DUBAI – Coffee, as we all know, is an integral part of the culture of the Middle East. Given the fact that Dubai is populated with hundreds of thousands- if not millions – of coffee drinkers, what better place to have a dedicated coffee museum?
The Dubai Coffee Museum, which is tucked away in a seemingly forgotten corner of Al Fahidi, is designed to give an overview of regional and global coffee history, and is one of only a small number of dedicated coffee museums around the world.
Although quite small as far as museums go, it provides a great amount of detail on different coffee cultures around the world, as well as achance to sample what is likely some of the best coffee in Dubai.
The ground floor, for example, has a section dedicated to Ethiopian coffee,complete with an Ethiopian woman gently roasting coffee beans. Nearby, an Egyptian barista, in traditional attire, prepares coffee over a bed of hot sand.
The museum also includes an Emirati-style Majlis for a glimpse into the coffee traditions of the native Bedouins.The museum, which is run by coffee importers and roasters Easternman and Co., also includes a number of European exhibits brought over following the closure of the coffee museum in Hamburg, Germany.
Other interesting exhibits include grinders decorated with Quranic verses and coffee pots made hundreds of years ago, as well as informationrelated to the birth of modern coffee in nearby Yemen. The upstairs portion includes a reading room which includes what is believed to be the oldest book about coffee in existence, as well as a cozy and relaxing café in which to sit and enjoy a good brew.
The museum is located in Villa 44 of the Al Fahidi Heritage Museum in Bur Dubai. Dh15 for adults and Dh5 for children.
-bernd@khaleejtimes.com
