Yemeni roast
Mokha 1450 has an interesting story behind everything — from formation to sourcing, as well as serving.
Located in Al Wasl Road in Dubai, the coffee boutique is the brainchild of Garfield Kerr, Kim Thompson and Matt Toogood, three coffee industry professionals who met five years ago at a coffee conference in Yemen. It is a breath of fresh air in a chain-dominated coffee culture, and Thompson tells us how it all came in to being.
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What is the concept of Mokha 1450?
Mokha 1450 is a coffee boutique, where most of the coffee is sourced directly from the farmers, and a 70–strong female co–operative of Talok as the flagship coffee.
We met five years ago in Yemen, when we were all visiting to understand the coffee options better, and had to share a 4WD as we toured the country.
Kerr (wearing a designer suit and tie) and hailing from Jamaica, was there to conduct a feasibility study regarding the speciality coffee coming out of Yemen.
Toogood and I (not in suits and ties) had gone to explore, and hopefully source some special coffee from the only place in the Middle East that grows coffee.
How do you make sure you stand apart from the competition?
The coffee speaks for itself. We host five single origins, each with a traceable story. Ideally, we would love to think of Mokha 1450 as the place a new coffee drinker can go to and try a freshly roasted speciality coffee that is delivered correctly. We also have very well–trained baristas who are empowered and really into their coffee.
Tell us more about the equipment used at the venue for coffee, and how important was this while developing the concept?
The best coffee has to be prepared using the best equipment and the La Marzocco espresso machine is the Rolls Royce of coffee machines. We have partnered with the Nuova Simonelli Mythos Barista 1 for the coffee grinder. We chose Aswaaq Community Mall in Al Bada’a complex on Al Wasl road as our first location, as we wanted to be accessible and welcoming to the Emirati community.
We realised that they were looking for speciality Yemeni coffee, and we know many of them have travelled and experienced good fresh coffee overseas when studying or travelling.
Where do you get your beans from, and is there anything that makes the venue’s coffee offering stand out?
We are working directly with three female initiatives: in Yemen with the Talok Women’s Coffee Association and in Ethiopia, Amaro Gayo. And for the first time in the world, we also have the heirloom Ethiopian Geisha. We also buy from another women’s co–operative in Guatemala that is certified ethically sourced and organic. And last, but not least, a delicate and floral coffee from Mount Kenya. The house blend that is specifically designed for the milk–based drinkers is a secret recipe that combines dry, processed, and washed coffees from Ethiopia and Central America.
Most popular beverage at the venue?
As we expected, the most popular coffee is the Yemeni Talok coffee, but the Ethiopian Geisha is also widely enjoyed. Surprisingly, the traditional Turkish style preparation using the sand burner is one of the most popular brewing methods, and then for the take–away fast option, the flat white is hands–down the best–seller.
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