Something went wrong

Mokhtar Alkhanshali has a distinguished career in the coffee industry, marked by his efforts to elevate Yemeni coffee on the global stage and his influence on luxury coffee markets. His journey began with the founding of Port of Mokha, a coffee company aimed at revitalizing Yemen's historic coffee industry. Under his leadership, Port of Mokha has achieved critical acclaim for its high-quality, with Alkhanshali's work bringing international attention to Yemeni coffee's unique qualities and challenges.

After 8 years of working with Yemeni coffee farmers, in 2023 Mokhtar launched Al-Khanshali Coffee Estates. Operating as a boutique coffee producer and importer, specializing in Yemen, Al-Khanshali Estates launched with its first four farms; Al-Khanshali I, Al-Khanshali II, Al-Khanshali III and Al-Khanshali IV. The flagship farm, Al-Khanshali I is owned and operated by Mokhtar, with complete control over each step in the production process. The others function as partner farms, where Al-Khanshali Estates works intimately with farmers and handles all of the processing. He’s produced two 97 point coffees and a 96 point coffee, scored by coffee review as well as organized Yemen’s first private auction in 2018 and through his nonprofit, the Mokha Institute, Yemen’s first national auction in 2022. 

Mokhtar’s work and his organizations have garnered significant attention and been featured prominently in major outlets as The New York Times, The Guardian, Martha Stewart Magazine, Worth, INC., Bloomberg, Food & Wine, GQ, BBC, USA Today, Bon Appétite, Salon and others. He and his company were even used as questions on Jeopardy (twice).

In addition to his work with Port of Mokha, Alkhanshali founded the Mokha Institute, an organization dedicated to supporting Yemeni coffee farmers and the nation's coffee sector at large. Through the institute, he has focused on developing infrastructure, providing education, and implementing quality improvement programs, especially National Yemen Coffee Auction whose platform has been instrumental in showcasing the finest Yemeni coffees to an international audience, promoting transparency, and achieving higher prices for producers. His efforts have been pivotal in enhancing the global competitiveness of Yemeni coffee, ensuring better livelihoods for farmers, and preserving the country's coffee heritage.