The Monk of Mokha is the true story of a young Yemeni American man named Mokhtar who became fascinated with coffee, especially its origin in Yemen. He wanted to elevated the quality of coffee there and bring it to the world, while also ensuring that the local coffee farmers are paid a more fair share for their hard work so that they can make a living wage. While Mokhtar was working to achieve this, Yemen was embroiled in a civil war, making his mission even harder and sometimes mortally perilous.
Even though the premise of this book sounds interesting and so many people loved it, I honestly found the book to be pretty boring for the most part. (And I feel so bad for saying so!) I think this is definitely a case where my interests just didn't align with what the book is offering. I drink coffee occasionally, but that's as far as my interest in coffee goes. So to read chapter upon chapter on the origins of coffee, its varietals, its growing and processing methodologies, etc. made my eyes glaze over. There are also many pages with dry facts about the Yemeni civil war, most of which I've already read about elsewhere.
The only thing I found interesting was the details about how much work goes into growing and processing coffee plants before they become the coffee beans we all know, and how little of that effort is translated into fair pay for the farmers doing the grunt work. It is certainly something that is deserving of attention, and I'm glad the book highlighted this gross pay inequity.
Otherwise, this book was a pretty disappointing read for me. I debated not-finishing it, but thought if I held out, it would get more interesting. And while the last few chapters were certainly more entertaining as they showcased Mokhtar racing to reach his goals, it just never became fully compelling to me. I think this is a case where my lack of interest in coffee really impeded my ability to get into the book.
Readaroo Rating: 2 stars
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