Black Coffee is the Dubai brand of Café Younes, founded in 1935 and “the oldest and the largest home-grown specialty coffee roaster in Lebanon”, whose cafés there are known as a second home to their regulars. BLACKCOFFEE was established in 2018 to carry that 90-year heritage into the UAE: it sources Arabica from around the world and roasts it live in its branches, where customers can watch the roaster at work.

There are two cafés in Dubai. The first is in Duja Tower on Sheikh Zayed Road, by the World Trade Centre, with a timeline wall of family photographs that starts at 1935. The second is in Dubai Media City. Both have their own menus, and the shop runs a coffee masterclass, “From Seed to Cup”, with brewing guides for V60, AeroPress, Chemex and the rakweh, the long-handled Lebanese pot.

The coffee packs split into blends and single origins. Among the blends are House Blend № 14, the Marjeiouni, named after the Lebanese region of Marjeioun, a cardamom-infused Golden Rakweh Blend and Abou Anwar’s Blend, a tribute to the man who roasted at Café Younes for six decades from 1954, made from his favourite single origins. The single origins come from Colombia, Guatemala, Panama, Yemen, Brazil, Ethiopia and El Salvador, sold whole or ground for rakweh, espresso, filter or French press, with espresso capsules alongside.

Coffee on the shelf

Photograph: Black Coffee by Cafe Younes