Our History
The Mokha Institute was co-founded by, Mokhtar Alkhanshali, an American of Yemeni descent. Mokhtar spent years traveling across Yemen surveying coffee growing areas. Throughout his travels he heard stories of his ancestors rich coffee history, learned about coffees many amazing varietals, many of which are unique to Yemen, slept on mountains with the farmers, and observed their farming practices. There in the highlands of Yemen his vision for The Mokha Institute developed: enable coffee stakeholders in Yemen to attain greater economic stability and prosperity by elevating the quality of the coffee produced in Yemen. He soon realized that as an individual, his capacity to make a sector wide impact was limited.