Page 50 - #53 English

Culture

Story and Photos by Maja Wallengren

Middle East Seize Upon Global Boom

In Coffee Culture

Global coffee consumption has for 15 years straight
been growing at impressive rates of 2 to 2.5 percent per year.
The rapid growth in emerging markets continues to lead the
trend but the Middle East is one of the least known markets in
the world of coffee. It’s a curious fact given that this is where
modern coffee drinking first was born after the initial discovery
of coffee in Ethiopia. As the main hub for the region, Dubai has
long been the trend setter for the region and at the center of any
new development. And from Dubai across the Middle East, cof-
fee culture is booming like never before with growth in double
digits expected for years to come.
In Dubai and the Middle East, coffee growth is every-
where. From the visible numbers of more coffee shops on the
streets to the sheer amount of different roast and ground coffees
being offered in super markets, there is no denying the boom in
coffee culture. its business to over 230 stores today across the Middle East mar-
From the onset of the latest wave of growth the number kets of Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar,
of modern coffee shops owed by chains such as Starbucks and Saudi Arabia and the UAE, according to company information.
Costa Coffee rose to 160 in 2012 from 118 in 2008 in Dubai And by the end of 2014 the Dubai International Cof-
alone, according to data from the Dubai Chamber of Commerce fee & Tea Festival reported the United Arab Emirates is home
and Industry. The number of coffee trading companies mean- to over 4,000 coffee shops and tea houses. This figure includes
while rose to 112 from 99 in the five year period. everything from modern coffee shops to traditional street ven-
The Seattle-based Starbucks Coffee Co has since it first dors or coffee sold by Bedouins in old-fashioned tents stuffed
entered the Middle East in 1999 through a licensing agreement with oriental rugs and coffee artefacts taking visitors hundreds
with the Kuwait family business the Alshaya Group expanded of years back in history.
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