The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Malta visits AlUla during a visit to Saudi Arabia
JEDDAH: The Saudi Coffee Festival at the Jeddah Superdome introduced visitors to the Kingdom’s coffee history, and a whole new world of drinks and delicious flavors.
It ran from 6 to 8 October, highlighting the cultural heritage of Saudi coffee and increasing its global and local presence. The festival, which was organized by the Culinary Arts Commission in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and the Quality of Life Program, was one of the activities of the “Year of Saudi Coffee 2022” initiative. .
Visitors were greeted at the entrance with a small cup of Saudi coffee before starting their cultural journey.
The festival was divided into four different sections. The first, “Finjal Al-Daif,” consisted of the green museum that focused on the cultivation of coffee bean plants and the tools used in farming. There was also a museum that displayed antiques and valuables used in coffee consumption. Visitors also discovered different types of dallah, a traditional coffee pot, including one used by the late King Faisal.
A screen containing videos of the activities and achievements of the “Year of Saudi Coffee 2022” was also shown.
The most important area in this section was the children’s area, which focused on teaching children about the diverse and rich culture of Saudi Arabia.
Mayada Badr, CEO of the Culinary Arts Commission, said: “We are educating everyone about Saudi coffee culture and shining a light on one of our heritage ingredients — Saudi Khawlani coffee. . The festival serves as a platform for spreading awareness about Saudi coffee and promoting private sector investment in coffee and our heritage.”
The second section, “Fiinjal Al-Kaif,” had coffee exhibitors and experts who explained the different types of Saudi beans cultivated throughout the Kingdom along with a special tasting experience.
This section brought together key players from the Saudi coffee industry, coffee shop owners and roasteries who shared their love for coffee with visitors. There were also many interactive experiences arranged for visitors where they were taught about the various types of Saudi coffee and the special tools and utensils used to make coffee. The guests were also introduced to the recipes from the various regions of the Kingdom, which gave them an authentic view of the different sweets or dates that accompany the coffee from their respective region.
Speaking to Arab News, Esmail Almalki, founder of Ghosn Algod, an online coffee trading platform that sells authentic Saudi Khawlani coffee from the mountains of Jazan, said: “I am very excited to be part of the festival and glad he picked up the coffee. attention of people in Saudi coffee.”
A native of Al-Dayer Bani Malek province, Almalki has many farms and tries to help other farmers around him by marketing and selling their products through his online store to people who love special coffee. The store was created to produce Khawlani beans of high quality, which coffee connoisseurs hold in high regard.
“This unique opportunity presented by the Ministry of Culture helps an online platform like ours to interact with customers since most of the work is done online,” he added.
Al-Mohanad Al-Marwai, co-founder and CEO of the Arab Coffee Institute, said they were using the event to spread awareness about all aspects of the coffee sector. “During the festival, we held different workshops to persuade people to recognize coffee as different from an out of the box strategy. Everyone thinks that coffee is basically copying or tasting. But we wanted to take people out of the box when it comes to evaluating coffee in a professional way and provided them with some free informational sessions during the three days of the festival.”
He added: “We are very focused on sensory performance, sensory marketing, neurosensory as neuromarketing. We are training participants to understand the ways to open a successful coffee business and start a failed business in the coffee industry. One of the workshops was about the business of coffee roasting trends.”
He believes that the grilling trend is becoming dangerous not only for the market but also for the people who are investing in the market. “With the right guidance for everyone involved in the coffee industry achieving success will be much easier.”
Together with Rakan Alsuwaydi, senior training specialist, and Mohammed Abughazalah, co-founder of the Arabic Coffee Institute, Al-Marwai gave three workshops and sessions a day covering all aspects of the industry, starting from perception of the product, the logo, a cup of coffee and the coffee itself.
Before the third section, “Finjal Al-Saif,” which included a series of coffee dialogue and panel discussions, workshops and training, a story tent hosted prominent introduced visitors to traditional coffee stories from days that have passed
The “Finjal Al-Saif” section provided a specialized platform to encourage and train those interested in Saudi coffee.
Sultan Al-Sudairi, program developer at the Royal Institute of Traditional Arts, told Arab News: “With our participation in the festival, we aim to basically preserve and maintain traditional art by introducing elements of the coffee and get involved with the community in preparing these. crafts.”
A series of workshops on creating metal-based accessories for dallah and carving traditional Saudi motifs on plaster material was organized by the institute.
COFE, the e-commerce app, presented several workshops to teach people the techniques to get the most out of their coffee, showing them the process from bean to cup.
The first workshop helped participants prepare the perfect cup of Saudi coffee with spices from various regions, bringing out the aroma and taste.
The second workshop focused on educating people about the wealth of taste and flavor that is hidden in Saudi Coffee coffee and what they can do to really create a cup of rich specialty coffee.
The collaboration of the festival with Pur Gahwa, which is a local brand, emphasized the importance of its partnership with Saudi farmers, who form an integral part of the growing chain of Saudi coffee.
The COFE vendors and workshops at the festival gave people a true taste of what COFE stands for: Bringing together coffee communities everywhere.