How one Specialty Cafe in Dubai is Paying Tribute to Baristas
For the longest time, Mokha 1450 has been synonymous with coffee that defines luxury, indulgence and decadence. It’s the result of sourcing, roasting and brewing the finest coffee from assiduous producers who want nothing but perfection from their beans. It is part of Garfield Kerr’s vision, Founder and CEO, to offer an indulgence — coffee that tastes like opulence. To this, he made a captivating remark in the first iteration of the Barista Craft Magazine, “Innovation and luxury go hand in hand. The latter is often informed by the former.”
Two coffees come to mind instantaneously whenever I think of Mokha 1450, their signature Jamaica Blue Mountainproduced by three female farmers and Ethiopian Adame produced by Heleanna Georgalis. Lameen and I experimented the latter in a taste test which you can read about it here. We also had a chance to share a conversation with her during the World of Coffee Dubai earlier this year.
The past week I was invited to Mokha 1450 Coffee Lounge at Palm Jumeirah along with my friend, Lameen Abdul Malik, for a coffee experience. I didn’t have any more specifics and was only given a time to show up. On a side note, I have always been beguiled to see the baristas impeccably dressed at the cafe. It is in the small touches that make a lasting impression.
The evening commenced by a brief interactive networking session and amongst us present were well-known personalities, champions and journalists from the coffee industry such as Khalid Al Mulla — CEO of Dubai Coffee Museum, Mariam Erin — 2023 UAE Barista Champion, Mark Uy — 2022 UAE Cup Tasters Champion, Sherryl Inocencio — 2021 UAE Cup Tasters Champion, Lee Safar — Founder of Map it Forward Podcast and many more.
Little did we know we were all gathered to celebrate Mokha 1450’s baristas and to commemorate their hard work. Their skills were put to the test internally and were tasked to create a coffee experience for the UAE. Garfield adds, “The result of this exploration is an experience like no other. A coffee whose origin will not be shared so as to remove the limitations of expectations as well as to highlight the barista alone.”
A specialty cafe’s success is in their baristas, and they are required to be highly skilled in brewing coffee. The survival of the former depends on it. It is, however, unfortunate that baristas suffer the same fate as the producers — low wages. The two ends of the coffee spectrum need us now more than ever before.
There are fantastic initiatives taking place in Dubai to support our friends behind the coffee bar but Mokha 1450 is one step ahead of the rest. A revenue sharing program of the coffee bag sales has been set up to reward the top three finalists who crafted their version of the UAE’s coffee. First up — Minran’s Coffee produced by Mohamed Minran.
We enjoyed his coffee in four different types of brewing methods — starting from Siphon, Chemex, V60 and Espresso. But, it was the V60 that stood out the most for me. It was sweet, balanced with a hint of brightness that puts a smile to your face. Minran had a theory when he was curating his coffee for the people of UAE, “People in the UAE like a more romantic and flavorful cup and, in my experience, usually prefer low acidity, with notes of chocolate and fruits.” Looks like he was right.
Along side the brewing session was the talented and charismatic Layne Redman, British television presenter, writer and actor, interviewing our UAE coffee champs. Entertaining and insightful, indeed. The event was concluded by Khalid Al Mulla announcing the dates of the 2024 World of Coffee Dubai happening on the 21st - 23rd of January. Spoiler alert: it’s going to be bigger than last year!
Minran’s coffee curation is great and it warms me to see a appreciable campaign at play here. The revenue sharing program is first of its kind, kudos to Garfield thinking out of the box, and with this, I hope more cafes follow suit.
