Dubai Café Sets New Record of Most Expensive Coffee with Nearly $1,000 a Cup
A Dubai café has set a new world record for the most expensive cup of coffee, selling each brew for nearly $1,000 and drawing attention from luxury enthusiasts and coffee aficionados around the world.
The high-end establishment, Julith Café, located in Dubai’s trendy industrial coffee district, unveiled its ultra-premium beverage made from rare Panamanian Nido 7 Geisha beans, which it claims to have bought at the highest recorded auction price.
Co-founder Serkan Sagsoz told reporters that Dubai was the ideal location for such an audacious venture.
“We felt Dubai was the perfect place for our investment,” Sagsoz said.
According to him, the café plans to serve about 400 cups of the exclusive brew starting Saturday, each priced at 3,600 dirhams (around $980).
Describing the flavour profile, Sagsoz said the coffee offers a refined sensory experience comparable to fine tea.
“There are white floral notes like jasmine, citrus flavours like orange and bergamot, and a hint of apricot and peach. It’s like honey, delicate and sweet,” he explained.
The café acquired 20 kilograms of the prized beans at a competitive auction in Panama, paying 2.2 million dirhams ($600,000) after hours of bidding.
The beans are cultivated near Panama’s Baru volcano, an area renowned for producing some of the world’s most sought-after coffee varieties.
Julith said it has no plans to sell or share the beans beyond a small portion reserved for Dubai’s ruling family, despite growing requests from Asian buyers and collectors.
The café’s offering comes barely a month after another Dubai coffeehouse, Roasters, earned a Guinness World Record for serving the previous most expensive cup at 2,500 dirhams.
While some residents have expressed disbelief, others view the development as typical of Dubai’s reputation for luxury and excess.
“It’s very shocking, but at the same time, it’s Dubai,” said one resident identified as Ines.
Another, Maeva, added: “For wealthy people, it’s just another experience they can boast about.”
From indoor ski slopes to gold-dispensing ATMs, Dubai has long been synonymous with opulence. Now, with the Julith Café’s record-breaking brew, even a cup of coffee has become a statement of wealth and exclusivity.
