Cover image via Giuseppe CACACE/AFP
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A café in Dubai is now serving what is believed to be the world's most expensive cup of coffee, priced at nearly USD1,000 (about RM4,200) per cup, according to a report by AFP
The coffee is served at Julith, a café located in an industrial part of the city that has recently become a popular destination among speciality coffee enthusiasts.
The founders told AFP they chose Dubai specifically because the city's culture of luxury and novelty made it the right place to launch something this extravagant.
"We felt Dubai was the perfect place for our investment," co-founder Serkan Sagsoz was quoted as saying by AFP.
So, what makes this coffee so special?
The brew is made from Nido 7 Geisha beans, sourced from a plantation near the Barú volcano in Panama.
According to AFP, Julith bought the beans during a heated auction that drew hundreds of bidders globally.
The price?
Around 2.2 million dirhams (RM2.5 million) for just 20kg of beans.
The café says this is the highest price ever paid for coffee at auction.
Sagsoz told AFP that the flavour profile is delicate, floral, and more reminiscent of tea than typical coffee. The cup reportedly carries notes of jasmine, orange, bergamot, apricot, peach and a honey-like sweetness.
This has set a new record in Dubai's coffee scene
Just last month, Dubai set another record when Roasters, another local café, sold a cup for 2,500 dirhams (about RM2,842). That record has now been surpassed by Julith's 3,600-dirham cup (RM4,200).
Reactions among residents quoted by AFP ranged from amused disbelief to a shrug of acceptance.
"It's very shocking, but at the same time, it's Dubai," one resident told AFP.
Another local commented that for wealthy customers, the experience is less about coffee and more about having something to boast about.
Since word spread, Julith says it has been contacted by Asian buyers, Emirati coffee collectors, and private enthusiasts hoping to secure some of the beans
But the café told AFP it has no plans to resell.
The only exception, it said, is a reserved portion set aside for Dubai's ruling family.
Watch:
🇦🇪 World's most expensive coffee goes on sale in Dubai at $1,000 a cup
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) November 5, 2025
Selling for nearly $1,000 a cup, a cafe in Dubai is offering the world's most expensive coffee, brewed from Panamanian beans sold at a premium price. pic.twitter.com/2Gt0bxqHAK
