The specialty coffee industry in the United Arab Emirates is projected to grow even more in the next few years. Especially since the introduction of the World of Coffee Dubai back in 2022, this Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) premier coffee trade show is designed to connect coffee professionals from all over to the United Arab Emirates specialty coffee industry.
The reach of specialty coffee is vast and we are so honored to chat with Asma AlSuwaidi to learn more about the growing specialty coffee industry in the United Arab Emirates.
Asma AlSuwaidi is the owner of The Echo Machine, a coffee shop and roastery located in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The Echo Machine opened its doors in 2019 with the vision in mind to serve good coffee in the emirates as Abu Dhabi at the time lacked good coffee.
Interview with Asma AlSuwaidi, owner of The Echo Machine located in Abu Dhabi, UAE:
Can you tell us about the coffee industry in the United Arab Emirates?- In Abu Dhabi, the coffee industry is growing really fast and you can see every house serve coffee from the morning to even the afternoon. It is a symbol of generosity for the culture. Aside from family serving coffees, we have the coffee industry growing and a lot of people are opening coffee shops. Every month you can see about 10-20 coffee shops opening. Even coffee roasters, we used to have a few coffee roasters out of the Emirates and now people are focusing roasting their own coffee - even the coffee shop owners.
- People are still not used to having plain coffee without additives like sugar and it is very hard to convince them to come have coffee without sugar. It takes some time for them to get used to plain coffee in our country. Drinks like the Spanish latte and cortado is growing fast.
- I'm hoping to expand and open the roastery in a different location. In the future, I plan to export my coffee outside of the country to other coffee shops near the gulf area, Europe, and America.
Here at Savor Brands, we're really excited to see and be part of the growth of the specialty coffee industry in the United Arab Emirates. If you're interested in learning more about packaging trends for this market and custom printed packaging, contact our team!
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