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Dubai · United Arab Emirates

RAW Coffee Company

Since 2007 · Kim Thompson, Matt Toogood

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Overview

RAW was started in June 2007 by New Zealander Kim Thompson, who had moved to Dubai and resorted to bringing specialty beans back from home in her suitcase. Fellow New Zealander Matt Toogood joined as 50/50 partner in 2009 after she serviced his espresso machine. They opened a 13,500-square-foot roastery-café-and-SCA-school in Al Quoz, making RAW the first specialty coffee roaster in the Middle East and the anchor tenant of Dubai's Al Quoz coffee district.

Known for

  • First specialty coffee roastery in the Middle East (2007)
  • 13,500 sq ft Al Quoz warehouse roastery, café, SCA-accredited training school and beverage R&D under one roof
  • 100% organic-certified, ethically-traded green coffee — rare combination among regional roasters
  • BBC Good Food UAE Best Homegrown Coffee Roastery (2022)
  • Building a second roastery in Saudi Arabia as MENA expansion anchor

Why it matters

RAW is the reason Dubai has a specialty coffee scene at all. Founding in 2007 — well before the third-wave ecosystem reached the Gulf — meant building the supply chain, the training infrastructure and the customer base from zero. Most of the independent cafés that now define Al Quoz and Jumeirah were either trained at RAW or buy from RAW.

Production

destoning
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head roaster
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color sorting
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roaster machine
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filter equipment
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cupping frequency
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roastery location
Al Quoz 1, Dubai (13,500 sq ft warehouse)
espresso equipment
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annual volume tonnes
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Café

Cnr 7A and 4A Street, Al Quoz 1, Al Manara, Dubai

Recognitions

  • BBC Good Food UAE Best Homegrown Coffee Roastery (2022)
  • Dubai Economy and Tourism F&B sector recognition
  • Entrepreneurial golden visas awarded to founders

Sources

More roasters