Image credit: World of Coffee Dubai
Coffee Magazine just returned from WOC Dubai, which was bigger and better than ever before - seriously, it was huge! The Middle East coffee market is in a boom phase as there is extremely strong buying power in the region and a demand for excellence. Here's a list of the top 5 things we saw that you need to know!
1. Bad Coffee should become a thing of the past - here’s why.
The investment in AI and IOT technology by coffee manufacturers in Grinders, espresso machines and System setups has really come to the fore this year, and that means better coffee for consumers. The majority of new espresso machines have Apps that talk to the Staff and can even make adjustments in real time. Some, like the new La Cimbali Elective grinders for example, are synched to the espresso machine and automatically adjust the grind size and dosage if a shot is pulled outside of the narrow parameters set by the barista. Telemetry systems measuring flow, pressure and shot length are also trending - Cropster, traditionally only used for Roast profile data, has developed “Cropster Cafe” which tracks every shot across multiple cafes, and FLOW (who we’ve seen for a few years now) is also making a push into this space. Fully automated machines like Eversys have also upped the ante in terms of what we can expect from fully automatic coffee machines.
The bottom line - as a coffee customer - you should never have a “bad” shot in 2025. If you do, you should urge your local spot to start considering an equipment upgrade or a telemetry system in the near future - Life’s too short to drink badly pulled coffee shots!
2. Matcha is having its Moment
This is a huge trend at the moment - not only because matcha has caught the imagination of the younger consumer, but also the healthier consumer. We are also seeing a trend towards removing the surcharge from alternative milks (Tim Hortons, Starbucks and others announced this over the week) to bring “alternative” cafe trends into the mainstream.
The bottom line - Matcha is a pretty delicious option - it has the slow release caffeine kick and a bunch of health benefits! Ask your local cafe to ask their local alt milk supplier to consider bringing the cost of alt milks into line with dairy. It’s happening globally!
3. Coffee Prices have reached all-time highs and this is officially unchartered territory
Probably the biggest topic discussed in the coffee world right now is the cost of green coffee and access to it. The coffee price surged beyond the $4 a pound price for the first time in history this month, and it’s not coming down. The reasons are complicated and there’s no immediate solution, other than waiting for a market correction when Brazil’s harvest is done in April/May this year.
The bottom line - If you love your local coffee shop/roastery/barista, support them through this very tough time with your wallet. They will be putting their prices up, they have to - either that or go out of business. Sadly, some will close anyway, it’s that bad. So, if you can afford to, support them through this, keep encouraging them and know that it’s purely out of survival that your coffee is costing more.
4. Robusta can be robust!
While Brazil and the arabica coffee market struggle in a very real climate-change affected world, Robusta is making huge strides in quality and availability. The old adage that Robusta has half the natural sugars and has double the caffeine - is true - but with focused farming and producing, especially out of countries like Uganda, India and Indonesia, it doesn’t mean that robusta has to be twice as bitter! We tasted some incredible robusta espresso shots which were sweet and delicious - and gave us a buzz!
The bottom line - Robusta is more hardy than it’s famous cousin, arabica, and it is coming into its own; with quality farming, producing and roasting, it can be delicious!
5. Co-fermented Coffee isn't going anywhere
What is co-fermentation anyway? In simple terms, it’s when a coffee is fermented in barrels with actual fruits - like strawberries, pineapple or cinnamon for example, you can find out more here. It is extremely popular and big green coffee distributors like Sucafina are selling large lots of it especially in the Middle East where the tradition of coffee is to infuse spices like cardamom with the brewing method.
The bottom line - Co-fermentation is coffee like you’ve never taste before. Some purists will turn their noses up at it, but the numbers don’t lie - it’s popular, and who knows, maybe you’ll love it! As Maria Barquin of Sucafina says, "Drink the coffee you like! There is something for everyone, let people have fun."
