James Hoffman is one of the top authorities in the coffee world. Best barista in the world in 2007 and coffee popularizer, he was surprised when he tried the exclusive Japanese coffee for 315 euros a cup. Whether it is expensive or cheap depends on each person, but it is like roasted coffee next to the new most expensive coffee in the world: 850 euros per cup.
And it is served in Dubai, of course.
Julith’s coffee. The Al Quoz neighborhood of the Emirati city has a new pilgrimage point for lovers of specialty coffee… as long as they have 3,600 dirhams from the United Arab Emirates, not those from Morocco. In exchange, about 850 euros for a cup served at Julith Cafe. Serkan Sagsoz is one of the founders of this cafeteria who believes that the Price is more than justified.
It is a coffee with notes of “white flowers like jasmine, also with citrus flavors like orange and tangerine and a touch of fruit like apricot and peach,” he says. The barista got 20 kilos of very specific beans called ‘Nido 7’. It is a Geisha cafe (we will get into that now) and the bidding must have been truly crazy: it lasted 12 hours, registered 549 bids and the final price was exorbitant. 604,080 dollars which translates into 30,204 dollars per kilo.
Geisha con notaza. The price of coffee is something that depends on a huge variety of factors: the economy of a city, the coffee shop, the origins of the coffee and the roasting process. A robusta coffee with uneven roasting is not the same as a specialty Arabica. Neither does the coffee excreted by a civet. Whether it is justified is another story, but what is clear is that Geisha is one of the kings when it comes to expensive coffees.
It is a Panamanian coffee that comes from Hacienda La Esmeralda. We have already talked about this specific coffee, which has been setting some of the records in the sector, and the reason why it is so expensive is summarized in that its cultivation is very complicated and production is low. These are the two factors that, added to the fact that the farm is located in an enviable location for coffee cultivation, make the price break ground in each auction.
Elitism also enters, since the variety has become one of the favorites in barista competitions. It is not unusual for it to win the “Best of Panama” award, but if in other years the kilo was around 10,000, the more than 30,000 that Julith Cafe has paid mark a new record. To contextualize, a “commercial” price that same day reached six euros per kilo.
NASA production. El Geisha de La Esmeralda is not a specialty coffee, it is THE specialty coffee right now. This Nido 7, specifically, was harvested in April 2025 and immediately underwent a cold fermentation process for 48 hours. Subsequently, it was dried in a controlled environment to preserve its flavors and roasted, carefully controlling the process so that it was as homogeneous as possible.
Limited. As we say, Judith got 20 kilos and they calculate that it is enough for 400 cups. It is not as quick as arriving with the money and drinking the coffee: you have to be prepared for an experience that they have designed and that includes a guided tasting through the entire production process of this coffee.
Once the 20 kilos are gone, it’s over, but there are those who won’t have to worry about this: they have reserved some grains for the wealthiest palates. Sagsoz commented that it would be “an honor to one day prepare a cup for Sheikh Mohamed.” With whatever you have loose in your pocket that day, you have something to invite.
And…Dubai. Beyond the exclusivity of coffee due to everything that surrounds its production, it is evident that the Dubai factor comes into play. Sagsoz himself, whose cafe did not exist until he bought the Nido 7 cargo a few weeks ago, comments that “it was the perfect place for investment” because the Emirates is known for extravagance. They have some of the most ostentatious buildings in the world, the Burj Khalifa, the island for super millionaires, pharaonic works on the drawing board, and all kinds of extremely exclusive experiences.
In fact, in September of this year, another coffee shop in the city had set the record for the most expensive coffee in the world by serving a cup of 2,500 dirhams, about 600 euros. With Julith’s 850, that record has disappeared and the reactions have been diverse: from “it’s Dubai, what do you expect” to opinions that allude to the fact that it is simply another experience for the richest to show off.
What is evident is that, although coffee is gaining a lot of ground in places where it did not have much prominence before – China, for example -, it is also consolidating places like Dubai as part of the luxury coffee scene. And it is something that contrasts greatly with the unfavorable situation of some farmers and the ambition that is leading to expanding Geisha farms through illegal deforestation of protected areas.
Imágenes | Julith Coffee, Coffee with Joshua
In WorldOfSoftware | Coffee, tea or Coca-Cola: what is the most popular caffeine consumption in the main countries of the world
