From Dallah to Pour-Over: How the Coffeeshop Became Saudi Arabia’s New Majlis

Cultural Roots, Market Sophistication, and the Rise of the World’s Most Compelling Specialty Coffee Scene

Research Article

Abstract

Saudi Arabia has become one of the most dynamic and sophisticated specialty coffee markets in the world. This transformation did not emerge from nowhere. It grew from centuries of deeply rooted coffee culture, from the ritual of Gahwa in the family majlis to the communal language of hospitality that coffee has always carried across the Arabian Peninsula. This article examines the cultural foundations, economic dimensions, and social significance of Saudi Arabia’s coffeeshop revolution. It argues that the modern Saudi coffeeshop is not a foreign import grafted onto local soil. It is a natural evolution of traditions that were always present. The coffeeshop has become the new majlis. It is a gathering place for community, creativity, and conversation. For international readers, the article presents Saudi Arabia as a market that is simultaneously rooted in cultural depth and open to innovation. It is a market where new ideas succeed precisely because they connect with values that were never replaced.

1. Introduction

Coffee has been part of Arabian life for centuries. It arrived on the Peninsula through Yemen in the 15th century. It travelled from Bedouin tents to merchant houses to royal courts. It became the first thing offered to a guest. It became the gesture by which trust was extended, alliances confirmed, and grief shared. The word itself tells part of the story. The Arabic root of the word “qahwa” carries the meaning of strength and invigoration. From this root comes the English word “coffee.” The Arabian Peninsula did not merely adopt a beverage. It gave the world its name.

Today, Saudi Arabia is the largest branded coffee shop market in the entire Middle East. It accounts for 46 percent of all branded coffee outlets in the region. The specialty coffee market was valued at USD 0.95 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach USD 2.11 billion by 2033. The café sector as a whole was valued at USD 6.14 billion in 2024 and is forecast to reach USD 9.87 billion by 2030. Saudis consume approximately 36 million cups of coffee per day.

These numbers are extraordinary. But numbers alone do not explain them. To understand why Saudi Arabia has become one of the world’s most compelling coffee markets, it is necessary to begin not with data but with culture. The depth of the market is the product of cultural roots that run deeper than any market report can measure.

2. The Cultural Foundation: Coffee as a Language of Belonging

2.1 Gahwa and the Ritual of Hospitality

The Arabic word for the traditional Saudi coffee ceremony is Gahwa. It refers both to the beverage and to the act of its preparation and service. Gahwa is brewed from lightly roasted Arabica beans combined with cardamom, saffron, cloves, and sometimes rose water. It is served in a Dallah, the long-spouted brass or silver coffee pot that has become one of the most recognized symbols of Gulf identity. It is poured into small handleless cups called finjans. It is offered without sugar. The sweetness comes from the dates served alongside it.

Every element of this ritual carries meaning. The most honored guest is served first. The finjan is filled only a quarter of the way, allowing for multiple refills. This is not inefficiency. It is an invitation to stay. If a host fills the cup to the brim, it signals that the drink has been served and the visit may conclude. If a guest wishes to decline more coffee, they gently shake the cup from side to side. These are not arbitrary conventions. They are a grammar of generosity.

In 2015, UNESCO inscribed Gahwa on its Intangible Cultural World Heritage list. In 2022, this recognition was extended to include additional dimensions of Saudi coffee culture. The inscription acknowledged that Gahwa is not merely a beverage practice. It is a living cultural institution that transmits values of hospitality, respect, and communal identity across generations.

2.2 The Majlis: Where Coffee and Community Converge

The majlis is the traditional Saudi gathering space. The word means "a place of sitting." In Saudi homes, the majlis is the most prominent room. It is allocated more space and more care than any other part of the house. It is where guests are received, disputes are resolved, stories are told, and community bonds are maintained. The Saudi Press Agency describes the majlis as "a living school for generations, bringing together young and old in an atmosphere that preserves social heritage and passes down traditions related to hospitality, guest etiquette, and the serving of dates and Saudi coffee."

Coffee and the majlis are inseparable. At the heart of every majlis sits the kawar, a small stove for preparing fresh Gahwa. The scent of coffee mingles with the smoke of oud incense. The dallah is passed. The conversation begins. This is not a setting for transactions. It is a setting for human connection. The majlis is the original third place. It is the space between home and the formal world where society negotiates itself over a shared cup.

Understanding the majlis is essential to understanding why the modern Saudi coffeeshop has achieved its current cultural centrality. The coffeeshop did not replace the majlis. It carried its spirit into a new form. The social function is the same. The scale and the architecture have changed.

2.3 Coffee as Cultural Memory

Saudi Arabia's relationship with coffee predates the modern café by several centuries. Coffee houses known as qahveh khaneh were established across the Middle East from the 16th century onward. These establishments served as hubs for discussion, news sharing, poetry recitation, and intellectual exchange. One of the earliest modern cafés in Riyadh, "Al-Zuhour," opened in 1954. The tradition of gathering in a dedicated space to drink coffee and discuss ideas is therefore not a new phenomenon in Saudi Arabia. It is a tradition that was interrupted by decades of social restriction and is now being resumed with extraordinary energy.

This historical continuity matters for understanding the market. Specialty coffee in Saudi Arabia is not building something new on empty ground. It is reconnecting a population with a practice that was embedded in its identity for centuries. The sophistication of Saudi coffee consumers, which regularly surprises international observers, is partly a function of this deep cultural memory. Saudis do not need to be taught that coffee is important. They already know. The market is teaching them new vocabularies for something they already understood.

3. The Market: Scale, Sophistication, and Speed

3.1 The Size of the Transformation

The numbers that describe Saudi Arabia's coffee market are, by any global standard, remarkable. The café sector reached USD 6.14 billion in 2024. It is projected to reach USD 9.87 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 8.23 percent. The specialty coffee segment alone is growing at 10.5 percent annually. There are approximately 5,130 branded coffee shop outlets in the Kingdom. Local brands are expanding at a pace that outstrips many established global markets. By mid-2025, the Ministry of Commerce had issued 61,000 commercial licenses for cafés, including 27,000 for traditional coffee shops.

The leading domestic brand is Barn's, with more than 800 outlets. It is followed by Dunkin' with over 600, Starbucks with more than 450, and local chains Kyan Café and Coffee Address with 270 and 234 locations respectively. This competitive landscape is notable. International brands are significant participants. But they are operating in a market where local chains are not merely holding their own. They are innovating, expanding, and defining taste.

Saudi Arabia now accounts for 46 percent of all branded coffee shop outlets in the Middle East. This is the signature of a market that has not merely grown. It has become the region's reference point.

3.2 The Specialty Coffee Wave

The specialty coffee movement in Saudi Arabia began in earnest around the early 2010s. It accelerated through the period of social reform that followed, reaching maturity in the Vision 2030 era. Single-origin beans, pour-over brewing, cold brew, light roasts, experimental fermentation, and artisanal espresso have become part of the standard vocabulary of Saudi coffee consumers. The shift is generational in its engine but broad in its reach.

Brands like Roasting House, founded in 2013, have been at the forefront of this transformation. Co-founder Osama Alawwam describes the evolution precisely. "Historically, cafés were hubs for poets, politicians, and thinkers. Today, they are community spaces." Roasting House has recently redefined itself, in his words, as "a customer experience company fueled by coffee." This is the language of a mature market operator, not an emerging one.

Social media has been a significant amplifier of specialty coffee culture. Instagram and TikTok have turned coffee into content. Latte art, single-origin origin stories, and experimental brewing methods are daily subjects of Saudi social media engagement. The café visit is simultaneously a social ritual, a sensory experience, and a cultural performance. This combination drives both frequency of visit and willingness to pay for quality.

3.3 Consumer Sophistication

Saudi coffee consumers are among the most discerning in the world. This is the consistent observation of industry professionals who enter the market from outside. Consumers expect to know the origin, variety, story, and farmer behind their coffee. They seek ethical sourcing, traceable supply chains, and narratives that connect them emotionally to the product. These expectations were previously associated exclusively with boutique roasteries in Europe or North America. They are now standard expectations in a Saudi specialty café.

This sophistication is not merely aspirational. It is behavioral. Saudi consumers regularly choose local artisanal roasters over global chains when quality is the primary criterion. They participate in cupping sessions, barista championships, and coffee education events at rates that reflect genuine enthusiasm. The International Coffee and Chocolate Exhibition, held annually in Riyadh, drew over 300 local and international brands from more than 40 countries in its 2025 edition. Saudi Arabia is no longer a passive consumer of global coffee culture. It is an active participant in shaping it.

4. The Coffeeshop as the New Majlis

4.1 The Third Place Phenomenon in Saudi Context

The sociologist Ray Oldenburg introduced the concept of the "third place" to describe the spaces outside home and work where community life takes form. Third places are characterized by accessibility, regularity of gathering, informal social interaction, and the absence of the power dynamics of the workplace. They are the spaces where a society becomes itself.

In most Western societies, this function has historically been served by the pub, the café, or the piazza. In Saudi Arabia, this function was served by the majlis. The coffeeshop has now assumed this role in the urban Saudi context. And it has done so with a naturalness that reflects the deep cultural continuity between the two forms.

Industry voices confirm this directly. One observer, quoted in New Lines Magazine, describes coffeehouses as "essential third places allowing young people to forge connections while bridging generational and socioeconomic divides." The social function is explicit. The coffeeshop is not merely a place to purchase a beverage. It is a place to build and maintain community.

Saudi coffeeshops are now open late into the night, and many operate around the clock. This is culturally consistent. Saudi social life has always extended into the night hours, particularly during Ramadan and the cooler months. The coffeeshop accommodates this rhythm. It provides a public space for the social energy that has always been present in Saudi culture, in a form appropriate to contemporary urban life.

4.2 The Social Transformation the Coffeeshop Made Visible

The coffeeshop has also served as a physical manifestation of Saudi Arabia's social transformation. When gender segregation requirements were gradually relaxed in commercial spaces, the coffeeshop was among the first places where the new social reality became visible. Mixed-gender spaces appeared in specialty cafés before they appeared in most other public settings. Young Saudi men and women began to occupy the same space, studying, working, and socializing in ways that had previously required travel abroad.

Gulf News documented this moment with precision in a 2019 report, describing specialty coffee shops as spaces where "government has relaxed restrictions on men and women working and socializing together." The observation of one Saudi customer captures the cultural dynamic exactly. "I think the reason coffee shops became a trend is because people are more open to change," she said. "It has something to do with the current political dialogue."

The coffeeshop did not cause this social shift. But it provided it with a physical home. It was the space where the new Saudi social contract was practiced and normalized. For young Saudis, the coffeeshop was where they discovered what the changing Kingdom felt like from the inside.

4.3 Culture, Creativity, and Community Programming

Contemporary Saudi coffeeshops are not passive environments. They are active cultural producers. Hundreds of people gather at Qaysariat al-Kitab every Tuesday evening for a weekly book-reading session. Sociale Café hosts poetry nights and flower art workshops. AMSY Lab offers woodworking classes held over expertly brewed coffee. These are not peripheral activities. They are central to the identity of the establishments that host them.

This programming reflects the recovery of a historical role. The original qahveh khaneh of the Arab world were spaces for intellectual life. They were where poetry was recited, where news traveled, where ideas competed. Modern Saudi coffeeshops are reclaiming this function. They are cultural hubs as well as commercial spaces. They serve community as well as coffee.

For international brands and entrepreneurs considering the Saudi market, this is the most important insight. The Saudi coffeeshop consumer is not looking for a place to consume a product. They are looking for a space to be part of something. The brands that understand this are the ones that are building lasting positions in the market.

5. From Consumer to Producer: The Jazan Origin Story

5.1 Saudi Arabia's Coffee Heritage as a Growing Region

Saudi Arabia's relationship with coffee is not only that of a consuming nation. The Kingdom has a centuries-old tradition of coffee cultivation in its southern highlands. The mountains of Jazan, Asir, and Al-Baha have produced Arabica beans for generations. The Khawlani coffee variety, grown in these highlands, is one of the oldest cultivated coffee varieties in the world. It is distinguished by its bright acidity, its floral notes, and its connection to a specific terroir that cannot be replicated elsewhere.

For much of the twentieth century, this production heritage was largely invisible. The international coffee trade was dominated by established origins. Saudi cultivation was modest and locally consumed. Vision 2030 is changing this. The government has designated coffee as a strategic agricultural and cultural commodity. The Saudi Coffee Company, launched by the Public Investment Fund in May 2022 with a USD 319 million investment, is at the center of this ambition.

5.2 The Saudi Coffee Company and the Farm-to-Cup Vision

The Saudi Coffee Company has established model farms in Jazan designed to set international standards for sustainable cultivation. It has planted over 600,000 trees in the fertile mountain regions. It has provided farmers with solar-powered irrigation systems, canopy management training, and integrated pest control support. Its Academy trains farmers in sustainable techniques, processing methods, and product diversification.

The scale of the ambition is significant. Saudi Arabia currently produces between 300 and 800 tonnes of coffee annually. The target is to increase this to 2,500 tonnes by the end of the decade and ultimately to 10,000 tonnes as infrastructure matures. Plans include planting 5 million coffee trees by 2030. A processing and roasting factory in Jazan with a capacity of 27,000 tonnes per year is under development. Total investment in the coffee sector over the next decade is expected to reach SAR 1.2 billion.

The goal is not merely to increase production. It is to position Saudi coffee as a globally recognized origin with a story to tell. The CEO of the Saudi Coffee Company, Khalid Abutheeb, articulates the vision clearly. "Our mission is to uplift the local coffee production, starting from farming up till the final product. We want to empower local farmers, increase their production, and boost the efficiency of coffee production." The farm-to-cup narrative connects the ancient tradition of Khawlani cultivation with the contemporary specialty consumer's demand for origin stories and traceability.

5.3 The Year of Saudi Coffee

In 2022, Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Culture declared the Year of Saudi Coffee. This was a deliberate act of cultural branding. It positioned coffee not merely as an agricultural commodity but as a national heritage asset, worthy of celebration, investment, and international presentation. The declaration signaled to domestic producers, international buyers, and global consumers that Saudi Arabia's coffee identity was being formally recognized as part of the Kingdom's cultural and economic portfolio.

This is the kind of move that markets make when they are ready to take their place on the global stage. It is the moment when a country stops being known only as a consumer and begins to be recognized as an origin.

6. What the Saudi Coffee Market Tells International Readers

6.1 A Market Rooted in Culture, Not Just Trend

The most important message for international brands, investors, and entrepreneurs considering the Saudi coffee market is this: the depth of this market is cultural, not merely commercial. Saudi consumers do not need to be convinced that coffee matters. They grew up in a society where coffee was the first gesture of welcome and the last ritual of parting. The new specialty market is not introducing coffee culture to Saudi Arabia. It is providing Saudi coffee culture with new forms of expression.

This means that ideas succeed in this market when they connect with existing cultural values, not when they ignore them. The coffeeshops that have built the strongest customer communities in Saudi Arabia are those that understand this. They are not simply replicating formats from Tokyo, Melbourne, or London. They are designing experiences that feel simultaneously global and genuinely Saudi. They are spaces where Gahwa heritage and third-wave brewing coexist without contradiction.

6.2 Innovation Finds Purchase on Cultural Roots

The Saudi market is not resistant to innovation. It is enthusiastic about it. But innovation in this market works best when it is rooted in values that Saudis already hold. Quality, generosity, hospitality, community, and the elevation of the shared experience are not new concepts in Saudi culture. They are ancient ones. The specialty coffee market has connected these ancient values to a contemporary global movement, and the connection has proven extraordinarily productive.

New brewing methods are adopted rapidly because experimentation is welcomed. New origins are explored with curiosity because Saudis have always understood that great coffee has a story. New café concepts succeed because the idea of a dedicated space for communal gathering and conversation is already embedded in cultural memory.

The Saudi coffee market is the clearest demonstration in the contemporary world that markets with deep cultural roots do not merely accept innovation. They accelerate it.

6.3 The Market as a Signal

Saudi Arabia's café market is also a signal about the broader transformation of the Kingdom. It is a sector where Vision 2030's ambitions are visible in daily life. The young Saudi entrepreneur opening a specialty roastery. The woman managing a café team. The barista training at a competition-standard program. The farmer in Jazan receiving technical support to improve the quality of beans that will eventually reach a finjal in Riyadh. These are not isolated stories. They are the texture of a transformation that is happening at the level of individuals, families, and communities.

International readers who want to understand Saudi Arabia's transformation are well advised to sit in one of its coffeeshops. The quality of the coffee will surprise them. The sophistication of the space will impress them. The warmth of the hospitality will remind them that some things have not changed at all.

7. Conclusion: The Dallah and the Pour-Over

Saudi Arabia's coffeeshop revolution is not a departure from its past. It is a continuation of it in a new form.

The Dallah and the pour-over are not opposites. They are two expressions of the same value. Both are instruments of hospitality. Both are invitations to slow down, to be present, and to connect with the person across the table. Both carry the understanding that a cup of coffee is never merely a cup of coffee. It is a gesture. It is a language. It is a declaration of welcome.

The Saudi coffeeshop has become the new majlis because it fulfills the same social function the majlis has always fulfilled. It is a space where community is built and maintained. It is where young Saudis discover what it means to belong to a changing country while remaining connected to enduring values.

For the international industry, this market offers something rare. It offers the chance to participate in a cultural story, not merely a commercial one. The brands and entrepreneurs who understand this will find in Saudi Arabia not just a fast-growing market but a deeply receptive one. One where innovation is welcomed because the culture is confident enough to embrace it. And where the warmth of the welcome has never depended on what is in the cup.

References and Further Reading

• Perfect Daily Grind. "Exploring Saudi Arabia's Booming Specialty Coffee Market." perfectdailygrind.com, January 2026.
• Perfect Daily Grind. "Are Coffee Shops Becoming a New Social Hub for Saudi Arabia's Younger Generations?" perfectdailygrind.com, November 2023.
• New Lines Magazine. "Saudi Arabia's Coffee Renaissance." newlinesmag.com, February 2026.
• The Business Year. "Coffee and Coffee Shops in Saudi Arabia." thebusinessyear.com, August 2025.
• Qahwa World. "Saudi Arabia's Coffee Industry Grows Under Vision 2030." qahwaworld.com, August 2025.
• ResearchAndMarkets. "Saudi Arabia Cafes Market Forecast and Opportunities Report 2025." businesswire.com, October 2025.
• Caterer Middle East. "How the Middle East Is Leading the Way in Premium Coffee Culture." caterermiddleeast.com, December 2025.
• Saudi Times. "From Dallah to Cold Brew: How Coffee Fuels Saudi Life." sauditimes.org, December 2024.
• AramcoWorld. "Gahwa Renaissance." aramcoworld.com, 2020.
• Saudi Press Agency. "The Majlis: A Prominent Social Component in Saudi Culture." spa.gov.sa, January 2026.
• Medium. "Revisiting Saudi Coffee Culture 2025: Tradition Meets Transformation." Maspul, K.A., January 2026.
• Gulf News. "Saudi Society Is Changing. Just Take a Look at These Coffeehouses." gulfnews.com, 2019.
• Helena Coffee Vietnam. "How Coffee Shops Are Emerging as New Social Hubs for Saudi Arabia's Youth." helenacoffee.vn, March 2024.
• Grand View Research. "Saudi Arabia Specialty Coffee Market." grandviewresearch.com, 2025.
• Renub Research. "Saudi Arabia Coffee Market Size, Share and Forecast 2025-2033." renub.com.
• Oldenburg, Ray. The Great Good Place: Cafés, Coffee Shops, Community Centers, and Other Hangouts at the Heart of a Community. Paragon House, 1989.
• UNESCO. "Arabic Coffee, a Symbol of Generosity." Inscription on the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, 2015.

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