World of Coffee Dubai, picture credit: @eng_sbinlahij

When World of Coffee announced that it will take place in Dubai, I had the faintest idea that it would be at this scale. This is Europe’s largest coffee trade show that travels to a different city in Europe every year.

This year it’s going to be in Poland. This event is the expansion to the original showcasing in Dubai for the very first time brought to you by the SCA. It took place at the Dubai Exhibition Center, right at the heart of Expo 2020 Dubai.

I managed to go on the second day, but I realize now as I sit down to write this article that I should have taken it slow. I can confidently say that all those years of coffee consumption has prepared me for this.

The amount of people I have networked with, the bulk of information shared and then comes the coffee I have consumed, all of it resulted in sensory overload.

I have had three Geishas in one day, quarter of the coffee I had in total. I have to say they were all really good but when you have to compare, there is only one that will stand out. For that, you have to keep reading to find out.

It was an amazing experience altogether. I was glad I wasn’t doing it alone, along with me present at the event was Abdullah Jalees from Art of Coffee, Zarak from Bean س , Shehzeen Jamil from Sippy Beans, and Mark from Nitro Coffee Solutions.

Brazil

My first stop was the Brazilian pavilion and the first coffee was a Geisha from Sul de Minas. That’s right, Brazil can grow Geishas which I had absolutely no idea about. The coffee had classic Geisha floral notes, complex but exhibition tea-like properties at the same time.

Nuwa Estate Coffee

I probably would have walked past this stall if it was wasn’t for Suraj. The very morning I was planning my visit, I received an invite from him to experience coffee from Nepal. I had a very interesting conversation with Sandesh who overlooks the processing on the farm making sure the operations are running smooth.

Nuwa Estate, Nuwakat region, is home to this quite exceptional coffee providing a unique terror, several microclimates, high altitudes, aiding in the production of this coffee that I was going to taste for the first time. The varietal is called Obata from Brazil.

Suraj brewed the drink on a V60. First impressions: bright acidity just like a Rwandan and the finish was an Indian/Indonesian with vanilla spice. Good mouthfeel also. This was the very first harvest from this farm so it’s only uphill from here. Good potential if you ask me.

Archers

Walking up to the Archers’ stall and I see a familiar face standing, it was David, UAE Nationals Brewers Champion. He brewed the Panama Geisha Aurora on the April pour over.

Second Geisha of the day. It was very sweet, with primary notes of grapes and berries, the tartiness of the berries were also present adding a depth to the brew.

This is my first time drinking coffee brewed out of this brewer. David used it during his run at the UAE Nationals Brewers Championship. This is my first time meeting him.

Very humble, he shared his story briefly and how he stumbled upon the world of coffee. Currently he is practicing for the worlds and I’m so excited for him. Can’t wait to feature him on The Coffee Story soon.

Ninety Plus Coffee

One of the highlights was to meet Joseph Broadsky from Ninety Plus Coffee. He was present in person and he took us on a journey through his conversation about his farm.

They have expanded to a 1000 hectares now, which is massive. To put that into perspective, 1 football field is roughly 1 acre. They are doing a lot of work with reforestation and biodiversity in general.

The Ninety Plus team is in the process of opening offices in the Middle East and also looking to make Panamanian coffee more accessible to roasters in terms of price point.

Joseph introduced a small little brewer called the Kone 10.1, it reminds me of a mini Origami dripper. Lameen aka From Coffee With Love went to the event on the first day and this is what he had to say about his brief interaction with Joseph.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Lameen Abdul-Malik (@fromcoffeewithlove)

Lameen was lucky to taste the Tigre, the notes on this coffee is quite out there with oak wood, chocolate syrup and cherry jam. Now, I did not get a chance to taste their coffee in this event brewed on the Kone brewer, it is capable of brewing 10 grams at a time and best enjoyed on their Savour cups. Next time, I guess.

Mattina Coffee

Mattina Coffee had the best looking stall in my opinion, very understated and classy. Shared a few words with Naji, one of the co-founders and he offered the Noria San Jose. As I said earlier, I had a total of three Geishas, this was my third. This one hails from Hacienda La Esmaralda, Panama.

The taste experience of jasmine, bergamots and stone fruits is unlike any out there. This is the best coffee I have had at this event, and my favorite so far in my two-three years of drinking coffee.

Yes, I understand I don’t have many years of drinking coffee on my belt but I’ll happily give them the crown till I can pass it on to someone else.

Coffee Planet

Coffee Planet had the biggest stall, scratch that, they had two big stalls and a small stall. Their presence was definitely known. And yes, I got to try the Colombia Finca Las Margaritas once again. This is a 90+ scoring coffee and it is quite phenomenal.

Three Coffee

I managed to speak to Karthik from Three Coffee, he even though he was pulling shots relentlessly multitasking at light speed. May I remind you, Karthik and Drew are the reason why I am infatuated with specialty coffee in the first place. Read more in this post.

Our conversation was brief and to the point. We spoke about what kind of processes are carried out at the producer level. The decision to process a certain coffee depends on what facilities are accessible to the producers. It depends on the origin, for eg. In Ethiopia, water accessibility is very low.

They have to rely on using the natural process. They can’t use the washing station as the water is reused and can decrease the quality of the cherries.

I tried Three’s newly launched canned coffee which comes in three flavors: marshmallow latte, cold brew Passionfruit and cold brew tonic. The tonic was my favorite. It was like having espresso and tonic.

I also tried the anaerobic Rwandan on espresso. Notes of grapes, floral aromatics and chocolate. Super sweet, and very approachable in terms of acidity.

I don’t understand espresso as much, since pour over is my ideal choice. Three Coffee has always been on the forefront of exploring beautiful funky coffee, and making it accessible to us. Something I always remember is the El Salvador Spice Up, very unusual but delicious.

Subko

Next up, Subko. If you translate that to English, it basically means “for everyone”. And what does Rahul, the co-founder, have to say? From the subcontinent, for all. The coffee of course, that’s what it’s all about.

According to Rahul, their core focus is to create a specialty coffee movement primarily featuring coffee from the regions of Asia, which quite frankly have drowned in the volcanoes of Panama and the forests of Ethiopia.

But before I even begin with the coffee Subko showcased in this event, Rahul Reddy was featured in the 25th issue of Standart. The feature “Being the Boss” is his journey into the world of specialty coffee and how Subko was born.

It’s only fair at this point to mention Daniel Trulson, the other co-founder, a chef by profession who spent much of his time with a wood-fired oven in his backyard, upping his baking skills transforming him in what you would call a craft baker.

His prime focus is sourdough bread and laminated dough, producing croissants that look that were altered on Photoshop. His café, Bread & Chocolate, crowned him as India’s best baker.

Commitments are often made but when it comes to profitability, those commitments especially sustainability goes out the window. But, the founders at Subko persevered at sourcing locally available ingredients at the baking end.

Much of their coffee is sourced from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, states in India, from plantations that are committed to preservation of biodiversity and wildlife ecosystem.

Subko opened their doors three days before the nationwide lockdown in India last year, even that didn’t stop their momentum. This is why I’m so excited and I can’t wait for them to start shipping their coffee here.

At the event, I tried the Project Sankalp Rare, this is a super funky coffee with notes of rose, papaya and pineapple. With milk, this is straight up strawberry cream.

And yes, shortly after they were featured at Standart, they were also nominated by Sprudge for the Best New Cafe Sprudgie Award. They were awarded second place as honoree. Congratulations to Subko, it is not a small feat.

Meraki Roastery and Cafe

Walking towards the main stage where the competitions are being held, I noticed Meraki. Many times, I wanted to visit Meraki Roastery and Cafe based in Abu Dhabi. But, I am glad I got to try their coffee.

I wanted to highlight one coffee that stood out from the rest. This was the Colombian Pink Bourbon. Think pomegranate and hibiscus tea. It was so good, Abdullah bought a bag for himself instantly. This is how you buy coffee.

Nightjar Coffee Roasters

Nightjar Coffee Roasters had the most unique barista bar, a giant disco ball. Emerging from behind the bar, familiar neon lights embedded on a black metal pipe disappearing underneath with God knows what kinds of magical concoctions brewing.

You might be familiar with the Nightjar Nitro System, walk in to a cafe and you instantly recognize that there is Nitro on the menu. They have several flavors that are enjoyed by many caffeinated life forms: orange, pecan and maple.

I tried a new flavor this time: white chocolate, and I could taste some coconut in there as well! This tasted like the notorious Raffaello.

People’s Coffee

Before leaving the event, there was one final stop. I had to meet the man behind People’s Coffee. Well, one of them. Me and Ali have been trying to meet a couple of weeks before the event but we always had to reschedule.

I have spoken about this before. Coffee is not about the coffee, it’s about the people behind it. Coffee is a bonus. Well, Sheikh Dr. Qassimi & Ali, the founders, are doing exactly that. Their prime focus is to make sure that the coffee farmers obtain a fair-value price for their coffee offering.

As I told Ali at the event, this ethical and fair sourcing of coffee is scoring him extra brownie points with God. They are doing good work and this will only elevate the quality of the coffee they are working with.

I can only suggest reading Coffee is not about coffee blog post at FLTR, a short story about the Eastern Haraaz region in Yemen. It’s tragic but there’s an upside.

Competition Time

Two competitions were held during event days.

The UAE National Cup Tasters Championship commenced shortly after the New Years and the finale was on the 13th of this month. Sulaiman is the 2022 champion, this is amazing because he is also a home brewer. Sherryl from ROR and Mark from Gold Box Dubai came in second and third place, respectively.

The second competition was the UAE National Cezve/Ibrik Championship. Mariam Erin from Seven Fortunes is the 2022 champion. Elton Echavez from Typica and Mira Yunitas from The Espresso Lab took the second and third place, respectively. Congratulations to all!

I know I missed out on a lot more that was happening in the event. You can also read more in this Barista Magazine article by Vasileia Fanarioti. She is the founder of her online coffee blog called The Wandering Bean. She is a freelance copywriter and editor with a primary focus on the coffee niche.

Did you visit and what did you think? I can’t wait for the World of Coffee to come back next year already. This was a promising start for coffee in the Middle East, and I’m looking forward to the rest of what’s to come..

Highlights from World of Coffee Dubai 2022