Home of Khawlani coffee, grown on mountain terraces in Jazan, Al Baha and Asir. UNESCO inscribed its cultivation knowledge in 2022.
Saudi Arabia keeps a distinctive local coffee called Khawlani, grown in the mountain regions of Jazan, Al Baha and Asir, with Al-Dayer governorate the leading producing area. Seedlings are raised in shaded mesh bags and moved to agricultural terraces, and the fruit is harvested by hand from about October to January and laid out to dry. Knowledge and practices related to cultivating Khawlani coffee beans were inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2022. In October 2025 the agriculture ministry reported more than 1.3 million productive coffee trees across Jazan, Asir, Al Baha, Makkah and Najran, giving more than 870 tons of what the report calls pure coffee a year. Jazan alone held more than 966,000 of those trees.
History
Khawlani coffee cultivation has been passed down for generations in Saudi Arabia's mountain regions. Its knowledge and practices were inscribed by UNESCO on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2022.
Field notes
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UNESCO inscribed knowledge and practices related to cultivating Khawlani coffee beans on its Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2022.
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Serving guests coffee harvested from one's own farm is considered a sign of honour and respect.
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Khawlani beans are described as having an oily layer and a distinctive odour.
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Jazan holds over 966,000 of Saudi Arabia's 1.3 million productive coffee trees, according to the agriculture ministry as reported by Okaz in October 2025.
Where it growsMountain regions of southwestern Saudi Arabia, including Jazan, Al Baha and Asir.
Regions of Saudi Arabia
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Southwestern Saudi mountain region where Khawlani coffee is grown on agricultural terraces.
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Southwestern mountain region that ranks second to Jazan for coffee, with over 243,000 productive trees reported by the ministry in 2025.
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Mountain region with about 72,000 productive coffee trees reported in 2025, plus some 540,000 young trees that have not yet started bearing.
How it is usually processed
Species
Sources · 3 Every sentence here was checked against a source we read. Taste notes are what guides describe, not promises about your bag. Last revised 2026-11-11. Some details here are less settled than others.
- Khawlani Coffee Beans · Wikimedia Foundation
- Knowledge and practices related to cultivating Khawlani coffee beans · UNESCO
- A million productive coffee trees in Saudi Arabia produce 870 tons (Arabic) · Okaz