There’s a rise in new specialty coffee pop-ups in the UAE and they’re all about having unique concepts that set them apart from the rest of the cafes. Thankfully excellent coffee is still on their agenda and most of them focus on local roasters. Why buy local? Because the coffee is always fresh and we have some really talented roasters here in the UAE.

The design trend for specialty cafes has been revolving around concrete, industrial and minimalism. Although these are great spaces to work, chill and enjoy your cup of coffee, but when cafes all start to look like each other there’s very little that sets them apart. What I am trying to say is that maybe they lack uniqueness. It tends to get a bit repetitive to be honest.

When someone does things out of the norm, one of the two scenarios take place: you get critiqued, you have copycats, or you have both which is not necessarily a bad thing. But in this case, Space Cup is the first bringing a very unique spaceship concept, from what I have seen. The interior revolves around the use of red, orange and white reminiscent to a Martian theme. Perhaps, it is a space ship headed towards Mars.

Even the baristas are in all-white, which gives it a very futuristic feel. Heading the place is Head Barista Pj, a very humble, down-to-earth, extremely knowledgeable gentleman not afraid to share what was acquired in his years of pursuit of perfecting coffee brewing, and also talented in the dark arts of latte art. Sharing the stage with him is Marco who is equally passionate and proficient in the skill of making coffee taste good, which I warn you is not easy to attain.

They have these laidback seat pods which at first might seem odd in a cafe setting, but they are really comfortable and are the best seats in the house to watch the barista in some espresso pulling action. Okay, so the place will attract all the attention but is the coffee any good?

No doubt it is, the line up is from one of my favorite roasters in Dubai - Three Coffee Roasters. They do does things differently, and their coffees are literally fruit bombs. Having tasted almost all of their filter based coffee, I knew I will end up ordering perhaps an Indonesian Carbonic Natural which is by far my favorite. To my surprise, they had two more filters I havent tasted before. It was only natural to order both and compare them to each other side by side.

My favorite has now been dethroned, their new anaerobic processed coffee (fermentation process that lacks oxygen) called Spice Up from El Salvador have these beautiful notes of Lavender, Cola, Spices. To put the notes into perspective think of candied cardamom. The Spice Up is unique and low key reminds me of Biryani, but in a good way.

The second filter ordered was the Ethiopia Bombe SPSV which stands for “Single Plantation, Single Varietal”. It is naturally processed and placed in thick layers, this causes a mix fermentation (aerobic + anaerobic) to take place giving it a very complex and intense fruity “layered” notes. Fruity and floral, this is Ethiopia 101 done right.

Both are very contrasting yet enjoyable, guaranteed to please the varying tastebuds of specialty purists. PJ was also kind enough to brew an Ethiopian Yirgacheffe which was given to him as a sample. What I got out of this was close-to-ripe sweet green melon with a hint of cucumber and mint.

All this filter and leave out the espresso - no way! Sweet chocolate-y Brazilian, medium body with balanced acidity is like cherry on top making the drink very enjoyable and leaves you craving for more. If you haven’t been here yet, you should go. And tell them that I sent you. And no, you wont get any freebies.