, Director of Equity and Community for bringing this program to Hopkins.
Hopkins is a private middle school and high school for grades 7-12. Located on a campus overlooking New Haven, CT, the School takes pride in its intellectually curious students as well as its dedicated faculty and staff.
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