The emergence of coffee demand in Europe began in the 17th century

In the 17th century, demand for coffee emerged in Europe, and small quantities of roasted coffee beans began to be imported to Yemen. In the 18th century, coffee shops were everywhere in Europe, coffee consumption soared, and Yemeni mocha alone was no longer enough. It is estimated that Yemen's coffee bean production in 1970 was about 20,000 tons, which is already insufficient to meet the newly emerging European demand. The price of beans was high, and Mocha Port was busy exporting coffee beans. The word "Mocha" was synonymous with coffee at that time.

At this time, there were still no coffee trees in Central and South America and Asia, and European powers were optimistic about the huge business opportunities of coffee cultivation and began to intervene and share coffee cakes. Relying on the advantages of vast overseas colonies and cheap slaves, the great powers quickly broke the monopoly of coffee production and marketing in the Ottoman Empire and even nibbled the mocha coffee market in Arabia. It can be said that after 1720, the global coffee cultivation industry began to shift from Yemen to the colonies of Asian and Central and South American powers. Java and Brazilian coffee rose strongly, and mocha fell into decline. Mocha became the biggest loser.

Before 1700, Yemen was the only country in the world where coffee cultivation or wild coffee trees existed on a large scale. The Ottoman Empire did not allow coffee cultivation outside Yemen, but as early as 1600 there were signs that the Ottoman Empire would have difficulty monopolizing the lucrative coffee market.