The most awaited opening: Things Specialty Coffee Concept Store
The most awaited cafe opening this year single handedly goes to Things. Spoiler alert: my expectations were surpassed and much more. Imagine a space where every element within it is a representation of your persona. Some would say that in a real world such a place would not exist; duplication, imitation and replication is the norm these days.
I’m here to tell you that outliers exist, to the extent that anything and everything you could think of in this space was not an after thought but conceptualized by the founder, Sulaiman Al Alawi. Let’s rewind back to 2022 when he was crowned the UAE Cup Tasters Champion.
Sulaiman was considered to be exceptional when it came to the art of tasting coffee. The ability to identify and analyze the tasting notes of coffee is, at least for me, a very important skill to have. To identify defects amongst coffees that taste very similar to each other is comparable to finding a needle in a haystack.
After representing UAE in Milan for the World Cup Tasters Championships, Sulaiman announced the opening of his artisan cafe. The infamous Cave 1.0 was going to get an upgrade, with more seating, more accessibility, more coffee and most importantly, more vibes.
Quite an upgrade this turned out to be — a raw and unfiltered take on what this brilliant mind had conceived. From the deep meaning behind the logo to the way the bar is set up, everything makes sense here for Sulaiman even if it doesn’t to you. If you are curious and ask the right questions, you will get answers you are not prepared to hear.
So, what is Things exactly? In the words of Sulaiman, “Things is a concept store and a cultural hub.” You’ve got unique eyewear — bespoke and vintage — one of a kind and available in limited quantities from JAUPIN, The Art of Optics and same old days. In some cases, a one off. A corner for the audiophiles showcasing a state-of-the-art record player from Raw Music Store and his personal vinyl record collection. He is a curator with a fine taste. Pun intended.
As soon as you enter, you will notice a voodoo hex cat doll placed in a see-through grave on the floor. This was my interpretation of what I saw, on asking Sulaiman why, he only responded with a “just because.” Even the logo of Things was not an after thought but mindfully designed to represent a safe space for people from all walks of life.
Things feature not one but two coffee bars. The larger of the two: an adroit skeletal brick espresso coffee bar setup that reminded of a visually stimulating Jenga setup. This is a representation of his father being fascinated with brick laying.
Sulaiman’s idea of hosting guest roasters in a space where he roasts his coffee means only one thing, which FLTR Magazine was quick to point out: the idea to collaborate and work collectively with one focus on mind: to raise the level of specialty coffee never seen or done before. Sulaiman and Things are here to join forces with other stakeholders in this industry who share a common vision.
Grandmother Roastery is the first inaugural guest roaster and I opted for the El Salvador on a flat white. Dark red fruit, milk chocolate and vanilla notes throughout. With an Instagram handle like @coffee_supremeleader, you’d only expect great things from Filip Tesani, and a great espresso is what he did. I have had the Aricha on filter before but on espresso, it was a completely different story. Lots of sweet orange and apricot with a juicy finish.
This Dubai based roastery, lead by Fredrick Warrens, has been roasting some of the cleanest washed Ethiopians and is my default choice to visit when I am in Al Quoz. Sulaiman chose well, the first guest roaster as well as his team. On the latter he commented, “they don’t work for me, they work with me.” He sang high praises of them and knew his vision would not have been implemented if not for them.
Coming back to the second bar which is a floating brew bar, the design is unlike anything I have seen before. “A full manual handcrafted slow bar is what it is,” Sulaiman exclaimed. Inspired by nondescript hole-in-the-wall cafes in Thailand which are less showy and more functional, you will notice no electric kettles here, instead a water faucet with three presets programmed with set temperature and volume.
Sulaiman brewed a washed Ethiopian Hamasho on a Hario V60. This coffee was produced by Kenean Assefa Dukamofrom Daye Bensa Coffee and roasted in-house on a Roest. The coffee was brewed in a ceramic server using visual senses without a scale and poured in a high-walled diamond shaped Martini glass. His reason for doing this: visual and aromatic sensory excitement.
The aromatics of the coffee was primarily floral. The tasting notes — welcoming, rounded citrus acidity, Jasmine, some pineapple thrown into the mix with a silky juicy finish. Cooling down, honey sweetness accentuated over the acidity with no sign of astringency or dryness.
Sulaiman also spoke about a low-key psychology experiment he was running. In all seriousness, consumer behavior is key when it comes to how people make purchase decisions based on their emotional, mental and behavioral responses to satisfy their needs and wants, and influence buying decisions.
He noticed small things from the moment customers walked in the store. Some had an interest in eyewear and others in the music collection. In my case, he noticed that I took my time to scout for a table with the full view of the cafe away from prying eyes, perhaps for some quick photos, and proceeded to order a coffee and enjoying it to the fullest.
Sulaiman, a curious mystifying persona behind round gazelle chiseled frames who has a knack for anti-perfectionism. Perfectionism is fleeting, and is also a roadblock to progress. This methodology stretches out to his team displaying an aura of exuberance. Things, as I said, was the most awaited cafe opening this year and surpassed every expectation I had.
