Asma AlSuwaidi is the owner of
The Echo Machine, a coffee shop and roastery located in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The Echo Machine opened its doors in 2019 with the vision in mind to serve good coffee in the emirates as Abu Dhabi at the time lacked good coffee.
Interview with Asma AlSuwaidi, owner of The Echo Machine located in Abu Dhabi, UAE:
Can you tell us about the coffee industry in the United Arab Emirates?
- In Abu Dhabi, the coffee industry is growing really fast and you can see every house serve coffee from the morning to even the afternoon. It is a symbol of generosity for the culture. Aside from family serving coffees, we have the coffee industry growing and a lot of people are opening coffee shops. Every month you can see about 10-20 coffee shops opening. Even coffee roasters, we used to have a few coffee roasters out of the Emirates and now people are focusing roasting their own coffee - even the coffee shop owners.
What are the current coffee trends you have seen?
- People are still not used to having plain coffee without additives like sugar and it is very hard to convince them to come have coffee without sugar. It takes some time for them to get used to plain coffee in our country. Drinks like the Spanish latte and cortado is growing fast.
What are your future plans for The Echo Machine?
- I'm hoping to expand and open the roastery in a different location. In the future, I plan to export my coffee outside of the country to other coffee shops near the gulf area, Europe, and America.
Thank you so much Asma for taking the time to chat with us about the coffee industry in the United Arab Emirates!
