Hot or iced, long or short, medium or strong, morning or afternoon, straight up, frothy or with a dash of syrup – there’s a cup of coffee for every occasion.
Coffee is one of the world’s most popular drinks, with global research suggesting that 2.25 billion cups are consumed around the world every single day. Coffee isn’t just a drink though, it often plays a role in culture, too, such as here in the UAE where coffee is an important part of hospitality.
However, while a cuppa is often part of the daily routine, it’s important to recognise where those beans and beverages come from.
Ethical sourcing is a vital part of production, ensuring that growers and their workforce are fairly compensated and that there’s a sustainable way of trading.
So in view of supporting fairtrade and local, here are our favourite home-grown coffee companies doing their part for the planet.
Alchemy Coffee
This minimalist cafe in the heart of Dubai’s Jumeirah serves a wide range of beverages from the regular – espresso, macchiato, latte, flat white – to the more niche, such as aeropress, cold drip and cold brew. As well as serving a delicious cup of coffee in a set-up that’s ideal for catch-ups or remote working, Alchemy is dedicated to keeping practices ethical too, with its mission statement reading: ‘providing quality coffee to our community whilst supporting coffee farmers communities around the world’.
Blacksmith Coffee Company
Blacksmith Coffee Company can be found in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi and was set up in the UAE capital back in 2015. It was formed by ‘a love of good coffee’, aiming to bring quality drinks to the community, while still focusing on sustainability. Blacksmith Coffee Company has its own roastery, as well as two cafés in Abu Dhabi – at NYU on Saadiyat Island and at Souq Al Mina – and in the cool industrial area of Al Quoz in Dubai.
Their beans are sourced from Honduras, Ethiopia, Columbia, Brazil, Kenya and beyond and Blacksmith serves everything from espresso, flat white and cortado to aeropress and cold brew, with specials such as date cardamom lattes as a nod to regional flavours.
Boon Coffee
An organic, specialty roaster, Boon Coffee was founded in the UAE by Orit Mohammed. Coming from Ethiopia, she knows plenty about the industry, promising, ‘fine, fresh and skilfully roasted’ beans. Boon states that it is ‘proud to be able to offer 100 percent pure, single-origin, Arabica beans sourced directly from Ethiopia – the birthplace of coffee’.
Boon also works closely with the supplier farming communities, explaining, ‘As well as ensuring that they are compensated fairly, we give back by investing in education’. Boon can be found at various locations across the UAE including Meadows Village, JLT, Time Out Market Dubai and Nakheel Mall in Dubai, as well as Erth Hotel in Abu Dhabi.
Coffee Planet
This home-grown brand was born in Dubai 2005 and believes in making ‘coffee greater than just a beverage’ with smooth signature blends and rich single-origins. It is also dedicated to sustainability, stating on its site, ‘From ethical sourcing of beans to waste management, our initiatives and programmes are developed towards reducing the impact of what we do on the environment.’
Coffee Planet has several branches across the UAE, including in JVC and Dubai Hills Mall in Dubai and Rabdan in Abu Dhabi, and the team roast their own coffee in Dubai. Coffee Planet prides itself on ‘preserving the UAE’s coffee heritage’, and sells products to drink at home as well.
Joud Coffee
This home-grown company was set up in Abu Dhabi in 2015, opening its first café in Al Bateen. It’s since expanded throughout the city, with branches in Yas Mall and Al Qana among others. Known for its community vibe, Joud Coffee roasts its beans in small batches at its own roasting facility in the UAE capital and promises to source them through ‘ethical and sustainable direct trade partnerships that connect us to growers and traders around the globe’.
Lime Tree Café
Popular Lime Tree Café was set up in Dubai’s Jumeirah in 2001, and has since expanded to seven locations including Springs, the Palm and Al Quoz. As well as being famed for its cakes and welcoming atmosphere, Lime Tree takes sustainability seriously, encouraging customers to order in larger quantities, less often, to limit the number of deliveries, plus offering discounts for those who bring their own cups. It also uses FSC, recycled, biodegradable and compostable materials where possible. The company says it has only sold organic and fair-trade tea and coffee since 2006.
Sidamo, a single-origin, wet processed coffee from the Sidama Zone, in the Southern highlands of Ethiopia is their bean of choice. ‘It is 100 percent organic to avoid pesticides and dangerous chemical residue,’ reads Lime Tree’s mission statement. ‘We only use fairtrade tea and coffee to ensure support for the hard-working farmers and their families who grow these wonderful products.’
Mokha 1450
Specialty boutique Mokha 1450 was set up in Dubai in 2015, with the name stemming from Mokha, a port in Yemen where the coffee trade was said to operate from back in the 15th century. There are now two branches in Dubai, at Al Wasl Road and Palm Jumeirah, and the shops serve drinks from aeropress, Chemex, syphon and V60, to cappuccino, espresso, long black, flat white and more, with varieties including Jamaica Blue Mountain, Guatemala Asobagri and Yemini Sabri among other single-origins.
As well as taking ethical sourcing seriously, Mokha 1450 focuses on working with women farmers and women’s cooperatives in Yemen and Ethiopia. ‘Our philosophy is an attempt to do coffee the right way, in providing a model where the end user and the farmer share more equitably in the burdens and rewards in producing an amazing cup of coffee,’ states the company.
Raw Coffee
Probably the most famous coffee company advocating fair trade in the UAE, Raw Coffee was founded in Dubai in 2007. It was one of the first in the UAE to offer certified ethically traded coffee. Raw focuses on 100 percent organic, ethical fair trading and locally roasted beans. ‘We source premium green beans from around the world and have selected the niche specialty market looking for quality and sustainability,’ states the team.
‘It’s really important to us that our beans are ethically sourced and the farmers and their families growing our coffee are treated fairly and can make a sustainable living. We deal directly with our farmers and the processing partners and buy fresh beans each year, roasting these with care, paying attention to every detail.’ There’s a cool café in a warehouse in Dubai’s Al Quoz, where enthusiasts can head to the espresso bar and learn from the team, while bags of beans can be bought in-store or online.
Like to drink your coffee with plant-based milk? Almond, oat, coconut or soy – Read our article here on how your favourite milk affects the planet.
