Jaffa Coffee®

Jaffa (Arabic: Yafa, Hebrew: Yafo) is an ancient, biblical port city located in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Palestine. It is also known for some of the world’s best oranges. The thick-skinned city has witnessed countless waves of empires, rule and occupation: Canaanite, Philistine, Assryian, Babalonian, Persian, Roman, Islamic, Crusade, Mamluk, Ottoman, British, and the gradual Israeli annexation and occupation of Jaffa. In the 1850s, the Arab farmers of Palestine discovered the “shamouti” orange (Arabic: ‏برتقال يافا), a new variety from the sweet orange (C. sinensis). This eventually became known as the world renown “Jaffa orange”. Once a symbol of Jewish and Arab collaboration, 100 years later, two thirds of these farmers were expelled and not allowed to return to their homes and orange groves following the Nakba. Though the Jaffa orange symbolizes the unfortunate loss of a homeland, it is also distinguished by its thick skin and peel, which made the orange especially suitable for export.