World of Coffee Dubai continues to experience notable growth
Credit: Vanessa Facenda
The fourth annual World of Coffee Dubai took place this week (10-12 February) and as with the previous iterations, showed impressive growth. The show, which brings together coffee producers, manufacturers, and traders, is organised by DXB Live, the experiential agency of Dubai World Trade Centre, in collaboration with the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA). Organisers informed Emirates247.com that there was a 50% increase in exhibitor numbers and a 33% expansion in exhibition space, resulting in 1,980 companies from 78 countries. Rather than ending early on the final day (16:00), show hours were extended to parallel the first two days (10am to 18:00), because as with the previous shows, business, not just networking, was being conducted on the show floor.
WOC Dubai 2025 featured ten national pavilions including returning countries such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia – which expanded its number of exhibitors – Brazil, El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama, Ethiopia, Rwanda, and India, which tripled its pavilion’s size, alongside first-time exhibitors, Mexico and Morocco. Starbucks Coffee was also a first-time exhibitor –offering tastings of many of its single origin coffee and its blend exclusive to the Middle East – and hosted a panel that included Brady Brewer, CEO Starbucks International, who said that Starbucks is has been deeply committed to the region and will continue to be deeply committed to the region and what we love more than anything is inviting people in for great coffee and we’ve been doing that together with our partner, the Alshaya Group for more than two decades.”
Evidencing the growing importance of coffee in the Middle East and the role WOC Dubai plays, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, visited the show on opening day along with His Excellency Helal Saeed Al Marri, Director General of Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism, and Director General of the Dubai World Trade Centre Authority.
WOC Dubai 2025 expanded its hall space as well, growing from three halls in 2024 to four this year, which offered more space for lecture/presentation stages, workshops, and exhibitors. Returning show segments included Roasters Village, Cupping Rooms, Brew Bar, SCA Community Lounge, Coffee Design Awards, the New Product Display Competition, and of course, the SCA UAE Coffee Championships. New additions to this year’s edition included the Intro to Cupping Workshop and the Dubai Coffee Auction.
The Dubai Coffee Auction was hosted by the DMCC, in partnership with m.cultivo and DXB Live, and featured 16 lots of specialty coffee meticulously chosen from some of the world’s most renown producers. Before the final bids of the live auction were placed on 11 February, Ahmed Bin Sulayem, executive chairman and CEO of the DMCC, spoke to the, which included bidders from around the world. He noted that it was “not just an auction but a showcase of the world’s finest and rarest coffees and a platform to reinforce Dubai’s position as a global hub for the coffee trade.”
WOC Dubai showcases not just the growing coffee culture in the Middle East, but the focus and seriousness the region has on growing the consumption and trade of specialty coffee in the region. [A fun aside, one of the presenters highlighted the fact that the term ‘specialty coffee’ was actually coined by the ‘mother of specialty coffee’, Erna Knutsen in Tea & Coffee Trade Journal in 1974, which many forget.]
World of Coffee Dubai 2026 will be held 19-21 January at the Dubai World Trade Centre.
- Vanessa L Facenda, editor, Tea & Coffee Trade Journal
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