Stracciatella e Macchiato

The prospective coffee connaisseur learns at an early stage that freshly roasted beans are crucial for brewing a great cup of coffee. By fresh we are talking days rather than weeks or months. That makes it basically impossible for any coffee you would find in your supermarket of choice to develop the flavour we are aiming for, no matter how air-tight packed the beans might be. This is were local roasters come in as they can provide freshly roasted beans at household quantities. Raw Coffee Company is the local roaster in Dubai and our recent visit revealed that the guys know what they are doing!

Located in Al Quoz, its difficult to find as no signage points to the store. Although asking Google Maps for help, it took us a few rounds around the bloc to find it. (Hint: off Sheikh Zayed Road at the Volkswagen dealership, left after the showroom, then first right. Its inside the large Strategic Food International Company complex).

Once found the mix of warehouse, coffeeshop and bar appears comfortable and exciting. The distinct smell of freshly roasted coffee confirms it, this is a place where real stuff gets done. Tons of bags of fresh coffee beans from the world’s renowned coffee plantations are piled up, waiting for their turn in the in-store roastery. The roasters are in a separate room just next to the beans, however easily visible through a big window behind the coffee bar. We were told that apart from weekends, beans are being roasted daily. Enough reason to come back some time soon on a weekday to watch that process.

The big La Marzocco coffee machine on the counter which you face when entering is actually in use, guests can enjoy their well prepared cup either on a few tables next to the entrance or at a bigger space upstairs. The barista told us that daily there are three different roasts available for consumption and filled in the three grinders next to the espresso machine. One of them usually is a house blend, one roast is a from African beans and the third one typically from South America. Great to explore different kinds of coffee in a relaxed setting. In a spontaneous tasting we learned that also the grinding level has a big impact on the espresso flavour! Making a great cup of coffee is equally art and science.

Looking at the rack of fresh roasts to take home there is a wide selection of beans from the best coffee producing countries in the world and also some unexpected ones – Colombia, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Peru, Uganda etc., also the earlier mentioned house blends are available for take away. 100% organic and ethically traded you got all reasons for enjoying that cup of coffee!