The coffee industry… innovation and luxury

Innovation and Luxury

Garfield Kerr

CEO Mokha 1450

At Mokha 1450, innovation and luxury go hand in hand. In fact, the latter is often intormed by the former, as luxury by definition equires innovation as the dilferentiator to the commonplace,whether that be expressed through superior ingredient or craftsmanship. For the first iteration of the Barista Craf Magazine,it is the innovation of Mokha 1450’s baristas that takes center stage. As they were tasked through an internal competition with curating a coffee experience tike no other; one that is niquely targeted to the flavor profile preterences of the fine inhabitants of the United
Arab Emirates (UAE).

While numerous studies have shown that coffee preferences amongst countries can be identified and quantified, there are differences of course within any populace, hence cach similar segment of the UAE coffe consuming public represents a discrete circle in a Venn diagram. Therefore, the monumental task of the barista is that of identilying where those circles overlap and curate a coffee whose flavor profile highlights these unions. The resull of this exploration is an experience like no other, a coffee entirely new that would not exist had the challenge not been presented and
accepted in the first place, a coffee whose origin will not be shared so as to remove the limitations aof expectations as well as to highlight the barista alone. The outcome is a unique coffee that is a luxury to be shared with our clients, whom we recognize as the connoisseurs that they are, and whom will be the final arbiters of whether our baristas have truly hit the mark.

Another equally important innovation on display within this, the seminal issue of the three-part magazine, is that of revenue sharing with our baristas. Baristas in the UAE are some of the most talented in the world, as exemplified through their work in one of the world’s leading specialty coffee markets as well s their national and international Specialty Coffee Association coffee competition championships. Yet, because of inscrutable market conditions, the baristas in the UAE are not paid a salary that is commensurate with their counterparts in other leading specialty coffee
regions. To solve this dilemma, we offer an innovative and new approach, as the limited-edition coffees that are produced by the top three finalists in the aforementioned competition will feature with a compendium magazine with a percentage of the revenue from coffee bag sales going directly to the barista who crafted their own unique vision of the perfect coffee that most suits the to UAE’s palate.

If you are reading this, you may have had the luxury of experiencing the coffee produced by Mohamed Minran, the first in the three-part series. The flavor profile of Minran’s coffee presents of with notes of cherries. honey, exceptional Sweetness, fruity. with a milk chocolate finish and an added dose of innovation and luxury.