UAE AeroPress Championship 2025 Returns to Celebrate Qahwa Culture

The UAE’s most anticipated and inclusive coffee competition is back - and promises to be better than ever.  The 2025 UAE AeroPress Championship returns for its ninth edition, bringing together competitors, café owners, industry professionals, and coffee lovers from across the Emirates in what is now considered one of the most exciting and dynamic coffee events in the region.

Building on the momentum of last year’s record-breaking success - which saw the UAE host the largest coffee competition in the world by number of competitors - the 2025 edition will celebrate the unique and evolving coffee culture of the Emirates under the theme: “A Celebration of Qahwa Qulture in the Emirates.”

This year's theme pays tribute to the UAE’s deep-rooted coffee heritage - from traditional Arabic Qahwa brewed in a dallah to the rise of specialty coffee and modern methods like the AeroPress.  The event will highlight how these traditions now coexist and shape one of the most vibrant and innovative coffee cultures in the world.

The event’s host, Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, DMCC, said: “The global coffee industry generates more than USD 200 billion each year, spanning production, trade, culture, and consumption, and supports the livelihoods of approximately 25 million farmers. As a longstanding champion of the sector, I have witnessed first-hand the opportunities it creates for producers and consumers alike. As the industry continues to expand and transform, the UAE AeroPress Championship is not only a celebration of brewing excellence; it is a platform for cultural expression and global connection. Hosting the championship at DMCC’s Almas Tower, with support from the DMCC Coffee Centre, which processed more than 7,400 metric tonnes of coffee in 2024 and has recently expanded its capacity to provide even greater market access for our members, reflects our continued commitment to advancing the sector and strengthens Dubai’s position as a global hub for coffee heritage, trade, and innovation.”

The organizer of the event and CEO of Mokha 1450, Garfield Kerr, said: “Dubai and the UAE writ large has become one of the leading specialty coffee markets and coffee destinations in the world, and I do not think this happened by chance. The long history of coffee in the UAE means that coffee is not just a daily dose of caffeine to get you through the day, but a cultural cornerstone that elevates and adds a sense of measure to a normal day.  Furthermore, coffee is used to imbue importance and ceremony to significant events and social gatherings.  Each household has a special recipe for “Qahwa” or “coffee”, that is closely guarded, passed down for generations, and is still referenced for the daily preparation of coffee. For this reason, there is always a very strong level of enthusiasm, passion, as well as innovation at the UAE AeroPress Championship. Accordingly, this year’s iteration, will place the cultural significance of Qahwa in the UAE on full display.”