The Espresso Lab

Overview

The Espresso Lab was opened in May 2015 by Emirati entrepreneur Ibrahim Hamza Al Mallouhi after a 2011 cappuccino at Fika in New York pulled him out of his finance career and into a five-year specialty-coffee education that included a Bellissimo Coffee Advisors diploma in Oregon, an executive MBA from Cass Business School, and origin trips to Vietnam and Ethiopia. The original Jumeirah 1 cafe, set up with Specialty Batch's Ryan Godinho on a 5-kilo Probat, has since grown into an Al Quoz roastery, cafes in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and a majority investment from UAE hospitality group Shamal Holding announced in May 2025.

Known for

• Leading specialty coffee operator in the Gulf and a key driver of GCC-wide specialty culture
• Emirati-founded; Al Mallouhi convenes monthly meetings with operators across the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries
• Super-premium retail program — Ethiopian Gesha Village and Hacienda La Esmeralda Geisha at AED 300–930 per bag
• UAE Barista Champions in 2015, 2016; Latte Art and Brewers Cup champions 2016
• Majority stake acquired by Shamal Holding (May 2025); founder retains operational lead

Why it matters

Al Mallouhi is the figure most responsible for translating the Arabic coffee tradition his grandmother taught him into modern specialty practice in the Gulf, and the GCC operator network he built is the closest thing the region has to a unified specialty coffee community.

Production

destoning

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head roaster

Moaz Mahmoud (Director of Roasting)

color sorting

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roaster machine

5-kilo Probat (original); larger production roasters at Al Quoz roastery

filter equipment

Full pour-over, AeroPress, siphon, and other manual brewing methods

cupping frequency

Regular

roastery location

Al Quoz, Dubai

espresso equipment

Two-group Synesso (original cafe); full manual brewing program

annual volume tonnes

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Café

Two cafes — Dubai and Abu Dhabi (original location was inside a wellness centre in Jumeirah 1)

Recognitions

• UAE Barista Championship (2015, 2016)
• UAE Latte Art Championship (2016)
• UAE Brewers Cup (2016)

Sources

• https://theespressolab.com/pages/about
• https://freshcup.com/the-espresso-lab/
• https://www.worldcoffeeportal.com/news/the-uaes-shamal-holding-acquires-majority-stake-in-dubai-based-the-espresso-lab/
• https://www.cropster.com/learn/article/episode-36-ibrahim-al-mallouhi-on-specialty-coffee-in-the-middle-east/
• https://specialtybatch.com/case-studies/specialty-batch-x-the-espresso-lab-project/
• https://theespressolab.com/pages/meet-the-team