Towards the end of last year, I was invited to be a keynote speaker at a cancer conference in Abu Dhabi and upon having the hotel booking confirmed by the organizers I knew had two other pertinent tasks to fulfil – ask my fellow coffee nerd, Naveed where to get good specialty coffee and pray that it was near the hotel. You’ll be happy to know, at least for me, that these two tasks were delightfully met as Naveed recommended Hermosoand my hotel was located about 8 minutes away by taxi.
So, on the last day before we headed back to Dubai, I popped over to Hermoso coffee roasters.
It was a bit quiet when I visited on a Sunday morning but I think that’s normal for a city Iike Abu Dhabi, which seems to come alive in the late afternoon/night. Another challenge I discovered with this city is that it is very spread out, unlike Dubai. In Dubai you can almost get to any good coffee spot or restaurant within a 15 minutes’ drive, so whilst Hermoso is located near to the Cornice area and some top hotels, many other spots were like about 30 minutes away, so not close at all to my hotel.
Pick one
Upon entering through the side of the café, you are met with a cove of coffee to choose from including merchandise, as you move further into the coffee shop towards your left, you will see their brew bar decked with a La Marzocco Strada for their espresso machine and a brew bar with lots of Hario V60s as well as other gadgets like their cold drip system.
I popped upstairs briefly to see their soon to be finished coffee brewing school, where they plan to host events in the future. I learnt too that they partner with coffee supremo Costas of Sweden who mentors them on their coffee roasting style and visits them occasionally to ensure quality – great. Their roastery section is in full display in the main area of the café, where they use American made Loring – I liked the idea of using the coffee tasting wheel as décor just above the roastery.
I was greeted by a bunch of friendly staff and a barista, Rico, hailing from Burma. After a few questions around their coffee offerings, he offered that I try one of their unique espresso blends for my flat white.
Flat white at Hermoso
After enjoying this, I walked around and took some shots and a video for my Instagram reel, see below
Rico kindly offered me, not one but two different cups of their cold brews to try.
I was of course tempted to buy coffee and opted for a Yemeni Hajjah Anaerobic coffee for filter brewing at home and one of their espresso blends, which I enjoyed later upon my return to Dubai.
So, if you visit AD and happen to stay near the Cornice area, where the tallest hotel in Abu Dhabi is, the Conrad, or the Grand Hyatt of the famous Mandarin Oriental Emirates Palace, as well as the Edition, which is next door, I encourage you to visit Hermoso for your specialty coffee fix, pick a few bags and have breakfast, lunch or dinner if you are hungry too.
Hermoso are located at 57 al Quffal Street in al Bateen.
Wow! wow! wow! I don’t even know where to start… BUT here we go.
First of all what is a munchie espresso?
It’s a Colombian Anaberoic honey processed, castillo varietal coffee, grown at 1,700m and produced by Andrés Quiceno and Julio Madrid on La Riviera Farm in Risaralda, Colombia, with a taste profile of…. wait for it…..
Pineapple . Coconut. New York Cheesecake. Hazelnut and Butter
Roasted by Pirates of Coffee in Toronto, Canada, part of their Loco (Spanish for crazy as in mad) series.
Now for the coffee geek part….
“The Honey Culturing, Anaerobic process involves using fermentation starters and the unique natural flavours that come from fruits and aromatic plants, allowing for new sensory profiles to be developed by mixed fermentations between the starters and traditional coffee fermentation processes.” source: Pirates of Coffee website
So, what anaerobic processing in coffee?
Anaerobic fermentation is a coffee processing method where coffee is fermented in pressurized sealed tanks deprived of oxygen. This lack of oxygen produces distinct acids, lactic acids for example, that create a different and distinct flavor profile for the coffee. (source: JBC roasters).
In short, every coffee goes through some sort of fermentation as soon as it is picked before it is dried “naturally” in the sun or “washed”. If a coffee is anaerobic natural, it is fermented in barrels with its skin on, but if it is washed, it is fermented in barrels without its skin on. Honey process has some skin on during the fermentation process. This means that the anaerobic method “affects” the natural process of fermentation by throwing the beans straight into a barrel without air for hours and sometimes days.
You may have seen “72 hour anaerobic process”. Now, sometimes these barrels may have dried fruit in them, which means the coffee absorbs those enzymes and taste profiles, which can be preserved and roasted delicately by an expert coffee roaster to enhance the taste.
sounds confusing ?
Yes it is a bit, BUT this type of method means that you can get some crazy types of coffee. So in short when this coffee was prepared it was not entirely unusual to get coconut, pineapple, etc coming through.
So, did I taste these ?
Yes! that’s why I’m writing about it. I never thought that it was possible, but in short, I definitely tasted coconut with milk based coffee like a flat white or cappuccino and picked up pineapple acidity too. There was a buttery mouthfeel which I guess resembles NY Cheesecake but I wouldn’t say that I picked up the vanilla and lemon zest notes typical of a classic chessecake.
Nevertheless, I won’t be forgetting this coffee anytime soon.
I first encountered it at the World of Coffee Dubai (see last post) when I was offered a piccolo at the Toga Coffee stand and even before I tasted it, the smell of coconut blew me away. I then knew that I had to buy this coffee and to my pleasant surprise I met the head roaster, Abbas, who guided me through their website , where I bought the last one – I’m truly blessed.
I brewed this coffee every day till it ran out and shared it with my wife and a friend so that they too could enjoy my experience – after all good things in life should be shared.
Well done to the coffee farmers, the coffee roaster for selecting and roasting this coffee like this and to all those involved in letting me enjoying this wonderful coffee.
YUMMY MUNCHIE.
If you live in the UAE, their coffees are offered at Toga in Sharjah and if you are in North America, definitely visit their website and order this and lots of wonderfully funky coffee they offer.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from the third edition of the World of Coffee Dubai, which took place from 21-23 January in Dubai, under the auspices of the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA). Sure. I’d been to the previous two and this year promised more excitement with a slightly bigger offering. Featuring much as before, with experts, coffee roasters, gadgets, coffee farmers, espresso machine and coffee roasting manufacturers and more, I thought I’d go, meet fellow coffee nerds, drink lots of coffee and attend a few lectures. Well, I did most of that and more, but sadly wasn’t able to attend any of the lectures, BUT, all was not lost, as I learnt a lot on the one day that I attended. So, here’s a quick summary;
First stop was at Harvest Belt, where I learnt about the Link small batch coffee roasting machine that you can programme to roast espresso, filter, etc and even fine tune it for different coffee processes like natural, washed, etc. If I was going to start roasting, I think I’d get this machine.
Just next to them was one of my fave Dubai roasters, Grandmother (I still don’t know where that name comes from ), but their head roaster, Freddie, offered me a delectable Ethiopian anaebroic espresso – it really filled my lips – yum.
Then I was now on the hunt for my first milk based coffee of the day and when I saw Uber Milk, I thought what better place to stop than here. I had already witnessed their ultra automated machine when I visited Rosslyn Coffee in London in January 2023 and just wanted to enquire about their business in the GCC, as most cafe are not as busy as a typical central London coffee shop. Sure enough one cafe in Dubai has it but they have a few of them in Saudi already.
In conversation, I noticed this guy pouring beautiful latte art and they said, that’s the head of coffee at WatchHouse – startled, I walked over and placed an order for a cortado – incidentally, it was Ethiopian beans again.
Cortado by Flavius
Never one to miss out on an opportunity to learn from an expert, I chatted with Flavius for about 20 minutes and this is what I learnt;
➡️Brew Ethiopian beans at a higher temperature for both filter and espresso – so much so that for espresso, try 97C – the reason Ethiopian beans have a a higher density.
➡️Store your coffee beans in the freezer in dose batches – so store 18g of beans for your espresso, etc, as opposed to just storing the whole bag to avoid moisture.
➡️WatchHouse shop at Hanover Square (which I wrote about a few months back) is their flagship store for experimentation, so much so that the head barista won a recent competition.
➡️In 2020, the UK Brewers champion was Matteo D’Ottavio and he was head barista at their spitalfields branch and WatchHouse use his winning recipe, which for using 15g of coffee and 250ml water is;
50ml, wait 30 seconds, bloom
50ml, wait 30 seconds, pour
50ml, wait 30 seconds, pour
50ml, wait 30 seconds, pour
50ml, wait 30 seconds, pour
Walking around I saw the famous Dritan Asela – of instagram fame – had a brief chat with his wife.
I noticed that he was at a stand, Toga Coffee of Sharjah that were offering this delicious coconut balls wrapped around white chocolate and fresh raspberries – I boldly asked for 3 and the owner was so kind and hospitable he duly obliged. However, I noticed their strange description of coffee beans with hints of coconut and asked for a piccolo.
Coconut piccolo
wow! even before I drank the coffee I could smell the coconut (one of my fave fruits). I met the roaster, Pirates of Coffee, all the way from Canada and asked where I could buy a bag – he said here and he only had one bag left – destined for me I guess, praise God.
After lunch, I saw the that the Nordic Approach were hosting a coffee tasting session, so off I went.
There were lots of exciting coffees and I must confess I can’t remember which one stood out – was it the Panama Geisha or the Kenyan ? In any case, Nordic Approach are famous for their lighter roots and the tables were set top across continents, Africa, the Americas and Asia.
Photo: courtesy of Liana
Still up for more tasting, I passed by quickly to Janson Farms – another famous coffee farm from Panama – saw they were brewing their coffees on a Hario V60 and thought why not – during my experience I bumped into the Indonesian barista champion.
Where to next?
I had heard that my new coffee friend, Antonio Orria, whom I had met in Dubai airport in September, had just joined Victoria Arduino in Dubai and was showcasing their latest espresso machine, the Black Eagle Maverick, so off I went. Lucky for me, he was by himself and I got a quick demo about the machine, which in essence brews both espresso and wait for it….. filter coffee on their Pure Brew system. To quote them,
“PureBrew technology is a revolutionary, three phase, extraction method that uses pulsating frequencies of water pressure to release the purest flavour from your coffee bean according to its freshness, region and type.”
Victoria Arduino Black Eagle Maverick
In essence they have a different basket for filter, with a cone shape and for which Antonio kindly brewed for me using 12g of coffee – I can see the advantage for playing around with different brew recipes and of course reducing the time for a barista in a busy coffee shop. It can also brew tea. I’m looking forward to visiting their newly opened outlet to learn more.
I was already having an Ethiopia coffee bean filled day, so why not go over to Boon Coffee, headed by the friendly Orit Mohammed. She got her head baristi to brew me an espresso, using Ethiopian beans of course and very kindly gave me a bag of their premium blend to try at home.
Boon coffee: espresso
No more coffee!
Well, not quite. I stopped over at Three Coffee, one of my fave Dubai coffee roasters and couldn’t say no, when they offered me an espresso using Yemeni coffee beans.
Yemeni espresso
Then I bumped into my fellow coffee geek friend Shehzeen and she roped me into a latte art competition, which she won with some help but which one do you think was the best?
Guess mine?⬅️
Incidentally the UAE BARISTA CHAMPIONSHIP was won by Michaela of Typica coffee (one of my faves) again for the fourth time I think
Photo courtesy of Lyndon, her husband
Before I left I popped over to the SCA stand and bumped into an old acquaintance, Stephen Morrissey, Deputy Chief Commercial and Community Experience Officer (plus WBC 2008) like I did last year, had a brief chat about the state of coffee in the UK and perhaps globally – in short, he shared my concern that many coffee roasters tend to roast quite light these days. Don’t get me wrong I like medium light roasting for filter based coffees but for espresso…. NO!
I still reminisce about espresso coffee from like 10 years ago. It was such that whether you had an espresso or flat white the body wrapped around your tongue with chocolate and dark berries, caramel and nuts and the taste lingered for an hour – not to mention the latte art contrast with milk that was delectable to look at, but nowadays, I think espresso is too bright and in milk, it is almost like flavoured milk. I’m not sure what your thoughts are, but when I launched my coffee brand two years ago, I tried to bring that back.
Also, we felt that the customer experience is beginning to diminish. Again, I recall when I was in London recently, not naming any cafes, I felt like the baristi were not that approachable like the ones in Dubai. I recall trying to film a barista pouring latte art and she abruptly told me to stop. I know that as specialty coffee has grown, you will loose the essence of that coffee nerdy experience, when I used to got to a cafe and just chat with the baristi about the coffee and the art of coffee making, but I miss those days and with so many companies investing in specialty coffee now, perhaps those days may never come back.
Photo: courtesy of Naveed
But you know what, I still dream about having another cafe in the future and perhaps I will be able to make a difference in bringing that back as after all this is…
About two weeks back a friend told me to check this new cafe out in Abu Dhabi and to be honest, I thought to myself “when am I going to go to Abu Dhabi next, let alone, a coffee shop there”. Literally the next day, I decided to take my wife al the way to Abu Dhabi airport, about an hour away from Dubai and guess what…. drum roll… the coffee shop he told me to check out was, can you believe it… 5 minutes drive away from the airport. It’s like God was saying “you’re going to that coffee shop”.
And here we are THINGS Specialty Coffee shop, owned by 2022 UAE Cup Tasters Champ and Q Grader, Sulaiman Khamis Alalawi and newly opened in March 2023. As you enter, there’s a filter brew bar to the right, together with sunglasses on display (the owner loves quirky sunglasses). The filter brew bar is decked with high chairs, a bar of course featuring filter brewing gear and low bar hanging lights. It’s like if you sit there, full attention will be given to you during the brewing process – a real specialty bar.
As you walk further in, you will notice the San Remo espresso machine on top an unusual looking brick style brew bar to your slight left. This is where the flat whites, cappuccinos, espresso are poured. There’s ample seating, more on the left hand side of the shop in a minimalist, fairly dark toned interior – I guess to promote intimacy with your cup of coffee and taste buds.
Place your orders next to brew bar and select your beans from top roasters as Things doesn’t have a dedicated roaster. When I visited, they had Vulcan from Qatar for espresso coffee and Glyph from Singapore for filter coffees – this is typical of Sulaiman, because if you follow him on Instagram, then you know he doesn’t follow convention BUT loves exploring. I guess he wants to give his clients a different experience and wants them to “drink like an escapist”.
After conversing with the head barista like a coffee geek, I ordered a cortado to start together with a delicious banana bread.
Smooth and well prepared.
My daughter ordered a mocha – hot chocolate with coffee and snapped away.
After we enjoyed the banana bread and our drinks, we were off for the filter brew bar experience.
And, this is where we spent most of our time. The barista was so helpful and loved brewing coffee that he made us two drinks. First was a special Central American coffee, roasted on their Roest small batch coffee roaster in the coffee shop, very clean and bright (as in acidity) as he described it. Served in these unusual glasses.
Second up, we had the Colombia Geisha natural processed coffee from Glyph, the guest roaster. It was more balanced in taste and not so bright and acidic but I must confess, having not eaten since breakfast, I couldn’t finish the coffee. Tasty though.
Indeed it was clean and bright – too bright for my daughter but refreshing in a sort of way.
In short, highly recommend not just for the coffee, but for the experience too and to top it off, really wonderful staff too, who couldn’t do enough for us and spoilt us. So, if you have to go to Abu Dhabi to catch a flight, I strongly recommend getting there earlier to stop over at Things and take your taste buds on a ride before you fly – doesn’t that rhyme ?
I can’t think of a wonderful way to start 2023 than attending a full-blown coffee event in my city, Dubai. This was the second edition of the World of Coffee (WOC) event in Dubai but there was no comparison to the 2022 edition, as the 2023 was on a much bigger scale.. perhaps about 6-7 times the size. Kudos to Khalid Mulla (president of SCA UAE) and the top brass of the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA), whose president Yannis Apostolopoulos, attended too.
However, it wasn’t just about the size of the venue but the buzz too, created by coffee geeks, like moi who crave learning, talking and speaking about coffee but to be usurped in an environment where you got to witness coffee professionals who work hard to ensure you enjoy your daily brew wherever you are in the World, share their passion and love for the bean. So, what else?
We had the latest tech on display from the espresso machine kings like La Marzocco, Victoria Arduino, Synesso, Slayer, Rocket and more –
Synesso ES1
We had other equipment highlighting the latest tech to roast, sort, filter brew and store coffee – we had coffee from coffee roasters not just from the GCC region but from India (Subko, Blue Tokai), Australia (Stitch Coffee) and Denmark (April) too.
April Coffee from Denmark Blue Tokai from India
We had the inventor of Cafec showing us how to brew coffee on his invention differently from what I had seen previously.
There were also talks on all aspects of coffee and I got to meet famous coffee podcaster, Lee Safar too. Dubai powerhouse, DMCC had a large booth showcasing their service offerings from a business perspective and their head, Saeed gave Naveed and I lovely gifts.
What else?
We had award winning coffee growers, coffee art, young baristi serving coffee from Panama, other coffee growing regions showcasing their coffee, UK and European coffee specialist – a special evening hosted by Garfield of Mokha 1450, where I met former WBC champ, Stephen Morrissey – I wrote about him here in 2008…
The list goes on and I met too many people that I won’t list so as not to offend anyone, BUT it was all about coffee, coffee, coffee – the title of my Instagram post that went viral. However, a major first was the UAE National Barista Championship, which was won by Mariam Erin, now of Cosmic Garden Coffee. I wrote about about her here when she was the UAE coffee brewers champ.
Organised across three days, I went twice with fellow coffee nerd, Naveed (blogger) and met other coffee geeks too – pic at the top.
Leaving my palate free for both days I ensured that I often started with an espresso-based milk drink – after all there were tons of people offering to make you free coffee using the Victoria Arduino Eagle One (I guess they sponsored the event). On my first day, I have to confess I lost count on how many coffees I tried – having been coffee fatigued on day One, I promised not to be drowned in coffee again on day Two but although I know I was a bit more reserved, I still lost count.
Cortado by Typica
WOC was held in the venue of all Dubai venues, the World Trade Centre, which was apt for one of the first major events of the year. You could easily get lost and in fact there were few people I had wanted to meet and some booths that I wanted to visit that I found out were there after the event, but such is life.
Nevertheless, it was good to hang out with Naveed, talk coffee and then veer off to learn more about coffee from other specialists. It got me thinking about how far the coffee industry has gotten in the last 10-15 years since I fell in love with it. Back then, the focus was on the God Shot of expresso brilliance – talk about filter coffee let alone single origin was completely alien as filter methods like the aeropress or Hario V60 were not either invented or ignored – it was all about espresso and batch brew machines.
Espresso number ?
Now in 2023, even I was completely blown away by the type of coffee equipment not just for commercial outfits but for the home too. There are now so many options that I must confess, would be very overwhelming for a newbie or even someone that wants to start. Perhaps next year they could hold on the first day, a guide to brewing coffee at home, where the manufacturers display some of the items to break you in gently into brewing coffee based of course on your budget.
Roest small batch roaster
Other topics worth venturing in may be to do with sustainability – where climate change will affect how coffee is grown and eventually coffee farmers and all those that depend on it, for their livelihoods. I’m really passionate about this and plan to get involved somehow, so anyone reading this that has ideas, please send me a message.
As I sign off, I was touched by how some visitors to Dubai and the GCC in general were amazed by the quality of coffee on offer in the region. Again, I recall coming to Dubai many times before I moved here in 2020 and it wasn’t until Raw Coffee started about 10 years back did specialty coffee start its momentum – to see it get adopted so quickly and to see how people have become passionate about it, obviously brings a smile to my face and a warm comfort for my palate as I’ve always wanted to live a in a coffee focused city.
So, don’t wait until WOC 2024, visit Dubai not just for the sun, beaches, shopping and amazing buildings, but for the coffee too.
One thing I love about Dubai is that it never fails to deliver on experiences. Now, I’m very aware that there’s a lot of media, some good and some suspect about Dubai but a city dating centuries with over 4.5m residents is a lot more diverse than the glitz and glam of what the media wants to portray.
So, off we went to the Al Fahidi district in old Dubai and yes, there is such a thing – it’s the place where it all started -where old building were built to capture cool air, where abrar (water taxis) transported people across the creek to trade in spices, cloths, carpets, gold, pearls and more – and where the old shops/merchants that built Dubai and foreign embassies are housed too.
In fact, I’d heard about the Coffee Museum for years but never ventured there and I must confess stumbled across it when my family and I were discovering the old city a few weeks back – we initially found it on a Friday but it was closed – so never visit on a Friday. That day, we went to another famous old city hub, the Arabian Tea House, just a minute away – another must go for traditional Emirate/Lebanese food and of course tea and Emirati style coffee (qahwa in Arabic).
Still craving that experience and when asked what should we do today… I replied, “let’s got to the coffee museum, which is also close to some shops for you babe (my wife)”. So, off we went last Sunday but we got there a bit late, just after 4pm – they close at 5pm.
Opening in 2014, the owner and purveyor of the Coffee Museum, Khalid al Mulla, had been collecting coffee related trinkets for years and decided to open up what is now the largest coffee museum in the Middle East – there are only 16 in the World. We paid an entry fee of AED10 (just over $3), which included complimentary qahwa (arabic coffee) with dates and another cup of coffee made the Ethiopian way using the Jebba. The museum is housed in a traditional Emirati home with low ceilings and narrow walkways, so mind your head as you enter.
Coffees
Split into many rooms across two floors, housing international antiques (mostly from Germany ), coffee origins room, middle east antiques, a literature room, a majlis (traditional Emirati room for drinking coffee and talking), as well as a kids corner and media room, you will have time to satisfy your curiosity. In short, the rooms host anything from old coffee grinding machines, dating centuries to the first ever roasting devices as well as beans and posters too. Luckily for us, we met Kay, whom I had met at an event promoting the UAE Aeropress championship, gave us a personal tour.
Kay showing us a coffee antique
For speciality coffee, head upstairs to their mini shop, which houses a Victoria Arduino Black Eagle espresso machine and of course filter brewing options. I couldn’t help myself and went for two options, a cortado
and a filter coffee using THREE Coffee (Dubai based roaster) Colombian filter beans prepared by Kay.
As we were walking down we saw this…
The Victoria Arduino Venus – yes it looks very plush but the great thing about this machine is that although it looks very antique from the outside, inside is a modern take on espresso machinery. This was their espresso machine before they recently introduced the Black Eagle.
As a tribute to all the coffee growing countries in the World they have these flags but they now have to add more (Nigeria grows coffee too).
All in all, a wonderful experience, which I highly recommend when you visit Dubai. Sure, you’ll want to visit the tallest building in the World , Burj Khalifa and the largest shopping mall, Dubai Mall but take time out to visit the old district, which houses traditional souks (that’s why my wife likes coming here… LOL), the Seef district with quaint hotels/restaurants and a murder mystery hunt, the museum of illusions, the Arabian Tea House, old
Mosque in Al Fahidi
style mosques and of course the coffee museum. After all, after all that walking and eating you’d want to finish off with some good coffee right?
You’re probably thinking “where the h**l is this?”. In short, Khorfakkan is a sleepy beach town in Sharjah (a UAE emirate, next to Dubai), but a stone throw away from Dibba in Fujairah (another UAE emirate).
Address Beach Resort
So, why was I here? We had a family staycation (a vacation that takes place in the same country that you live in) at a fantastic beach resort in Fujairah in late August. I’ve posted my coffee experience at the beach resort on instagram, which got almost 10,000 views but in summary, it still bothers me how hotels and restaurants spend so much time and training in sourcing the best ingredients but when it comes to coffee, they literally fall apart – sourcing coffee from big commercial brands, where taste has been sacrificed just to make as much money as possible. I digress.
So, in my quest not to sacrifice my taste buds even for 3 days for well prepared speciality coffee, I announced to the family “lets go over to Khorfakkan Beach and see what’s there”.
Now, if you know me, you’d kind of guess that I already done some research on speciality coffee in Khorfakkan. But I’m not that bad, as last year we also went there but it was a lot busier and I got to go on a jet-ski for the first time in my life, twice. However, this year and perhaps because it was on the weekday…. it was completely dead silent – not a soul on the beach. So, we decided to leave our beach gear in the car and look for somewhere to sit….
“I think there’s specialty coffee somewhere near”….. I smell a rat…. no, I smell coffee. LOL!
Upon entering the very empty coffee shop, named Medellin (yes, Colombia comes to mind), I noticed their espresso machine – a Synesso, quizzed the barista and saw that the coffee shop already had an award. As soon as I was informed that they stock Espresso Lab coffee (one of my faves in Dubai), I was convinced, as I know that Espresso Lab won’t sell their coffee to anyone without intensive training. I opted for the Indonesian as a Cortado.
Delicious
Oh wow! the hints of cherry and caramel with subtle hints of vanilla completely blew me away. It was indeed such a pleasant experience (if not I won’t be bothering wasting my time writing about this here). I sipped it gently….
After all make the good stuff last.
We took pictures of the cafe, chilled for a bit and then headed back to our plush beach resort for a late evening swim.
I was so fascinated by the taste that upon my return to Dubai, I went to Espresso Lab and ordered the same Indonesian arabica beans as a Cortado or should I say their 3 ounce.
Still just as delicious.
So, if you are craving well prepared specialty coffee and are within 15-25 minutes away from Khorfakkan Beach, please drive there and you won’t be disappointed believe you me.
Medellin is at Khorfakkan Beach, near the second entrance for paid parking – not too far from Baskin Robbins. It usually gets busy between 6-10pm and is open until 1am daily (whoa!)
I often refer to coffee as the DRINK OF THE ESCAPIST because it’s a drink that you can drink almost anywhere in the World BUT more so, it inspires you for adventure, where you visit a new city and want to learn about their coffee history to. So, here I was in Marrakech, just last week and after painstakingly looking for specialty coffee, I found this recommendation in the Timeout guide to 16 things to do in Marrakech.
La Mamounia – a beautiful hotel
As a coffee snob (what my family call me), I was a bit sceptical – after all Morocco café culture ironically literally orbits around Moroccan mint green tea. Yes, there are many places calling themselves cafes, but don’t expect to be served wonderful coffee that delights your taste buds – trust me, just order tea. Nevertheless, there was one exception, BACHA Coffee, situated in the the spectacular Dar el Bacha Palace, which means “house of the Pasha”. A place steeped in coffee history, built in 1910, where dignitaries such as Winston Churchill and Frank Roosevelt (past leaders of the UK and America for history agnostics) and even the famous Charlie Chaplin used to meet to drink…. Coffee and discuss ideas – the drink of the escapist and idealists.
In any case, after the second world war it was closed and only reopened in 2019 after years of restoration. It has now reclaimed its place as a stalwart of Marrakech attractions. To enter the palace, you have to pay 10 Moroccan dirham (I hear complaints) but this is only $1.
The entrance to the palace
As you make your way through the palace, feel free to take pictures like I did, you will eventually get to the café, situated in the left-hand corner. Prior to entering, you will notice a coffee room, with walls lined with 40+ selection of coffee from around the world comprising of single origins, blends and new coffee growing countries (I.e., Rwanda) for you to buy as well as other luxury items.
Choose one
A word of advice, go into the reception of the coffee shop and reserve a table first as there will be a waiting list if you go in the kid-afternoon. After which, wander around the palace. I didn’t do that and was told I may have to wait for about 30-40 minutes (I don’t remember ever queuing for coffee in any city before). Luckily, I didn’t have to wait too long as I met a fellow coffee geek, Abigail (world traveler) who offered to share her table with me. She then entrusted me to order coffee as she could detect my coffee geekiness.
You’ll also be spoilt for choice inside with a full menu, delectable cakes and over 40 coffees to choose from in a classic French colonial setting BUT don’t expect any caffe lattes or cappuccinos here, as all coffees are pour over, served in a very generous decanter – enough for 3 cups at least. I ordered lemon cake and coffees from Yemen and Rwanda.
Pouring coffee
I find that you can never go wrong with coffee from Rwanda – it was fruity, with medium acidity, whilst the Yemeni coffee got better as it cooled down with hints of berries and chocolate.
The interior
After relaxing for about 1-2 hours, I went to the coffee shop to buy the Yemeni coffee, because it is quite rare. I miscalculated or misheard the shop attendant and when he presented the bill of US$85 for 250g, I was a bit shocked, but proceeded in any case. I added unbleached V60 filter bags, as it will supposedly give me a cleaner unadulterated taste.
Would I go back ? Yes of course, probably for a meal and of course more coffee when I visit Marrakech again.
Highly recommended for coffee enthusiasts and novices alike, who want to drink coffee like an escapist in a Palace like setting.
Visit their website to learn more and if you can’t make it to Marrakech, you can visit their other shops in Paris and Singapore or order online.
As soon as Ramadhan finished in May 2022, I rushed to meet a friend at one of my fave cafes in Dubai, Qahwaty at the Dubai International Financial Centre (known as DIFC), which hosts as many international companies you can think off. As I waited for a friend, the head barista , Dhani, hailing from Indonesia asked me what I thought about my cortado and I replied that it was fine. Unimpressed with my answer, I think, he then asked me what I love to taste in espresso based coffee with milk and I said… “well balanced, low-to-medium acidity, not too much fruit, hints of nuts and spices like vanilla (actually like my blend) and then he said, “okay I’m going to prepare something for you”
As I waited and sipped my cortado, he presented this…
Upon raising the cup to my mouth, I was hit by the smell of tropical fruits like mango and banana (now, these are one of my five favourite fruits – the rest are pineapple, strawberries and pear, in case you were wondering). Okay I digress.
BUT did you know that 80% of our taste buds come from our sense of smell ? If you don’t believe me, just google it here. It’s what I also learnt when I did the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) Sensory Skills course in June last year.
So, you can imagine the anticipation of my taste buds when I smelt this tropical nirvana. As I tasted the coffee, I detected hints of pineapple acidity and although the coffee smelt like a topical paradise, the taste was a lot more subdued – I can’t imagine a banana, mango coffee milkshake with hot milk….
BUT I was not disappointed, as I rejected my earlier cortado in favour of this myriad of flavours in a cup. Wow, wow, wow – said thrice for excitement.
Of course I questioned Dhani about what he did as he was delighted with my response. In short he created a blend of coffee on the spot using Colombian coffee and Brazil from two different roasters based in Dubai.
Wow!
I just thank God for this experience which I won’t forget for the rest of my life.
Indeed the best smelling milk based espresso drink I have ever had. Here it is one more time
If you are ever in the DIFC area, look out for them – a small coffee shop located outside the gate village, first floor, in front off the Ritz Carlton, opposite Wild and Moon and not too far from ICD Brookfield.
I’m blessed to live in a vibrant city that thrives on specialty coffee, not to mention, constant sunshine, beaches, great food that will make a foodie tire themselves out and an eclectic mix of cultures – a true city of the 21stcentury. For me, it’s been wonderful since I moved here in September 2020. Nevertheless, with the ever-growing coffee culture witnessed by almost a monthly opening of a new coffee shop, it’s easy to forget the ones who started the journey and paved the way, so here we are, Mokha 1450.
You may have heard me mention the name before as I did an experiment to debunk the myth of freshly roasted coffee last year and needless to say, a rare coffee, an Ethiopian Geisha, won my test, whereby a coffee roasted months before tasted even better when brewed using a Hario V60. This coffee was sourced by Mokha 1450.
Initially located at Wasl Road but now with a branch on the famous Palm Jumeriah – yes the man-made island shaped like a palm tree in the middle of the Arabian sea off Dubai’s coastline – now you see why Dubai has a lot to offer, indeed a city of dreams, BUT back to coffee….
Cortado at Wasl Branch
The origin of the name traces back to Arabia itself, Mokha being the seaport in Yemen that started trading coffee back in….. 1450 – get the hint. So, Garfield Kerr, the owner, I presume wanted to launch his coffee shop in homage to the first city of coffee. However, that wasn’t enough, as Garfield with roots in Jamaica, ensued that his was the first company in the UAE to import Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee from Jamaica’s Coffee Industry Board (now known by its new acronym JACRA). In this connection, Mokha 1450 have always sourced “rare and exceptional” coffees – this terminology features on their coffee bags. In fact during the EXPO2020 from October 2021 to March 2022, Mokha 1450 served the most expensive coffee there as Jamacia Blue Mountain coffee is usually if not the most expensive, one of them.
Wasl branch, San Remo machine
Mokha 1450 is called a boutique in that their service is akin to being served in a fashion boutique – attention to the coffee but more so to the customer.
Preparing my cortado
At their Palm Jumeirah branch, upon entering, you are given a menu that explains all the coffees on offer and if you are serious about coffee like me, you may take a while to go over the menu before placing your order. After which, they will offer further explanation if needed. At this branch, as they have more space, they will also prepare the coffee in front of you, just like in a boutique they will bring out the best clothes and explain the product, so too here.
Here we are
I’ve been thrice, twice to the Palm Jumeirah branch and once to the Wasl branch. On my second visit to Palm, we met with Garfield and he offered us another delectable coffee – see below.
At the first World of Coffee event, Mokha 1450 experimented with serving you espresso in an iced cup – the coffee cup was placed in a freezer and they pulled the espresso shot into the freezing cup – the idea was to display a different array of flavours, more on highlighting the acidity.
So, why go? Well, if you love coffee and want to be served with attention to details by courteous staff and want to take your taste buds on a whirl, then visit. I must add that they have a delicious of array of cakes at their Palm branch and wife always orders the carrot cake, not to share…. Ha!
From Coffee With Love 