The story of COFE, which many might not know, originates from Kuwait. Founded by Ali Al-Ebrahim in 2017, the primary focus of this online marketplace and application is to cater to coffee lovers of all kind, whether it is as simple as ordering a cup of coffee or buying coffee equipment to enjoy the brewing experience at home. This time, the customer engagement was on a personal level, and both, COFE and INTELLECT Coffee Roastery joined forces to host a coffee cupping event.

The venue of the event was at the INTELLECT in Al Quoz. The showroom cum cafe showcases natural monochromatic raw elements throughout the space finished in different renders and textures. Arches have been incorporated into the design to signify structures of deep resonance complimenting a slew of La Marzocco espresso machines in different shapes and sizes on display, and this does not, even for a brief moment, look out of place.

Gabriela Cury, founder of INTELLECT, inaugurated the start of the event and explained different activities INTELLECT is involved in. Francis Rosete and Louise Magahis, business development and communications of COFE, continued explaining to the guests how they can use the COFE app to order coffee from their newest partner — INTELLECT.

Their subscription program in my opinion is taking convenience to the next level. Imagine your coffee delivered to you everyday at a prescribed time. If you value your mental energy and plan on retaining it on a monthly basis, this is your answer to using your brain power on more important cognitive tasks, rather than deplete it on coffee buying decisions.

The main agenda of the afternoon was delivered by Silvia Linte, Head of Sales for INTELLECT. She explained why coffee cupping is important to ensure coffee quality. The quality of coffee can be scored based on factors such as sweetness, acidity, mouthfeel, aftertaste etc. This is how coffee is tasted by producers, buyers, roasters and baristas around the world.

Raja Muthusamy, Roast Master for INTELLECT, demonstrated how a cupping table is prepared, if the guests wish to do it at home. Every step in the process was explained — analyzing the dry and wet aroma, breaking the crust, slurping the coffee and interpreting what you are tasting — sweetness, acidity, body etc.

Some of INTELLECT’s best offering was on the cupping table — the signature blend collection, single origins from Brazil, Ethiopia and Panama. The latter two clearly flexing their aromatic awe every time someone took a good sniff of the respective bowls.

Educating the consumer is essential to help them understand what specialty coffee is, and a cupping event like this is a perfect example to showcase the innovation, creativity and ethos present within the industry.

The pairing between COFE and INTELLECT has shed light on a whole new world waiting to be explored and help consumers understand that coffee is much more than roast profiles or a brand’s environmental impact. It’s a whole world waiting to be explored.