Tag: Abu Dhabi coffee

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I was at CAFE ARTEA, ABU DHABI

Earlier this week I took my wife on a staycation to Abu Dhabi and discovered that one of the coffee shops I have always wanted to visit was only 9 minutes’ drive away. So, after a massive breakfast and chilling for a bit, we decided to pop over to Coffee Architecture. To my dismay when we arrived, we saw a note on the door apologizing for not being there and they would be back at 5pm – it was 2 pm on a very hot and humid afternoon. I almost cried in frustration, and I could see my wife with a look like “okay its closed and its very hot, let’s go back to the hotel”. Never one to be defeated in search of good coffee, I noticed that when I was searching on google maps I saw another specialty coffee shop was nearby.

So, off my wife and I went and thankfully it was literally about 2 minutes’ walk on Turquoise Beach. Pronto! Café Artea.

Front room

As we entered and were greeted by smiling barista and a concrete looking block with cakes on top, I was struck by not one but SIX Anfim espresso grinders to my right. Almost in front of you behind various concrete blocks was their La Marzocco Strada espresso machine.

I walked around, took some pictures as the café was empty and quizzed the main barista as to why they had six grinders. He explained that they had six types of coffees (they get their coffee from archers) to offer for espresso and milk-based drinks. They have a Mahl Konig EK43 for filter as well as various black coated V60s for their pour over options.

Filter brew bar

I opted for a cortado (which was not on their menu) BUT when it’s really hot, I prefer a stronger cup of coffee with less milk. What struck me on first sip was the temperature of the milk – I’m guessing it was around 55-60C. I asked the barista and he confirmed this. It’s very rare to get this temperature in your espresso-based milk drink as some times the milk is too hot (I’ve sent back coffee a few times because if this). I recall reading a James Hoffmann post many years back (before his YouTube fame) where he suggested that 55-60C is the ideal temperature for milk and I believe this is the competition range too.

Pleasant to drink and well prepared by barista Ali. 

So, if you happen to be on Saadiyat Island, Mamsha District and want a good specialty coffee place to go (other than Coffee Architecture), check Café Artea too.

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I was at HERMOSO Coffee, Abu Dhabi

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.

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I was at things specialty coffee, Abu dhabi

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 ?

Don’t forget a pic of the banana bread