Encounter Coffee Roasters is the coffee brand of EATX, the Dubai group behind Tom & Serg, The Sum of Us and Common Grounds, and it roasts all of its beans in-house for the group’s venues, “keeping the quality high and ethical”. Its craft was developed in Melbourne, and the paper cups carry the line “coffee for the modern traveler”: the ambition is to create coffee “Encounters” in transit hubs and public spaces in major cities around the world.
The roastery is on the ground floor of Burj Al Salam on Sheikh Zayed Road, in the Trade Centre district, the same floor as The Sum of Us, EATX’s sourdough bakery and gourmet café. Encounter’s own café is at Mall of the Emirates, and a kiosk serves ICD Brookfield Place in DIFC. The group’s roasters source organic green beans from growers in coffee regions worldwide.
The retail range pairs two house blends, Voyager and Encounter X, with single origins from Ethiopia, Kenya, Colombia, Brazil, Mexico and a washed Guatemalan Geisha, sold whole or ground for seven brew methods, plus capsules, drip boxes and gift cards. There are brewing guides for V60, syphon, Chemex and AeroPress, and Encounter runs coffee classes.
Coffee on the shelf
- Milk chocolate
- Fruit juice
- Milk chocolate
- Roasted nuts
- Berry
- Dried fruit
- Floral
- Jasmine
- Dark berries
- Citrus
- Bergamot
- Roasted peanuts
- Dark chocolate
- Cacao nibs
- Chocolate
- Peanut
- Ripe guava
- Juicy kiwi
- Floral
- Red fruits
Photograph: Encounter Coffee Roasters