There’s a specialty cafe in practically every neighborhood in Dubai, and quite frankly, that’s not a bad thing. Over the course of two years, these cafes are popping up out of nowhere. Come to an area after a week and you have a new cafe waiting to welcome you.

I’m not complaining but the problem arises when they start looking like each other. What’s sets them apart is probably the coffee that they offer. And in some scenarios, it’s the same coffee being offered right next to each other.

I have a dream too, to open a coffee shop some day. But the more of these copy paste cafes I see, the more I hold back on this dream of mine. Don’t mind me, they just don’t stand out. Why so much fuss over this, then?

If you tell me cafes are just for drinking coffee, then you are wrong. Cafes are much more than that. I believe there are many factors that why cafes have become so popular and why some stand out as outliers.

They have become a part of our lives, a second home or another place to work if you will. We turn to them for socialising and to get work done. Or a place to just hang.

I have been to many cafes the past year and looking back, I can tell you that a few left me feeling a sense of bliss, the feeling of comfort and relaxation. The Danish have a term for this and it’s called Hygge.

This post is not about the ultimate coffee shop experience but about heaf. A newly opened cafe in the heart of Madinat Badr, right next to Mirdif. The space has been designed by Mula, founded by Abdalla Almulla, Dubai based architect. Thanks to Portafilter for doing the leg work.

You step foot into a space that give out a very nomadic Bedouin vibe. The tents covering the ceiling represent the dunes. It gives me a feeling that I’m a traveler and my place on this earth is not permanent. One day, I’ll have to go, but before that, I want to leave a mark. I want to leave something positive for others to experience.

The above are my feelings about the place, not the designer behind it. I have a lot to say about the coffee though. heaf features Ona Coffee roasted in Australia. If that still doesn’t ring bells, then perhaps Saša Šestić will.

Saša Šestić is the 2015 World Barista Champion and has also pioneered much of the specialty coffee that we know and love today. He is also the founder of Project Origin, those delicious Ethiopian CM Selections at Grandmother Coffee Roastery that I featured is probably my favorite from this origin so far.

I ordered a Kenyan brewed on a V60 recommended by the barista. This is the second time I am having a coffee from this region i.e. Nyeri. It’s the same juicy mouthfeel I remember.

I had to visit again and try out their espresso with milk offering. My better half went with her usual i.e. a cortado preferably with an African origin. The Ethiopia Hambela was recommended. I ordered a flat white.

Both the drinks had exquisite notes of stone fruits which paired excellently with milk. As you sip through, delicate aromatics of flowers, possibly Jasmine, which is standard from this region, light up your nasal cavity making its way to your olfactory system.

It’s a complete experience when the coffee and the space around you become homogenous giving you an elated experience. Have you been to heaf yet? Has any other cafe made you feel this way?